Week 22

Twenty-one down (thirty-one to go.)

Wednesday is the Canine Good Citizen test and I already find myself looking… beyond… which is probably not a good thing.

However, as I type this, it is late Monday evening and I fear there is little else I can do at this point that will significantly improve the outcome of the test. I still think Zachary will fail Supervised Separation (it won’t even be close), is iffy on Reaction to Another Dog (he’ll want to go visit), and is hit-or-miss on anything that requires moving from Point A to Point B in a coordinated fashion (those doggie smells on the tan-bark are a huge distraction.)

Am I sad? I suppose. Failure means I will need to find another time to take the test, as him receiving his CGC Certificate remains a goal for this year and I know he is capable of it.

Am I proud of him no matter what? You bet! His greeting behavior toward people is almost perfect. Yes, he can still blow it, and might do so on Wednesday. But there’s a bright and shining light at the end of that tunnel and I know it isn’t just a train.

Accomplished Last Week:

Core Studies: !@#$ Sit-Stay. The only bright side to this is that I now have dog who can go from a Down to a Sit at 40’ on a hand signal (my hands on my hips – usually accompanied by a glare on my part.)

Canine Good Citizen: (see blog posting: CGC Class #5)

Weekly Quiz: Both boys passed everything but Bow. Beau is perfect – but only so long as I am standing next to the sofa. Zachary is perfect – but only after two (or three) cues. Both will be practicing some more this week.

Family Member: News flash! I have now officially passed Zachary for “No paws on the console”. Yes, we really have been working on it for 5 months! Not very often over those 5 months, I’ll admit. In fact, exactly twice every two weeks (ie: going to the groomer and back again every other week) for the last 5 months, which were the only times he rode in the “problem” car.

Today, as a final test, I took him (alone) across town (~15 minutes) and back, and I’m pleased to say that while he wasn’t perfect (he still taps a paw on the console every so often) he never once tried coming into the front seat nor did he ever put his weight on the console – and that’s good enough for me.

Extracurricular: We did just a bit with contacts (Beau is awesome, Zachary… isn’t) but spent most of our time with Retrieve (grabbing the bumper – both dogs doing great) and Scenting (with the icky-stranger-scented lid – and again, Beau is doing better, but Zachary is coming along, too.)

Just For Fun: n/a

Videoed: n/a

Released Video: n/a

Blog: Connections, A Better Idiot, Better Idea?, CGC Class #5, More Interesting than Dirt

Planned for Next Week:

With no classes after the test this week - or anytime in the near (or far) future - I’m finding myself feeling wonderfully “free” and a little bit adrift.

This week, my goal is to figure out what I want to accomplish over the summer and how I’m going to accomplish it. The most likely answer is “Rally” – but as Wendy doesn’t teach a Rally class (sigh) and I'm not feeling like going anywhere else, I’m going to have to think of how (and where) to do this solo.

The Weekly Quiz items are (mostly) taken from "Dance" and, once again, 8/10 points for the week will constitute a "pass" of the item.  Trick of the Month starts the June trick (syllabus to be posted tomorrow, but already written.)

Quote of the Month is also on this worksheet - "Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda (and, while hard to imagine, if you actually haven't seen the movie there's a clip on YouTube HERE.)

(As always, click to see larger)