i am pretty sure y’all know by now – a couple of months ago we got a second dog named betty white.

this sweetheart is a bit of a basket case. she’s super skittish around new people and dogs, and is prone to panicking and screaming bloody murder if she gets freaked out enough.

so… i was not really looking forward to our first group class of dog training last night. unfamiliar ground, large group of strangers and their dogs? yeah not so much. i was expecting it to be the longest hour of my life.

we left for the park way early last night, making a stop at the pet store a block from my house to pick up a car harness for her. my dread over the evening grew as betty completely freaked out over walking through the parking lot, and had me carry her into the pet store. conducting a transaction while comforting a freaked out 10 pound dog in your arms is no easy feat! (though it’s probably something i should get used to before our boy gets here in september.)

by this time, i’m almost ready to just skip the park altogether, go home, withdraw from the class, put my feet up, and crack open a root beer. but i figured you have got to give this thing a chance. so off to the park we went.

we got there about 20 minutes before our class started, which gave betty some time to watch the class before ours. we stayed a good distance back from the other dogs, and as she watched and shivered, betty tucked her tail firmly between her legs and backed up as far as her 6 foot leash would allow. other puppies started showing up, and showing an interest in her, and then class started. and here’s where she surprised us all.

betty’s got issues to be sure. but all things considered, in spite of her fear of strangers and their dogs she did phenomenal for her first class. at the end of class, we were doing an exercise that helps teach the dogs the “come” command. the owners all bring their dogs on leashes together to play with each other, and then when the teacher says to, everyone calls their dogs and starts walking away from the group, encouraging their dogs to come with them and praisin’ the heck outta em when they do. and during this exercise at the end of her first hour of dog training, betty’s tail came out from between her legs, and not only did she seem to enjoy the part where she got to come together with all the other dogs, but she was wagging her tail and trying to play with them.

she’s not hopeless after all. now if that girl would just stay the heck outta our strawberry patch we’d be golden.