Hey Lynn,
If repeating exercises and being in a lower level training class than you think your dog needs were a bad thing, my dogs would all be ruined. :D
I have used my dogs to teach beginner classes time after time after time......Hell, Bree's been through basic probably 50 times?
I look at it this way....
No matter what your goals for the future are, you need a solid foundation. Practice makes perfect and perfect practice is even better! Get those "boring old exercises"
ROCK SOLID before moving on. While the others are teaching thier dogs for the first time, you improve your dog's performance by asking for more and better, faster and straighter, longer and more focused etc....Don't worry that the other students might think you're showing off...You're paying for the class, do what you need to do to get the most out of it. Besides, what's the harm in them thinking you and Bella are just really really smart!:D
BTW, time to stop being a Pez dispenser and start being a slot machine on those "boring OLD exercises".:p