Benny's First Day of School

On Monday night Benny attended his first official dog training class. He was probably the youngest dog there and he was definitely one of the better behaved students. There were about 14 sets of dogs and handlers as well as the instructor and her assistants. Most of the people brought along family members so there was lots of activity with people and dogs. The students included at least one very aggressive dog who was only 7 months old, one dog who barked continuously, one dog who was afraid of everything, and several dogs who were just acting like they had way too much energy. Benny managed to stay pretty well focused on me and on his "good boy"treats.

Benny is not the first dog I've trained and I've learned that starting early is really important with Irish Terriers. At this age everything should be fun for handler and dog, the pups should love learning, and you will be surprised how fast they figure out what you want them to do.
I hope all of the siblings are starting classes soon!

Here's Teddy - Benny's brother

Hi everyone,



We finally get to see one of the other siblings. If anyone wants to post a picture of the other two pups and you don't know how, just email them to me and I'll post the pictures for you. If you want to make comments, just sign up for a gmail account, it's simple and painless. If you want to be able to post things, let me know and I'll add your name. Finally, be sure to sign up as a "follower" so you'll get all the new posts. Suzanne

Benny's Roommates

Benny joined Beatrix, my 8 year old Irish, and Tommy, my 12 year old cat, when he came to live here.Benny is a bit intimidated by Tommy, a tough old earless tomcat, who scratched Benny's ear on their first meeting. Beatrix is another story. Benny adores her and doesn't like to have her out of his sight. She is just wonderful with him, it's like having a live in dog trainer. He loves to drag her around by the skin on her neck and she allows it, only occasionally telling him to back off.

Benny is now 23 pounds, he's lost more teeth, and he's really turning into a good little dog. Sometimes he worries me because he is so laid back. Irish Terriers I've known are never hyper but they do seem to have lots of energy. Benny is pooped after a 2.5 mile walk. He comes home and sleeps for hours. Then he's usually pretty quiet until the "Puppy Wilds" which take place after dinner. I like to leave the family room door open and Benny's favorite game is to race in and out like a mad dog carrying his toys one by one until he has 6 to 8 things out on the grass. He only does this at night. Then he likes to lie out amongst his toys and chew on each one.

What about the siblings? Laid back or wild?