Gunner has been attending obedience classes every Thursday night. Well, Thursday before last, we were told by the instructor that there would be a “competition” amongst the dogs to see which one could lay down the fastest on command. I should preface the story by stating that whenever our dogs are asked to lay down, all of the dogs get 2 seconds to follow the command, except Gunner gets 3 seconds because, due to his height and bones, Gunner is “much slower” than the other dogs. (Of course, I’m very bitter that my dog gets singled out, but let’s move on.)
So, I pick up Addie, my friend’s 8 year old daughter, and we head to class last night. On the way to class Addie and I discuss the fact that it isn’t fair that Gunner has to participate in this competition due to his “disadvantage.” I told Addie we should just be happy for the other dogs and that Gunner understands that he’s just not as close to the ground as the other dogs are.
The competition begins. Two dogs compete with each other at a time and the fastest goes to the next round. When it was Gunner’s turn to compete, everyone laughed and the instructor said, “well he should at least participate even thought he can’t physically win.” Luckily, the dog that Gunner went up against refused to lay down, and although it took Gunner a few seconds, he ultimately ended up in the last round. It was Gunner against a short Black lab named Cole. Now, Cole was favored to win as he was very quick and very short for his breed. Everyone thought it was hilarious that Gunner was even in the same league as Cole. The instructor says, “Ready Set…Go” As soon as I yelled “Gunner down!”, he dropped to the floor in a split second! Although I wasn’t paying attention to Cole, I could hear everybody laughing hysterically and looked up and saw Addie’s mouth wide open in astonishment. GUNNER HAD WON!! He picked up his prize (rawhide bone) with pride, laid down (slower this time) and enjoyed it, right in front of all the other dogs, who thought they were better than him. Just goes to show you. Root for the underdog!!