Dutch and I are heading into week four of obedience training. The two of us are getting to know each other in a different way. Namely, he now knows I can be insistent and I now know he can be persistent. I also learned he is a lot happier and more relaxed with others of his own kind around. He is a dog snob and he will get over it.

There are a few things he is excelling at. I am taking those bits of success on authority. If he can do one thing a million times over and over again, he will, with the same amount of repetition, pick up most of the rest of the exercises.

We have been relegated to practicing in the back yard for the most part, usually just before the sun goes down. It is the fall "season" at our house. Dutch's mind is with his tightly locked away amorous girlfriends and less on obedience training. The girls get to go out in the front yard which is exactly why we're avoiding it.

There are a few exercises I wonder if we will ever accomplish. The "down" is one of them. The dog crawls on his belly across the carpet to lick at my toes, or sprawls out on his belly to chew a bone. Apparently requiring the same mechanism from him, even with the tastiest treats as bait, is against the religion of Dutch.

Last week, I received a phone call from a man who owns Dutch's littermates, Rocky and Lucy. We shared stories about training the dogs. He previously trained German Rottweilers. By size and temperament alone, they are more difficult to train.

Apparently Rocky is his "special needs" child. Rocky can only learn one thing at a time and the exercise must be repeated without distraction. However, Lucy is the star dog who would, "be going to Stanford on scholarship". He summed up the primary difference between a female Weimaraner and a male Weimaraner. Dutch is a lot like his "special needs" brother.

Dutch is doing well with "choose to heel". Basically, he is required to walk next to me without the leash. The dog hates the leash and evidently has a deep seeded distain for a collar too. He is never better behaved then when I am barely touching him.

Perhaps there is an aura of mistrust he picks up when he is physically restrained. I am sure the emotion is more basic than resentment. His response is likely a matter of being free versus being restrained. The dirty look he throws my way often makes me wonder!

At home, Dutch is mastering "spin". He will turn in a clockwise motion and hop into a standing position, tail in the air, for a treat. The best part is, he is HAPPY when he is spinning. Maybe one of these moments, he will spin himself into doing a "down" and find it isn't such an unhappy experience after all.