Well, after a grueling eight weeks of strict training, lots of homework, and of course an entire package of cheese, Marley is now officially a graduate! Even though it was beginner class, Marley still felt like a senior.... since he was the oldest by about 3 years. His other classmates were all under a year old, but Marley was always happy to run and hide from each and everyone of them!
We held our breath as Marley went through the graduation test, which was not exactly a stellar success the week before. Marley seemed to be showing some nerves the week before as he waited his turn to make a practice run for what would be required to graduate. As everyone was watching the dogs taking their turns, Marley decided to relieve himself on an entire rack of little doggy coats. Of course the coats had a fur lining to ensure they would not be easily cleaned... why waste it on something that would not be much trouble I guess..... Just at that moment was Marley's turn for the practice run, which obviously started out a little frantic. He was not happy with the lack of cheese, and therefore decided he could not understand what was being said. He did manage a sit, and an eventual lay down, in which he just slid his paws slightly forward to be a tiny bit lower. We can never get Marley to even look at a toy, but he decided he would check out every toy during the 'leave it alone' portion of the test.
Needless to say, this left us a little worried about the final day. Yet for his graduation day, Marley performed each test perfectly, and even finished off with his signature catch trick! Although even more miraculous was the fact that we were able to get the graduation cap on him long enough for a couple of pictures. Not exactly the most thrilled look, but we promise we didn't make him wear it very long!