How to train your Waffle.

Every Thursday my alarm clock goes off at 6:45 a.m. To me, this is basically a crime against nature. Especially considering I have no real concept of time any more and sleep at weird hours. I am blasted awake to the sounds of "The Good Life" by Weezer and as soon as I reach for my glasses, all I can think about is hitting snooze.

However, I do not have that option. Once those first few notes start blarring, the dogs are awake and ready to face the new day. As I stumble through the house looking for a clean pair of socks, they all bounce around me happily, mocking me with their never ending supply of energy.

Once I have become slightly more coherent, I put Darci in the car and we head for the training field. It is our Thursday ritual. Opressive heat, freezing cold, it doesn't matter. This is mommy and me time for the Waffle.

Don't get me wrong, I practice almost every day, just not first thing in the morning.

Darci is brilliant. I don't think I've mentioned that yet, but she is. I have never known a Terv quite like her. She never wants to quit and always gives me 110%...x2....+1. This morning was a particularly good session for us.

For some reason she seems to like our morning training sessions better than any others. Perhaps it is because it's just her and I. Perhaps it is because she hasn't expended much energy being a whirling dervish of destruction yet. Who knows. All I know is that I am constantly amazed by what I am able to teach this dog of mine. She has helped me grow so much as a trainer. (Darci is the first dog I have ever trained on my own with no classes. With the exception of two private lessons with Stuart.)

So here's to you, Thursday morning 7:30 a.m. training. Thank you for making bonding time with my dog as awesome as possible... And to the good people of Starbucks who make sure I am fully awake by the time I get to the field and that Darci has had her morning biscuit.