My Puppy is Smarter Than Your Puppy

WILLIS GRADUATED!

For the last 6 weeks Willis and I have been going to the PetSmart Puppy Education Class in Orem. There were 5 puppies total:

• A Malamute named "Cache"
• A Maltese named "Zoe"
• A Beagle/Pug Mix named "Max"
• and a German Shepherd named "Onyx"

Not surprising, Willis was definitely the delinquent of the group. He was constantly trying to slither over to the other dogs and say hi. He never really outgrew that... In the 6 weeks of class he has gone from weighing 19 pounds to 40 pounds! Another accomplishment is he is very well behaved in the back of the car now. (That took some getting used to.) Willis thinks he's a big dog now and that he can jump out of the Murano with no problems. Tonight when I opened the back for him to jump out, he did a solid face plant into the pavement. He's still not used to his EZ-Walk Harness.

These are the commands Willis has mastered:

• Watch Me
• Sit
• Lay Down
• Take It
• Leave It
• Drop It
• Come
• Stay
• Shake/High 5
• Puppy Pushups
• Loose Leash Walking

Tonight for graduation they had a few competitions to see how well the puppies learned. Willis came in 3rd for the Loose Leash Walking race (He was easily distracted by the boxes of Greenies in the aisle). He won the "Stay" Competition quite easily. (I had to make him stay, then walk to the end of the aisle and back to him without him moving. It's quite the accomplishment for a puppy with a short attention span!) He came in dead last in the "Come" Competition (He and Cache were having too much fun playing with each other to care about their owners yelling "Come here! Come here!" repeatedly.) He was the only puppy to successfully complete Puppy Pushups (Sit, Down, Sit). And the final competition was "Leave It", which Willis dominated. (I had to put a dog biscuit on the ground in front of his paws and he couldn't eat it until I gave him permission. None of the other dogs could do it and Willis sat there like a good boy until I released him.)---The picture below was taken while I made him leave his ball so I could take his picture.

As a graduation present we bought him this soccer ball that you put his treats inside and he has to roll it a certain way to get them to fall out. It's definitely shot to the top as his favorite toy. (Anything involving treats always has his full attention.)

So Congrats to Willis! You're the best puppy anyone could have :)