Dog Obedience Classes for Peanut - the "Journey Begins"

(REAL Family Press - 2006 - copyrighted by Linda Nelson - AKA "The Lady - for The Peanut)

My mom tells me she's taking me to this "obedience class thingy" tomorrow at the place she adopted me from... I'm not so sure I know what that is all about, but she tells me it will make me a better doggie...

I already do "stay", "sit", "come here", "heel" and "howdy-doo", so just how much more does she want me to do?... She says she's not 'officially trained' so I'm not either... I sorta/kinda resent that... I mean - how will being 'officially trained" make me a better doggie?...

I can also chase those big black crows out of my yard, sit on my mom's hip when we go into stores, sit quietly for AN ENTIRE HOUR on her lap when I need to, lick the whipped creme off of Sissy's Starbuck Venti Carmel Macchiato and not touch her straw, find the chicken strips in the truck's center console, share all of my beds with my pack mates... Whew!... I didn't realize I knew as much as I did!!!... What's with Mom?... How much more do I need to learn?...

Now if she could teach me what that new animal is next door to me that I see through the fence, that would be teaching me something new... It's got four legs, smells like a doggie, but doesn't give back the proper bark... Instead it makes other sounds and runs around, chasing it's tail... It's smaller than me... I think it's a doggie, but it must be a baby 'cause it doesn't speak any kind of Dog-lish I know!

Maybe it should go to this class instead of me to learn proper Dog-lish, huh?

I try woofing at it every time I'm allowed to go out back, but it just doesn't answer me in any language I ever heard... Oh, and that's another thing now that I come to think of it... I am bi-lingual... I speak Dog-lish and People-lish... The more I think about this whole thing, the more I think I don't need to go to class on Saturday!!

I'm wondering if any of those dogs there tomorrow already know how to eat off of a fork? I do... Ain't I a smartie??!!...

And I said a proper 'thank you' to Mom this week when she made me another sweater too!... It's bright red - one of my favorite colors... So I have proper doggie manners to boot!... Yep, the more I think about it, the more I think I should talk Mom out of this class... Wonder if she'll allow me to play hookey?... She's been talking about this for the past month or more, so I'm not so sure she'd be convinced...

I just don't know what else they could teach me!

Love,
The Peanut