Week: 1

Here we go – first full week of 2010, fifty-two to go.

Last week was admittedly a bit ambitious, and I pretty much fell flat on my face (again). Ah well, such is the holidays. ( I suppose I could have spun this by saying I intentionally put a lot in there so I would have a wide variety of items to choose from, but I don’t think anyone would have bought it. )

Accomplished Last Week:

Core Studies - Both dogs are getting quite good with Front and Finish (left pivot) and I tested them on it. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to see if it looks as good on the video as it seemed in real life.

Citizenship – Total bust save working on Zachary putting his paws on the car console. He is now just horrible instead of extraordinarily horrible. It is only a problem in the car they rarely travel in, which is probably why I’ve let it go for this long.

Family Member – Zachary took a huge step in the grooming of his paws and tail. Beau is already a Grooming Pro and is absolutely perfect. Really!

Extracurricular – Contacts: I have a good excuse for this one, as it turned out there was no place to put the board once we moved the Christmas tree to the middle of the room. Why there? Because the tree spontaneously toppled over in its previous spot (just ten minutes after we had finished decorating it) spilling 2 liters of water all over the carpet, which took forever to dry out, and thus the relocation. Thankfully the dogs and son were with hubby and I at the time and thus were saved being blamed for the mess. I must say the tree looks quite dramatic in its new location (lights only - for some reason none of us felt like redecorating it) but it doesn’t leave room for much of anything else.

Just For Fun - Both dogs completed their December shaped trick: pulling a tissue from a box… although it was really a rag and not a tissue. Beau’s a big drooler when faced with treats and he never mastered the fine art of keeping the tissue dry. Close enough for government work, we move on.

No excuses for the rest (loose leash, watch, crate, chill, or anything “Out on the Town”) save general laziness. I’m going to blame the holidays and leave it at that.

One thing that was just one word on the worksheet but a huge success for the week was Quizzes. I can’t say enough for how helpful I found it. The layout needs work, but I’m convinced the concept is sound and of all things I’ve fiddled with of late, it is easily my favorite.

Planned for This Week:

Core Studies – Picked out things I need for Training Levels, Rally, and Canine Good Citizen. Loose Leash is going to be hard as I need to do it outside, and it is cold and dark out there (whimper, whimper.) I’m putting it in for this week, but if I don’t get to it at all then I’ll bump it for a few months until the weather/daylight-to-night-ratio improves.

Citizenship – Ugh, the category I hate the most as it requires me leaving hearth and home and going out into the social world. However, Rally class starts up again this week, and I’m hoping to cram some of this stuff in while I’m there. No, that’s probably not a great strategy, but as it gets dark early my choices are limited (yes, Wendy, I am making excuses.)

Family Member – Paw work was so successful last week that I’m moving on to brushing. Again, this is just for Zachary. Beau is perfect during grooming and has the patience of a saint. Additionally, Zachary is getting on everyone’s nerves with his rapid-fire barking at sudden bumps and thuds outside. Time to tackle that one, and my son is more than looking forward to being The Thing That Goes Bump in the Night.

Extracurricular – Fun stuff, which I’m sure they will enjoy.

Just For Fun - New trick for the month: picking up “trash” and throwing it away. I’m going to use wadded up notebook paper and a wire wastebasket and have at it. I’m pretty sure Zachary will pick it up (pardon the pun) without problem. I’m less sure about Beau. He is not a big fan of shaping, but when he takes a shine to something, he learns quickly.

Field Trip – I haven’t commented on this category much, and I haven’t been good about following through (see hearth and home reference, above.) Will have to rectify both of those in the near future.

… and that’s it!

School starts back up again for my son this week, as do his various Extracurricular Activities, so we’ll see how that effects the amount time I have to work with the dogs.

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