Week 19

(Sorry, a bit late uploading this week.)

Eighteen weeks down (thirty-four to go)

This is the LAST week of the High School Lacrosse season, and while I will miss watching my son practice and play, I have to admit I’m looking forward to getting my evenings back and returning canine homeschooling to its rightful place on the daily agenda.

Accomplished Last Week:

When last we saw our intrepid pups, I was saying something like “just about nothing is going to get done except for CGC…”

… and I was right.

In fact, other than CGC class (to read about it, CLICK HERE) the only other thing that was accomplished was the Weekly Quiz. The boys did splendidly on all items every time I quizzed them, and so each received a big checkmark for each item on their Middle School Curriculum checklist page.

Let’s hear it for the boys… Yeah!

Moving on…

Planned for Next Week:

This week is still almost all about Canine Good Citizen for Zachary - except there is no class this week (weather is lovely - this was a planned gap in the schedule) so we’ll just have to make up something.

Once again I’ve filled the Weekly Quiz with items from the Middle School Curriculum, and all but the last one (knock on the door) should be easy for the boys.

That last item isn’t technically part of the Curriculum, but greeting guests while sitting is, and guests tend to knock before they come in the house, so this is really just step one. Can Zachary sit after someone knocks on the door? I suppose I should have added can Zachary sit quietly after someone knocks on the door – but let’s start with just the sit. If that goes well, next week we’ll check to make sure he isn’t huffing while sitting.

(As always, click to make bigger)

Week 18

Seventeen weeks down (thirty-five to go) -or- Four months down (eight to go). My how time flies.

I thought it might be useful at this juncture, 1/3 the way through the year, to summarize where Zachary is on his 2010 goals:

Training Level Three – still remaining:
... Contacts (walk the plank)
... Crate (1 min)
Training Level One (On The Road) – Completed
Training Level Four – about half way done
Training Level Two (On The Road) - still remaining:
... Crate (in/out)
... Leash Manners (loose leash 1 min)
... Target (end of stick)
... Watch (10 seconds)
Training Level Five – not started
Training Level Three (On The Road) – not started

In addition to Training Levels, I was hoping to get Zachary’s Canine Good Citizen (CGC) certificate this year. With help from the weather gods, he should finish up his classes in a few weeks and take the test by the end of the month. While he is still a work in progress, he has already made much progress and I am very proud of him no matter the final outcome.

Finally, while I hope to enter Zachary in a Rally Trail before the end of the calendar year, I have yet to broach it in a serious fashion. (If only Wendy would teach a Rally class…)

Beau pretty much mirrors Zachary for non-On-The-Road things, and I’m not planning on doing On-The-Road with him past Level One, which he has completed. He earned both his Canine Good Citizen certificate and his Rally Novice title several years ago, and it appears that retirement from competition suits him well.

Moving right along…

You will recall that last week I decided to reuse the previous week’s worksheet, as that week had been filled with Really Important Things. Therefore, this report covers two weeks using the same Weekly Worksheet - #16.

Accomplished Last Week:

Core Studies: TL4 – Sit-Stay: Wow, is Zachary every persistent about going down. I had thought I could cure this with patience and time, but it looks like I might actually have to resort to serious training with chutes-and-ladders.

Canine Good Citizen: Worked all but the Supervised Separation, and Zachary did splendidly. Class was once again canceled due to rain, but we tried to make up for that at least a little by working in Pet Stores, Big-Box Hardware Stores (see Blog below) and practicing loose leash walking in various parking lots and down Garden Store isles.

Weekly Quiz: Once again failed to grab a family member – I guess those sorts of things just don’t belong in Quizzes. Lesson learned.

Family Member: n/a

Extracurricular: n/a

Videoed: n/a

Released Video: n/a

Blog: Permission Granted

Blue Box: Filled out checklists for Extracurricular Activities: Excursions and Tricks.

Planned for Next Week:

This week is almost all about Canine Good Citizen for Zachary.

HOWEVER

I did decide to shake the Weekly Quiz up a bit by devoting it entirely to items from the Middle School Curriculum, selecting for things that I believe they should be able to pass. I will decree “passed” any item they score 80% or better when averaged over the week with no zeros (reminder: quiz items are generally scored 2 for perfection, 1 if I have to repeat a cue once, else a zero.)

Why the change?

Mostly so I can keep feeling like I’m making forward progress in a month that would otherwise seem highly repetitive.

In all honesty, the items in the right-hand column, with the exception of Trick of the Month and “101 Things…”, might not get touched at all this week.

Note: In order to keep up with the weeks of the year, this Weekly Worksheet is numbered #18. For those playing along at home, there was NO Weekly Worksheet #17.

(As always, click to make bigger)

May Syllabus

This month promises to be The Month of Canine Good Citizen.

Let's keep fingers and paws crossed and hope the rain, rain, stays away (at least on class night!)

I tossed a few other items on the list, both undone things from last month (many to choose from on that front) plus a few others lying about, but I'll be honest and say I'm not really going to be focused on them.

On the bright side, the project that consumed my time for much of April is completed, and so if I don't get things done I have only myself, the weather, and the remains of the Lacrosse season to blame!

(As always, click to see larger)

Week 17

Sixteen down (thirty-six to go)

Canine Good Citizen Class was canceled due to rain, and the rest of the week was swallowed up with a special project I was frantically trying to finish by an immovable deadline and a weekend vacation.

THEREFORE

As Dean of Zachary's School of Canine Enlightenment, I officially call a do-over and leave the Weekly Worksheet unchanged from last week.

It's good to be The Dean.

(Project finished, Vacation over, there will be no excuses for next week!)

Week 16

Fifteen down (thirty-seven to go)

We had our second Canine Good Citizen class this week, and Zachary was a very good boy. To read about our exploits, check out the Blogs section below.

Beau, hardly forgotten, got lots of treats without a lot of effort – a good thing as far as Beau was concerned.

Accomplished Last Week:

Curriculum: TL2 (On The Road) – Come. Tried Watch but failed miserably.

Weekly Quiz: Didn’t get to the Grooming part on most days, as I never seemed to have a family member handy. Holding it over for next week.

Extracurricular: TL2 (On The Road) – Distance, Go To Mat, more 101 Things…

Videoed: TL2 OTR Come, Distance, Go To Mat

Released Video: Zachary – Training Levels Four (OTR 2 - part 2)

Blog: CGC – Class #2, On The Road, On The Road (again)

Planned for Next Week:

Sorry Beau, this week will again be almost all about Zachary.

This week is all about Canine Good Citizen for Zachary.

Since Trick of the Month isn't working for either dog, I might do a late-month course correction and try for something else.

(As always, click to make bigger)

Week 15

Fourteen down (thirty-nine to go)

We had our first Canine Good Citizen class this week, and I think Zachary did pretty well. I was hoping to have time to practice Loose Leash and Greetings over the weekend, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Accomplished Last Week:

Curriculum: Sit-stay, Sit-stay, Sit-stay (and still Zachary goes down when I turn my back.) His recalls were nice in the house so we’ll see how he does in class this week.

Extracurricular: TL4 – High Jump, TL3 – Contact, TL4 – Distance, TL4 – Tricks (101 Things to do with a “Box”) - Zachary, Helping Paw – Beau.

I’m doing the “one-behavior-a-day” variation of “101 Things to do with a Box” (or, in our case, a moderate-sized plastic basket) for Zachary, and so far we have “two paws in the basket”, “two paws on top of the overturned basket”, “one paw in the basket with the other on the rim”, “nose touch the edge of the overturned basket”, and (my favorite) “jump over the basket”. I’m spending just a few minutes (2-4) per session.

I’ll do a few more and then call it done and (maybe) piece it together into a montage.

I have played 101 Things with Beau multiple times in the past (both at home and On The Road), he visibly loathes it, and I don’t see any reason to subject him to it again just to get it on video. He’s been working on holding a (different) basket, instead, for Just For Fun. Zachary will probably not have time to do that this month and I might just keep it on the list through May.

Videoed: TL4 – Distance (10’), TL4 – Jump, High (Beau), TL4 – Tricks (Zachary)

Blog:  CGC – Class #1, Scrapbook – Jump (this is Photo of The Week), and Goals - Revisited

Planned for Next Week:

Sorry Beau, this week will be almost all about Zachary, with the possible exception of Trick of the Month (neither dog doing well) and Contacts (Beau is leaving Zachary in the dust!)

CGC Class (Zachary) - Let’s hope we can get some socialization work in this week plus work on separation. I’m going to work toward a 3 minute out-of-sight down-stay to help him deal with to me being “gone”.

Looking over the Video Guide, it appears that Beau just needs Contacts, Crate, and Leash Manners in order to finish out all that I plan on videoing for Level Three. This will most likely be the highest level he completes, as I don’t plan on doing the On The Road items he would need to finish Level Four. Of course, he will still get to do all the “fun stuff” of the higher levels.

Zachary just needs Crate and Contacts to finish Level Three. Heel has been videoed, just not released.

Beau has a Training Level Three video "in the can" and just awaiting me time to upload it to YouTube.

(As always, click to make bigger)

... rats, just realized that last line in Extracurricular ("Distance") should be TL2 OTR. Too late!

Week 14

Thirteen down (forty to go)

As expected, time this week was short. It didn’t help at all that it rained over Easter weekend (when I actually did have time) so I didn’t get On The Road items done as I had hoped.

It also rained on Canine Good Citizen (CGC) class day – so the first class starts this week instead.

Accomplished Last Week:

Curriculum: Spent most of our time on the extremely elusive (for Zachary) sit-stay. I believe he’s now fine so long as I’m in the room and staring at him, but will still go down after ~15 seconds if I leave or turn my back.

Extracurricular: TL4 – Distance and High Jump

Videoed: TL4 – Distance (10’), TL4 – Jump, High (Zachary)

Blog: Scrapbook – Catch, Training Levels – Checklists

Planned for Next Week:

Weather should be nice, so CGC Class should be a “go” for Zachary.

If possible, will try to video OTR Come in the spare training yard, as Zachary has only been there a few times and it should still be “new’ – plus it smells like many, many dogs.

(As always, click to make bigger)