Looking in the Classifieds

Not me, Buddy! He's just so smart and picks up on things so fast, I really think he'd be happier if I gave him a job. We're limited in our options, living in a rural area, so I'm really thinking hard.

We tried dock diving, but right now, he doesn't want to jump off the dock, and I'm not going to force him. Maybe if he sees me and my family do it enough times, he'll take to it.

Therapy work is out, because none of the hospitals or assisted living in our dusty old town would dare let a giant, filthy dog past their door. It would be a waste to go through the training and certification process.

Behind door number three, we have scent tracking. I like this option, and I think he'd be good at it, and I'd definitely feel better if he were trained to do it now that there's a baby in the family, since there are no search and rescue dogs in our town--I don't even think there's any in our county--but I wouldn't even know where to begin training him to do it with humans instead of food.

The two most realistic things, then, would be agility or obedience trials. Of the two, I think he'd be better at agility. He listens beautifully, but he'd much rather be running than laying on command. I don't know how to train that either, but there is a class offered at an obedience club about an hour away, so at least I wouldn't be going at it alone. I'll probably try and see if he has any interest in it before signing up, though.