Back to school

Had our first obedience class at Woofs Dog Training Center near Shirlington http://www.woofsdogtraining.com/woofs/home.html. The facility is unimpressive--it shares space with an auto body shop next to the DMV--but our trainer, Erica, was knowledgeable and patient. And patience is key with this dog.
We worked on getting Zorro to focus on us with three exercises (all food-oriented--apparently, this is part of their positive reinforcement philosophy). First, we worked on name recognition: one of us would say "Zorro," and as soon as he looked up, we would click our clicker and give him a treat. Second, we practiced eye contact: as soon as he looks at your face, he gets a click and a treat. This one seemed to be the hardest for him, because he was distracted by the sounds of other dogs in the facility. Finally, we worked on "touch," which Erica says is a more effective way to recall your dog than just saying "come" (Zorro knows what come means, but only comes when he feels like it). With this exercise, you hold out your hand, say "touch," and as soon as he touches your palm with his nose, he gets a click and a treat. We are supposed to practice these exercises several times a day.
Even though he was highly curious about the dogs on the other side of the door, Zorro was good-natured throughout the training exercises.
Erica, who owns three german shepherds, says she's never heard of dogs barking at the moon. She pronounced it "interesting," which is the kind of thing you say when someone has an unusual hairstyle. Bark control is for later sessions. Lots of thunder last night ,which was traumatic for Zorro but he calmed down after Denny let him go down in the basement.