It has been a busy week for Sir Rupert.

He attended his first day of puppy kindergarten on Thursday, where he met many new types of dogs. His favorite was a Doberman named Sasha – I sense a budding romance. Lots of kissing and sniffing going on between the two…only 2.5 months and already a heart breaker. (But I knew that when the street sweeper jumped out of his machine so he could cradle Rupert.) We were also in class with a very pretty Great Dane named Lucy, whose paw was literally bigger than Rupert’s head. My good friend Alyssa took some time to illustrate what a best friendship between the two might look like.



Only time will tell how the friendship will grow.

Anyhoo, Rupert is beginning to learn his name, how to sit, how to lay down (which is very difficult to teach a dog so low to the ground already), how to “go get it”, and how not to be a douchebag. Just kidding, they aren’t teaching that last one, but I wish they were because he can be a huge douche.

My favorite part of class was when the instructor tried to use Rupert as an example – they always pick a dog who doesn’t know how to do something to demonstrate how to begin teaching them a new command. The command this time was “go get it” and the basic premise is to toss a treat about 2 feet away, say “go get it” and when they go get it, call them back and give them a treat. Seems easy, right, because dogs love treats, so theoretically their faces will just follow the food. Well, my little star was called to the front of the class to demonstrate how easy it is to learn. The instructor tossed the treat, told him to get it, and he went to get it like a little champion. And there he stood for about a minute as he chewed, and looked around at all the other dogs, gloating, as he ignored the numerous commands to come back. And that was when Rupert’s debut as an example dog was cut short and Stella the Mutt’s began.

The class looks promising.

In other news, we went to the dog park for the first time today. Rupert made some good doggie friends, including a big ol’ German Shepard named Kaiser (go figure) and a chihuahua-something-something mix named Sugar.

He also found a tennis ball that really scared him. Don’t worry, he dominated it eventually.

And at one point, he even became the center of attention of all the big dogs. But he spurned the attention while he ate rocks.

All in all, Rupert had a wonderful first dog park experience due to great owners, fun dogs, and a fearless little attitude that will probably get him hurt one day. Can’t wait for trip number 2.



(my dudes were all tuckered out afterward.)