Yes, Apple. Good Girl!

I've never really trained a dog before.

We're kind of passive about obedience when it comes to our pets. We've either had sassy small dogs who we just spoiled to ruins, or we've been fortunate enough to find dogs with well enough temperaments that we've barely noticed they wouldn't "sit" for us if we paid them off the stove top.

I decided when we got our latest Boxer puppy, Apple, that I would take her to classes and actually train her properly.

So far this has been a really great experience!

I never knew that puppies will do just what you say if you invest the time into teaching them.

And it's made Apple and I even closer (if that's possible).

She is remarkable at commands, including things that make having a puppy/dog MUCH easier on us. Things like come, sit, stay, and my favorite, "leave it". And she actually truly does exactly what I ask her to. 

She takes amazing walks immediately to my left just a step behind my foot with her front legs. She leaves the nasty water in the mud puddle across the yard. She doesn't run off when she's not on a leash...

The more she learns the more intentional she is in her actions. She really wants to know what we want from her. She sits right down to the side of me with longing eyes ready to work. It is so adorable. Like her.

This is a video of her trainer, Jeff, using her to demonstrate a lesson in one of her classes when she was just 10 weeks old: