For the first time since Darcy’s been with us, we left Penny’s furry butt at home – alone.

It was a special occasion: Darcy’s first training class. Over eight weeks, she’ll learn commands like "sit," "stay," "wait," "drop it" and "take it/leave it." She’ll learn to walk well on a leash and sit while being greeted.

Best of all, the hourlong classes are built-in socialization with other dogs and humans. Which will do Miss Darcy, the most skittish dog on the planet, some good. The other night, she scampered out of the kitchen because … a dying housefly was buzzing on the floor.

She spent most of the first class curled up under Chris’ chair. We lured her out with treats when "Watch me" and "Sit" were being taught. She wasn’t thrilled with the trainer – who, naturally, scored kisses and tail wags from the other two dogs in class right away – but we have seven more weeks to fix that, hopefully.

So I think we’re done letting Darcy hide. Next week, we’re going to plop her in front of Chris, so she knows we literally have her back (she loves her corners). And we’ll get there early for some extra socializing with her classmates (who are smaller than she is, yay).

On a final note, I looove these training classes. They did wonders for Penny, and the discussions opened my eyes to what toys, leashes and food brands are best. I won’t say where the training classes are, so I don’t sound like I’m shamelessly plugging the place, but I will say that if you’re interested in classes, find ones that use positive reinforcement – rewarding good behavior instead of hitting, yelling (or worse) at dogs’ bad behavior. You and your dog will be the better for it.

Meanwhile, Darcy the underdog and I are getting started on our homework … practicing "Watch me" and "Sit" …