Puppy Raised English

Hiya! 

(that's English for 'hello')

I'm Millie,

a 5 month old spaniel

I want to tell you a bit about my puppy class in England,

which may interest my American doggy friends

It is really different from the US!

My school

Rain or shine

we meet weekly in a grassy field at a nearby farm

with chickens, guinea fowl and sheep

Boris, Bertie, Tess, and Fleur are some of the pups in my 'small dog' class

My favorite part of class is off-leash playtime

to give my brain a little rest

Fleur is my best playmate

Don't you love those ears?!

Meet Fleur, the sweetest French Bulldog

I was surprised in my very first class

we worked on 'lie down' 

(which would have come later in a US class)

The goal is to have me off leash in public 

and under my owner's control at all times

For our 5th class

we met for a country hike

- off leash -

At first we were a tumbly mess of puppy pile

- we are such a playful group -

and then one of us said, Hey! Our people left without us!

So off we sprinted to find our owners

Although our humans were concerned we may run off,

we went for more tumbles and checked in with our owners periodically

At times Laura blew a whistle to indicate I needed to find her

I was rewarded with a treat and accolades and off I went again

It was super fun

The following week we were back at the farm

Laura went on the other side of a fence and 

I needed to work out how to get to her through a series of gates

This was in case I get stuck somewhere

and would have the confidence and knowledge to work it out by myself

We continue to work on sit/stay and heel

on and off lead in school

Wow, is it hard when there are so many friends and good smells to distract me!

My classroom

In a few weeks

I think the class will go for coffee for an hour

and I will practice my sit/stay/lie down next to Laura

I should be well behaved the whole time I am in the coffee house

Hmm, sounds like a challenge

I think puppy classes are a lot different here

than in the US

I will grow up with my classmates, as the class is ongoing

At one point I can join a specialized spaniel group,

try agility classes or gun dog training

For now,

I still have a lot to learn and practice

in my puppy class

I am a good girl

Woof :)

- photos by my person, laura -