Week 24

Twenty-three down (thirty to go.) Yikes.

This is the first week in a long time (since March?) that has felt even remotely like a “normal” Canine Curriculum Week. Perhaps next year I should just treat Lacrosse Season (March-May) like Summer Vacation for the boys and plan out activities accordingly.

Accomplished Last Week:

I finally released another video this week (listed below.) Yeah! I have the equivalent video of Beau just waiting to go out, once I figure out if I did the Jumps right (standing vs. running past them.)

Core Studies: n/a

Canine Good Citizen: Worked on Loose Leash quite a bit with Zachary. Instead of a pulling dog, I now have a yo-yo dog that goes to the end, then backs up until he is beside me, then goes to the end again. Not pulling, just making it taut. Fascinating, in a train-wreck sort of way, but not really what I was looking for.

(sigh)

Rally I spent a fair chunk of this week in this corner of the teaching world. You can read about our first try HERE, and we’ve had additional quasi-success/quasi-failures since there. The exercises (at this point) are not the problem. Trying to set up the where’s and how’s to practice them - that's the problem.

Weekly Quiz: Zachary is now officially a cabinet-door closing fiend. It is his favorite thing to do, and every time I open a cabinet door he runs over and stands by, waiting for me to tell him when he can close it. The fact he gets a cookie for this behavior is, no doubt, a contributing factor.

I personally think it’s cute because he had a really hard time learning this trick, perhaps because he is a such a gentle soul. I’m happy to report he now pushes enthusiastically, and even looks satisfied with himself when it bangs shut. (Beau has never had a problem with it, and shuts things with the same bull-in-a-china-shop gusto that he applies to most things.)

I didn’t end up testing the tissue item – I couldn’t find the box I was using (I think it was re-purposed during allergy season) and so abandoned it, and neither dog seems capable of reliably Bowing on the first cue despite several weeks worth of effort I dumped into it. It’s possible Bow’s physical cue looks (and the oral one sounds) too much like “down” and I need to rework them. It’s not a problem bowing, it’s a problem knowing I want them to bow.

Hitting the "Easy" button is always a favorite, and both dogs are pro’s.

Family Member: n/a

Extracurricular: We were very busy working jumps (both high and broad) as well as contacts.

Just For Fun: Done! Yes, this was cheating, a bit, as both were already pretty good at it. I’m going to switch to Backing up while facing me to finish out the month, and call it a twofer.

Videoed: TL4 – Heel, TL4 – Jump – High, TL4 – Jump – Broad, Tl3 – Contacts

Released Video: Zachary - Training Levels Four (part 2) - Distance, Heel, Jump-Broad, Jump-High, Zen.

Blog: Rally Syllabus, Six Cone Rally – Practice #1

Planned for Next Week:

We’ll have a new outing this week – the Boy Scout meetings are moving to their summer digs, in a place where dogs are welcome. Zachary, sporting a brand new scarf just for the occasion, will hopefully put his shiny new Canine Good Citizen manners to good use.

The next set of exercises from the Rally Syllabus has been added, and last weeks were moved to the Weekly Quiz. I threw in some Dance items, since anywhere I practice Rally (other than at home) will have enough space to do them.

(As always, click to see larger)