Equality

Dog Blog Post #444: Hmmm... post #444 and Daily Shoot #666... interesting.

Monday: llustrate the word equality today with a photograph that shows your favorite interpretation.

Well, the one that always pops into my head is equality of treats (known as Cookie Parity in our house) as everyone knows that dogs can count.

At this point, these sorts of shoots are surprisingly easy (knock on wood.) The boys respond well to "Leave it!" - even Henry - so I no longer have to think about it so long as I'm within a few feet.

I probably don't have to worry about it when I'm further away (e.g the Texas hold 'em picture) but I just can't seem to break myself of chanting "Leave it!" "Leave it!" "Leave it!" anyway.

(Shhh... don't tell Wendy!)

Today, I stupidly started with Henry's empty plate (that old working left to right thing) with it starting out where you see it above, and carefully laid out all his cookies. I then turned my attention to Zachary's empty plate (also exactly where you see it above) and laid out all his cookies.

Then I stood up, took some pictures, set the camera aside, and dumped each dogs plate out between their paws and said "Ok!"

It wasn't until much later that I realized I had started with Henry, and then totally ignored him while I worked with Zachary, and yet no cookies were filched in the process.

Woo Hoo for the puppy!

The other surprise was that while Henry was staring at his cookies the whole time (no, that wasn't surprising) Zachary kept looking at me (which was rather surprising, but not what I'm getting to.)

The surprising part is that when I bent down, lowering my hand to Zachary's plate, he actually followed my hand with his eyes (bending his head down) and then kept gaze fixed on his cookies (see above) after I stood up and went back to picture taking.

What a good boy!

Meanwhile, Henry's gaze never wavered from his plate.

(Or maybe it just takes him longer to count his cookies than it takes Zachary!)

Today begins Fall Quarter for the boys, and to that end, the Weekly Worksheet has returned. I probably won't post them here in the future, but as this is the kickoff for the quarter, here it is...

If you want to understand more about it, you should be able to click on the image to get over to my other blog (BZ Dog Activities) where I explain it. I hope.

As for Scavenge Challenge shots? You'll have to wait until tomorrow (for Wordless Wednesday) to see them. :)

© 2011 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Top Hat

Dog Blog Post #380: Actually, today's Daily Shoot assignment had nothing to do with top hats. Today's assignment was...

Make a photo that features stripes of some sort today.

But I was feeling a bit frumpy after seeing greygirl25's Red Hat Society girls, and then Miss Bunny posted her prim and proper portrait by the lake (and me just a whisker shy of putting up Henry's Wet Dog picture from yesterday) and so when I found myself with a rare few moments of "mommy time" today, I set out to see what props I could find to gussy up the boys...

... on the cheap...

... at the local big-box party store.

They didn't disappoint.

There, near the back, on isle 113 (at least that's the way it felt) I found the lovely black Top Hat pictured above, and an equally lovely one in Sapphire Blue, each for the stunning low price of $4.99.

Really, how could I resist?

Sadly, despite trolling each and every isle, I failed to find any neckwear to match. No worries, a stop at the local fabric store turned up a few striped Fat Quarters that did the trick.

Here's Henry's versions...

The observant amongst you may note two things.

(1) There is no Sapphire Blue Top Hat on Henry's fair head. There was no way, no how, that the Terrible Top Hat was going to get anywhere the Precious Puppies Head (making Canine Photography 101 all the more necessary!) and...

(2) The noise level in all these photos is stunningly high. There is just no way I can get good (clean and clear) posed pictures this time of year in the house due to the heat, which while actually fairly nice outside today - in the shade - was still too hot to risk opening blinds or turning on much extra wattage.

BTW: for those that like behind-the-scenes stuff - here's a peek at the "the make of" the Top Hat shot...

While Zachary didn't mind wearing the hat, he didn't seem able to hold his head up and still balance it on his head (it has no string/strap). A stool (and judicious cropping) provided an easy solution. :)

And lastly, the Official Return of the Weekly Worksheet, which technically resides on my other blog...

(As always, click to see larger)

© 2011 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

5x5 Quiz

Dog Blog Post #198: Remember Quizzes? From waaaaaaay long ago? I picked five things I felt the boys should know (this goes back to Beau and Zachary) and I would test all five, each day, cold, one after the other, and then grade the boys on how they did (0-2 points each).

Each Quiz lasted a week (five training days) and by the end the week I would have a really good feel for if the behavior was known or not.

I later used Quizzes to give "final exams" to Zachary on his Canine Curriculum items.

I loved Quizzes, but alas, they fell to the wayside a few months back when I lost Beau.

Well, they're baaaaaaak...

... and this year I'm trying out a slightly new format - a 5x5 grid.

Behaviors being tested go down the left and the test "situation" (for want of a better word) appears across the top. While they could be tested in any order, I'm thinking the easiest thing would be to march across the situation columns, doing one a day per day.

Good idea? Bad idea? Just extra work? I have no idea. We'll find out!

5x5 Quiz for This Week:

Lessons Learned?

Dog Blog Post #181: You would think Henry would have learned his lesson after he got his head stuck in the metal baby gate a few months ago.

Apparently not, as he happily fell asleep with his head stuffed under the sofa skirt.

(Let's hope this is not a sign of things to come.)

Speaking of Lessons and Learning...

I'm gearing up to write this year's Training Goals and Resolutions, based on Henry's very own personal Canine Curriculum


(hmmm... guess I need to write that up as well!)

Yes, I know, I still have a week until New Years Eve, but the list is important so I want to take my time and get it right.

It's strange the twists and turns the fates throw at you. Reading over last years Goals and Resolutions, which made up the inaugural post of this blog, it's hard to imagine the road we ultimately traveled.

Fate has a funny way of changing things, doesn't it?

I hope the fates smile down upon us all this coming year, and spin our way with a gentler hand than was used this year now passing.

I hope Henry grows up healthy and happy, and that he and Uncle Zachary build a friendship that will last a lifetime.

I hope everyone enjoys a safe and joyous holiday.

I'm going to try to make the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop, but if not, then Merry Christmas to all!

Preschool Results

Dog Blog Post #167: Here's Henry's first Report Card. I think he did pretty well, although I admit I might be a tad biased!

Most things were A's, meaning he mastered the item as well as I could possibly have hoped for. A surprising number are A+'s, meaning I had no idea such a young (Golden Retriever) puppy could do (whatever it is) so well.

All is not perfect, however, and he did receive 3 B's. The first and last are for leash walking, and I blame my overly conservative vet (and my cowardice at contradicting her) for our late start in this area. The third B is entirely my fault - I simply didn't spend as much time grooming as I should have. That's not to say I can't groom him, he's just not as oblivious to it as I would like.

The fact he didn't get C was more a technicality of the wording of the skill. For the first one, it was merely "accustomed". If that meant "comfortable wearing", then he should get an "A". If it meant "knows he is supposed to walk in a relatively straight line", then he deserves a "C" (at best). So I split the difference. For the second I emphasized "minimal pulling", and that's basically true. But he's still all over the place! Again - I split the difference and gave him a B.

(For the curious, his Tricks are to Spin (left and right) and catch a cookie tossed to him.)

Now, on to Primary School!

(As always, click to see larger)

Adrift

Dog Blog Post #166: I'm feeling a bit adrift at the moment. With puppy class over and nothing "official" lined up until mid-January, the risk that time will just slip by is very great.

For all my lists and charts and graphs (oh, my!) I'm actually not that good at staying motivated on my own... which might explain why I make so many lists and charts and graphs (oh, my!)

I guess that means it's time to make some new plans, starting by planning what should be planned.

• New Training Levels: Henry will continue working on Sue Ailsby's New Training Levels. Level One is essentially finished, so let's try for finishing through Level Two Step Three (although I'm not sure he's up to 1 minute duration activities, so we might have to wait on those) plus 50% of Level Four by the time the next round of classes start.
• Conformation: I really need to call around to see if I can get a private conformation lesson or two lined up. I really need to work on showing for a "judge" (hands-on) and gaiting. If I wanted to, I could show him as early as February. Well have to see about that.
• Photography: The more I do it, the more I love it. I definitely want to continue with Photo of the Week, and will post the "results" on Wordless Wednesday. I want to do more things outside, weather permitting, as well as "Greeting Card" type shots (staged cuteness).
• Enrichment Activities: I had started thinking about this over the summer but got derailed by life. Time to try again.
• Henry's Curriculum: It's time to take Zachary's Curriculum and create Henry's Curriculum from it. I'm thinking much, if not all, will remain the same, but I need to create new copies, buy new binders, and critically reassess what worked and what didn't, etc.
• Field Trips: This probably falls under his Curriculum, but I wanted to call it out specifically to make sure it doesn't get lost.

And don't forget my "support system", which helps keep me motivated:

• Blog - BZ Dog Activities: Must work harder to get the Weekly Worksheet updated on BZ Dog Activities every week, on Monday. Period. I used to be so good about it, but I definitely got out of the habit when we lost Beau. Perhaps I just need to reduce the number of things I list so that I can be more assured of getting things finished!
• Blog - BZ Training: It's usually feast or famine here, but if I think in terms of at least posting on certain days (say, Sunday night - weekend summary and next week plans, Tuesday night - for Wordless Wednesday, and Thursday night - week summery and weekend plans) I might be able to even things out a bit. Or not. It might not even matter.
• Web Site - BZDogs: Poor BZDogs. Just about the time I was getting somewhat familiar with CSS, I lost Beau, and everything came to a screeching halt. It's well past time to pick it up, dust it off, and come up with a true vision for it.
• YouTube - BZFischer: The one place where things are going along reasonably fine!

As Zachary is on a diet, I'm afraid he'll have to be content with some long walks, plenty of play time with his puppy. And non-food games like "Find It!". He loves Find It!

Preschool

One-of-Ten's sister - 6.5 weeks old

Tonight I put together my best guess for what I think little One-of-Ten should know by 20 weeks of age.

I readily admit that this is just a guess, based on fuzzy memories from 2.5 years ago, when Zachary was just a wee pup himself.

In addition to what I show here, I will be working through Sue Ailsby's new Training Levels, called Steps to Success. I am unbelievably tickled that she released these to the general public just in time to be there at the start of One-of-Ten's journey toward canine enlightenment.

I've tentatively decided to keep Zachary on the old Levels. That's partly because he would zip through them fairly rapidly at the beginning, and without the book (soon out, I hope) it would be hard to know if I was doing things correctly. I'm also not sure it's worth it to switch, as we are finally to the "interesting" bits in the old levels (scenting/retrieve/etc.) and I'm not sure I really want to start all over again.

I have decided to go with two different Weekly Worksheets, as trying to fit both Zachary's and One-of-Ten's on one didn't prove to be viable when I gave it a test run this evening.

Anyway, my proposed syllabus for Preschool is below. The Puppy Socialization Requirements are on my list to do, but will probably look like a simplified and expanded version of Excursions. That is, a list of places to go and do and see that are appropriate for a puppy.

(As always, click to see larger.)

Puppy Preschool

Zachary 8-10 weeks

Dog Blog Post #117: I've decided that Zachary's Primary School Curriculum isn't going to work for One-of-Ten (my placeholder name for my puppy-to-be.)

While I started it when Zachary was a puppy, by the time I got it settled he was practically a dog (well, a teenage dog, but certainly well beyond an eight week old puppy.)

So, back to the planning board I go, trying to determine what is reasonable for a puppy to accomplish -and- what kind of timeline it is reasonable for whatever-it-is to be accomplished in.

Let's see, what do I have to work with?


Yes, I'm thinking as I'm typing.


No, that's probably not a good idea, but I only have so much time...

• Goals and Resolutions tend to sprout at the new year
• I'll be getting One-of-Ten near the end of September
• There are three months between the end of September and the New Year (see mom, all those of years of college weren't a waste after all)

So there you have it. One-of-Ten's Preschool Curriculum will be based on whatever it is I think a puppy can/should learn in three months.

Hmm.... I wonder what a puppy can/should learn in three months?


(That's from 2 months until 5 months (or 8 to 20 weeks) for those playing along at home.)

Wow... That's a really critical time period.

Zachary at 6 weeks

The first 2/3 of that is when they tell you as much socialization with dogs, places, and people as possible should occur. It's also when they tell you to keep puppy far away from all those nasty germs that dogs, places, and people have.

No, I don't understand how to do that either. If someone could explain it, I would be eternally grateful.

The last bit continues the socialization, while building up skills (such as the elusive recall and loose leash) that hopefully will be strong enough to withstand the onslaught of The Terrible Teens, which start somewhere in Month 5 and probably extend well into their first year (although Zachary was really easy and Beau... wasn't.)

Yikes.

This is much to important to leave to random thoughts typed into a blog.

So I will leave you with what I shamelessly stole from Wikipedia under "Preschool Education" as the Development Areas for a human child:

• Personal, social, economical, and emotional development
• Communication, including talking and listening
• Knowledge and understanding of the world
• Creative and aesthetic development
• Educational software
• Mathematical awareness and development
• Physical development
• Playing
• Self-help skills
• Social skills

I'm thinking there is enough there to work with, especially given all the puppy books I have laying about, Stitch's Blog (which I am heartily enjoying! I'm on Week 17) and a new puppy book I just ordered that is on its way ("The Focused Puppy: A Training System for Raising a GREAT Companion and Performance Dog" by Deborah Jones PhD and Judy Keller).

So much to do, with Puppy Preparations and all, and yet I know if I wait to plan out his first few weeks/months until One-of-Ten actually arrives, it will never get done.

Drills

My son had Lacrosse performance training today, and as I sat there and watched the coach put the small group of boys through their paces I started wondering (as usual) if any of this could be applicable to the education of my dogs.

The kids sure looked like they were having fun.

Though covered in sweat and breathing hard, they all had big grins on their faces as they dodged, spun, then shot the ball into the net... or not... depending on their skill level and the parameters of the particular drill.

As much as my son loves Lacrosse, he is not the exercising-for-the-sake-of-exercising sort, so to see him working that hard and having a great time doing it is pretty rare.

Which is why I started thinking about my dogs, and the way I teach them, and wondering if it really is rather dull. Sure, there is (usually) variety in the program (the quizzes help that) and I try to keep the repetitions short (although they don't actually seem to care one way or the other on that point, being Goldens) and there is always cookies.

Plenty of cookies.

But is it fun? Really fun? No, I don't actually think it is.

But could it be?

Hmm....

And then I sat there and started wondered what it was about the Lacrosse drills I saw today that "worked" for those boys? (Yes, I suppose I could ask my son, but a shrug and smile is probably all I would get. Teenagers.)

I'll spare you the deep introspection and just blurt out what I came up with:

• Short repetitions: A dozen or more reps per drill, and then they moved on
• Fast pace: The coach kept the boys physically moving, no time for their brains to idle or drift
• Well Organized:  The coach had a plan and he was able to keep the program moving briskly. He gave breaks at fairly even intervals and used the time they were re-hydrating to reconfigure things for the next batch of drills, so the boys were never just standing around waiting on him.
• Clear goals: No, not those kind of goals. The drills were easy to explain and their point was clear. The boys weren't wandering around the field looking lost.
• Less Talk More Action: Just a few words to explain what they were doing, perhaps a brief demo, and then he let the boys loose to try it.
• Competitive: Lacrosse is a sport, played against an opponent, so competition is obviously built into the game, but the coach was clever and interspersed competitive drills throughout - and what boy can resist that?
• Cooperation: Two against one drills, and having all three working together to accomplish something kept things congenial - important when they all came from different (competitive) high schools and all were carrying big "sticks".
• Positive, immediate feedback: If they did well, he told them. If they did poorly, he showed or explained to them what went wrong and how to do better next time.

I'm not sure how I'm going to fold this into the education of my boys, but I'm going to try. It was just too positive an experience to ignore.


Stay tuned to see what I come up with!

Homeschooling - Planning Guide

You may recall the other day, that I was bemoaning the dearth of Homeschooling Workshops out there.

One of the things I would like to see most is the Canine Homeschooling Curriculum Planning Guide that would almost certainly be handed out on Day One - a guide that would help me figure out the things my particular dogs should be taught. It would include questionnaires and lists of ideas to help create your dog's personalized Curriculum, pointers to helpful programs (like Sue Ailsby's truly wonderful Training Levels) plus all the paraphernalia needed to plan out their studies and keep track of their progress.

Such things exist for Homeschooler's of Humans, why not for Canines?

Using what I've already done, and what I saw on Human Homeschooler's sites, I could picture it looking something like this:

============================================================
Canine Homeschooling Curriculum Planning Guide

Introduction

• Family Pet vs. Family Member
• Why Homeschooling?
• What a Curriculum is (and is not!)

Overview

• Core Studies
(What every dog should know: Sit, Down, Come...)
• Family Member
(Developing a dog you can live with)
• Citizenship
(Developing a dog welcome in society)
• Extracurricular Activities
(Organized/Purposeful Fun)
• Just For Fun

Getting Started

• Long-Term Goals
(The big picture - where are you headed?)
• Curriculum Definition
(The big plan - what do you need to do to reach those goals?)
• Reality Check
(Can you get there from here?)

Basic Planning Guides

• Monthly Lesson Planner
• Weekly Lesson Planner

Additional Planning Guides

• Unit Studies Planner
• Projects Planner
• Learning Activities Planner
• Field Trips Planner

Basic Planning Templates

• Long-Term Goals Form
• Yearly Goals Form
• Monthly Manager Form
• Weekly Worksheet Form

Additional Planning Templates

• Project Form
• Activity Form
• Performance Schedule Form

Tracking Templates

• Progress Tracker Form
• Report Card Form
• Student Evaluation Form
• Student Academic Record Form
• Achievement Forms

Additional Resources

============================================================

... or at least that is what the Table of Contents might look like.

Last night I created a web site that I will devote to Canine Homeschooling. At the moment, it is just a shell - a gutted facade of the template I started from - but should it blossom into something more, I'll let you know.

Until then, if anyone knows of anything already out there, please let me know. You'll be saving me a whole lot of work!

Homeschooling Revisited

I wish I could find a Workshop for people who are Homeschooling their dogs - something to help you discover your goals, devise a comprehensive plan to meet them, give you strategies for staying the course, tricks to make things easier, tips for avoiding pitfalls, all wrapped up in a neat little bundle and topped off with a gold-star certificate to mark your successful completion so you can stuff it in your dog's Accomplishments binder.

(My preference, of course, being a serious introvert, would be for an on-line Workshop - something that you can tailor to your own needs, do at your own pace, and yet would still have the feel of a real Workshop.)

Alas, I know of no such beastie - but if anyone out there does, please let me know!

Instead, I fumble along here, spitting out list after list, posting about things that go well (yeah) or badly (sigh) all the while feeling overwhelmed, undereducated, ill-equipped, and rather alone in the world.

It's not that there aren't a lot of resources out there. Sue Ailsby's Training Levels is truly outstanding (truly), there are classes at the local (regional, world) level for those so inclined, quite a few Internet groups and lists covering a wide variety of topics, and far too many blogs and websites to count.

So what's the problem?

There just doesn't seem to be anything comprehensive, tailored specifically to dogs and further tailorable to my dogs.

The way I see it, when it comes to dog ownership, most people fall into one of three camps: You have the "three squares and a walk" camp (aka the owners of the average Family Dog) - who treat their dog like a well-loved goldfish that you can hug. You have the "performance" camp - who have one or more organized activities in mind (agility, obedience, rally...) and need a dog in order to participate in them. And finally, the Working Dogs - who have real life jobs to do (police work, drug detection, assistance...) and probably have had more specialized education than most kids I know.

(Yes, I realize Performance dogs and Working dogs are also Family dogs, but that's kind of like saying a Rocket Scientist is also a person - just because it's true doesn't mean it's relevant to the topic at hand.)

So what's the problem?

What if you want more than a goldfish, need less than an employee, and don't enjoy being on display? Where's the program for General Canine Education - something akin to what we provide for children?

I send my son off to school everyday, content in the knowledge that he will learn what needs learning - the state provides for that. If I had instead chosen to Homeschool him (an option where I live) we would be marching along using one of the several quality comprehensive programs out there, neatly laid out to help the Homeschooling parent teach their kid a wide variety of subjects, visit a wide variety of places, and engage in a wide variety of activities.

But when it comes to my dogs, I'm left entirely on my own. Sue's program, as wonderful as it is (have I mentioned that it is Truly Wonderful?) is not a comprehensive education program for The Complete Dog. It's not supposed to be. It seems mainly like the three R's portion, with some PE thrown in to keep things interesting. These sorts of things should be the backbone of every dog's education, but I don't view them as all a dog needs to know or do.

A complete program could start with Sue's program (or something like it) and then add in suggestions for places to go, things to do, plus ways to enrich your dog life - enriching your own life, in the process.

There are books that touch on some of these things, usually as a means to and end - puppy socialization lists are a good place to start, as are lists developed for those raising service dogs.

But what then? There doesn't seem to be much at all for Continuing Education that doesn't involve being on display.

(I'm rambling again, aren't I?)

Ok... how about this: In summary, I want a program that helps my dogs live as fulfilling a life as possible, in ways that I enjoy, with the understanding they will never be "more" than Family Pets.

Therefore, I will make my goal this week to revisit the concept of a comprehensive Canine Homeschooling Program. I know I touched on that early this year, but I seem to have gotten sidetracked over time with Levels and CGC and Rally. Now there is nothing wrong with all those things, and want to continue to pursue them, but I also don't want to lose track of the forest for all those trees.

Elective - Assisting

This is the first Elective in the Partner group.

My thought with Assisting was to come up with ways my boys could lend a paw, keeping in mind the things they enjoy doing.

I have no grand schemes for them. They are not service, assistance, working, teaching, demo, or therapy dogs. But even plain old pet dogs can help out every now and then.

(As always, click to see larger)

Elective - Excursions

Excursions falls under the “Citizen” part of Extracurricular Activities, along with Companionship and Basic Manners. The three are very much intertwined, and teasing one out from the others is proving to be rather difficult. I possibly should have arranged them differently, and after thinking about it for a while, I might eventually do so.

(Sound familiar?)

The first part deals with getting out of the house and going to places around town. For the moment, these are the things that came to mind in my home town.

The second part involves going further afield - or even into fields. I dislike dirt, bugs, sweat (and sweating) so how far "far" really is becomes somewhat relative.

In the end, the list is for me, my family (if I can drag them along) and my furry boys. Your millage may vary.

A lot.

... oh, and a last minute addition is the second page (below) included to keep track of where we've been.

(As always click to make larger - and remember, this is still somewhat of a draft)

Dancing

I hate the word "heeling". Merriam-Webster defines it as "to move along at someone's heels"

Hard to find fault with that, I suppose, yet I do.

When I'm walking with my hubby, I certainly don't tell him to "heel" and he'd better not tell me to - at least, not if he wants anything remotely resembling an edible dinner for the rest of the week. We walk side-by-side because we want to, because it's really hard to hold a conversation in any other formation, and because that's the way companionable adults walk.

When my son was little I also expected him to walk next to me, and I held his hand to make sure he was successful. I wanted him beside me so I knew where he was and to reduce the likelihood of him getting into harm or harm getting to him.

The word "heel" never came to mind.

If you've read my past posts, you may have noted my subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) objection to some of the common terminology used with dogs. For example, I try very hard not to use the word "command". I don't command my son to do things - I either "ask" him or I "tell" him. I figure if those words are good enough for my son, they are good enough for my dogs.

I also try very hard to not use the word "train" and instead prefer "teach". (Yes, I am aware of what I named this blog, but if I had put "Teaching" there instead, the vast majority of people would assume I meant kids and be totally confused. At times, one must concede to convention.)

Back to "heeling", and more specifically, what does it have to do with Dance?

In a word, everything.

Remember Extracurricular Activities? They are suppose to broaden my boys' (the furry ones) experiences and give them a taste of actual applications when possible. For better or worse, "heeling" is a huge part of many dog activities that I might consider in the future - Obedience, Rally, and Freestyle all jumping to mind but I'm sure there are others.

Verbiage dislike aside, I simply can't avoid the activity.

But that doesn't mean I can't have fun with it.

What is heeling? What is it really? It is moving in sync with someone else. That's it. I move, you move. I stop, you stop. I turn, you turn.

And THAT is how we finally get to Dance.

What is traditional dance? Moving in sync with someone else. I move, you move. I stop, you stop. I turn, you turn. Sometimes we move in the same direction (Waltzing) and sometimes we don't (Square Dancing) but it all involves synchronized movement.

This connection between heeling and dancing certainly isn't anything I invented, but I personally made the connection a few years ago when Beau was doing Rally. At one of the last trials we were at, the judge had put together a lovely course that was full of curves and turns. It was somewhere amidst that sea of signs and cones that I realized Beau and I were, in fact, dancing. He was focused on me and I on him, and we moved together as one.

One has to understand Beau's total indifference to Rally to truly get the magic of that moment. For whatever reason, this one particular course had moved him on a deeper level. And as he looked up at me while we weaved and turned our way across the floor, for one brief moment, we sparkled.

And that is the magic of Dance.

(To see the definition of the new Elective - Dance, click HERE.)

Extracurricular Activities

OK, I’ll admit it. I had a bit of fun with this one. Fine – a lot of fun.

But isn’t that what life is all about?

I’ve personally found dogs to be experts in having fun, even when given very little to work with. My guys can find fun in an empty soda box, a crinkly leaf, or a pile of Christmas wrapping paper (alas, I can’t say the same for myself and the cleanup afterwards.)

I think the Extracurricular Activities (or Electives) found in Middle School are also about having fun, while at the same time experimenting with life skills. That’s fun plus the opportunity to try on a variety of hats, so as to separate out the ones that fit from the ones that don’t. What a deal!

The same opportunity should exist for my dogs. And yet I’m finding their education to be sadly lacking in that sort of planned fun and variety. Yes, I dutifully follow Sue Ailsby’s program (and highly recommend it!) and I work through the rest of my Canine Curriculum (which I have been slowly uploading here) but there is a certain sameness to it all, and I’m not really sure how much fun it is for my boys.

Well, except for the cookies part. They definitely like the cookies part.

… and Zachary sure seemed to have fun dancing, although that was hardly the point of the exercise.

 Therefore, I think it’s way past time to build some fun into my Curriculum. Now I’m not promising that my boys and I will actually have fun doing the things I’m thinking about here. In fact, some of these might be total disasters (and I’m sure you’ll hear about those) but at least they will be different from the usual sits and downs and stays in the middle of the kitchen floor.

Enough of the preamble, time to get down to business.

I decided to model my Elective Classes after the Cub Scout handbook. My son was a Cub Scout (now a Life Scout) and we had a great time going through his handbook. Activities were sometimes educational, sometimes silly, usually fun, and could be accomplished without an undo amount of skill, time, expense, or effort. You could just flip open the book, pick something new, and have at it.

And that is the goal for my boys.

I considered simply having my Electives follow AKC titling events and other well known activities – so I would have had an Obedience, Rally, Freestyle, etc. Class - but after giving it some thought, I realized the requisite basics would result in a lot of overlap (ie. some form of heeling is common to all of the above) and that would be tedious and boring.

Boring is definitely not fun.

( Besides, I don’t really know enough to properly teach those things. )

So back to first principles I went, taking every dog activity I could think of that my boys and I could do (Obedience, Hiking, Therapy Dog…) and then listing the core elements as I understood them (uh oh.) Activities that would make no sense to my Golden Retrievers (like Protection or Earth Dog) or would not work for me (a purebred Couch Potato) are poorly represented, if at all.

Such is life.

Shrugging off the obvious flaws in my method (and knowing that as Dean of BZ Dogs’ Canine Curriculum, I could always amend things later) I then tried to group the elements into broader categories with fun titles.

In the end, it was those titles that set me free. They spawned ideas for the (hopefully) fun things that could be done within them, without the constraints of the activities they originated from. That certainly seemed in keeping with my original Cub Scout Handbook analogy.

That’s pretty much as far as I’ve gotten so far. My ultimate goal is to come up with a dozen or so simple activities for each Elective, with some being required and others not. Again, most should be brief, fun, and frivolous and not a serious or studied approach to any one thing, and they all must be something that I want to do!

As an example, Aquatics might include playing in a sprinkler, jumping over a stream of water from a hose, splashing through puddles to retrieve a toy, bobbin for toys/food in a wading pool, as well as actually swimming in a body of water or going in after a toy. When possible, elements from Sue Ailsby’s Training Levels and/or my own Curriculum will be folded in, such as requiring a sit before running through the sprinklers after a ball.

Think of it as Applied Learning.

But in the end, this is only Middle School. I’m not shooting for Higher Education or extensive indoctrination. After all, if my boys aren’t willing to splash in puddles for toys then there’s little point in trying to make them retrieve dead things from a half-frozen pond.

As always, clicking on any image will show something larger. Think of this as an overview of my dogs’ personalized Canine Hat Collection (just don’t call it that around Beau. He’s still a bit touchy on the subject of H-A-T-S.)

And here’s a possible example for the requirements for one of those Elective Classes.

Again, this is still very much under development, and suggestions are always appreciated!

Canine Curriculum – Middle School

( Note: When I first came up with my three-stage curriculum, I toyed with a variety of titles. One trio that I didn’t choose was “The Managed Dog, The Controlled Dog, and The Willing Dog”, as I disliked how they objectified my students. That doesn’t mean I disliked like the terms themselves, so don’t be surprised if they crop up now and then.)

Wow - time sure does fly. My little bundle of fur is fast approaching two years old and his Uncle is now six! I think it’s fair to say that both passed Primary School, and if they never learned another thing they would still be fine family dogs.

But where’s the fun in that?

So, having mastered the fine art of not destroying my home (usually), each other, or me in Primary School – what’s next? Why, Middle School of course. Of all my years in school (I am a college grad) I disliked Middle School/Junior High the most. It was an awkward time, where I found myself too old to be a child yet too young to be anything else. Thinking about my youngest charge, I find eerie similarities.

My Canine Primary School graduate’s behavior in the confines of a carefully managed home has reached a level where it is easy to be lured into thinking he is more skilled than he actually is. He knows how to sit and down and stay, but is not ready to do so with serious distractions – and let’s face it, if it wasn’t for distractions I really wouldn’t need him to be sitting, lying down, or staying! Physically capable of doing many things, he lacks the control (by me or himself) to be expected to do them reliably or seriously.

My goal for Middle School is teach my student this all-important self-control. Stay means stay, even if a roast beast falls at your feet (or mom puts a tennis ball on your head!) Same goes for sit and down.

In Middle School, many of the skills now considered routine in the home (those sits and downs and stays) are trotted out into the public arena. While I expect a Primary School graduate to not jump on people, I expect a Middle School graduate to politely hold a sit if told to do so. (I expect a Secondary School graduate to willingly sit without being reminded. One can always dream…)

As before, all work and no play makes everyone dull. Through Field Trips and Extracurricular Activities, I hope to enrich my dogs’ lives with new experiences and the opportunity to try new things.

If all goes well, my Middle School graduate will move on to Secondary School, where I hope he learns to willingly offer appropriate behaviors at the appropriate times. No more nagging from me, yeah! If he makes it that far, then where to go next is only a matter of our mutual interests. Rally, Agility, Freestyle – so many opportunities!

But I am getting way ahead of myself. For now, I will endeavor to make our journey together as enjoyable and rewarding as possible.

As always, clicking on the image takes you to something more readable.

 (Final Note: The Middle School Extracurricular Activity Requirements will be uploaded in the near future. There just wasn’t enough room to list everything on one page.)

Just For Fun

So I uploaded last month's Just For Fun item last night. Curious?  Click here.

As all work and no play makes dogs just as dull as people, these are included in my Canine Curriculum to bring zest amidst a sea of boring sits and stays.

There are two lists. One is for "pure" tricks:

... and the other for more useful things:

(clicking on either shows a larger image)

I have intentionally picked things I think my Golden Retrievers would enjoy learning, and would actually be good at (hence the high number of "horse" items at the bottom of the first list. For some reason, Zachary always seems very pony like to me.)

By all means, feel free to offer further suggestions!

From a canine point of view, is there really a difference between learning to balance a cookie on your nose vs. doing a perfect Front? In theory, there shouldn't be, but I bet there is. My mood is much lighter and the atmosphere much less tense when we are working on the "fun stuff" and the dogs do seem to really enjoy it.

I think there is a lesson in there (for me!) that in the end, everything I teach my dogs could probably be considered either work or a trick. It all depends on how I teach it.

Report Cards - 2009

Uh Oh… time for report cards.

Actually, given the hit and miss nature of their tuition over 2009, they didn’t do half bad. Not sure how interesting this will be to folks, but as I’m trying to keep better track of things, here it goes…

(click on the image if you want to see a readable version)

Beau: Beau’s report card is pretty much as I would have expected, mostly because he already knew the Primary School Curriculum except for the Just For Fun activities.

Family Dog and Core Studies - As I’ve mentioned before, he’s a great family dog in the house and his grades reflect that - straight A’s for both! Of course, as a six-year old dog, you would expect him to get A’s there!

Just For Fun – A. I haven’t posted what I mean by that yet, but it’s basically tricks, both useful and not. In the last few months, Beau has learned bow, roll over, how to push a door closed with his nose and how to pull a tissue out of a box (squeaked in under the wire on that one!)

Citizenship – Oh dear… Beau’s Achilles’ heel if there ever was one, despite his Canine Good Citizen Certificate. I didn’t really try to work with him on any of these, and not surprisingly he didn’t get better. Sometimes we just need to accept the dog we have, and my dog treats everyone as his Long Lost Best Friend. I suppose there are worse things than a dog who loves everyone.

Extra Curricular Activities – Yes, he got a ‘D’ for (lack of) eating and playing… the key problem being it must be done in public. I spent several years trying to “fix” this before Zachary arrived, sort of fixed the food problem with much effort (although I let it slide after he “retired”) and now I’m content to accept the dog I have. At least I knew he’ll never knock anyone down just to get their food or a toy!

Zachary: Zachary’s report card, also covering 2009, takes him from a 9-month-old puppy to just shy of two years old. Not surprisingly, I saw much growth in all areas during that time. He’s been in dog classes for pretty much the whole time - from a long run of Family Dog classes, to Agility, to Tricks for Fun, to Rally. What a busy boy!

His grades aren’t as good as Beau’s, but he hasn’t been working on this stuff for six years either.

Core Studies: A’s – although he still has troubles with attention. Ah, youth.

Family Member: Mostly A’s, with those that aren’t being a product of him being an active young dog still working on self-control. The jingling of a leash turns him into a whirling dervish, he squirms when being groomed, wiggles and paws while in the car, and loves his Uncle Beau so much that it’s sometimes hard for him to hear me telling him to give it a rest.

Citizenship: He’s actually pretty good. He’s not a pro at loose leash by any stretch of the imagination, but I can walk him on a thin leather leash hooked over a few fingers. He picked up one B as I just recently discovered he goes up short flights of stairs by taking them in a single bound – oops, my bad, never worked on that but it’s on the list now.

Extracurricular Activities: No problems, all A’s.

Just For Fun – He learned to weave between my legs, walk backwards, bow, push the “Easy” button, spin, shake, pull a laundry basket, unload the drier, and pull a tissue from a box. Not bad… not bad at all!

As the New Year dawns they move on to Middle School. I’ll try to post the curriculum in the next few days. I’m struggling with the wording/content of single line (under Extracurricular Activities) and once I settle on what I want, up it goes.

Happy New Year!

Quizzes

As a student, I hated pop-quizzes. You could almost hear a witches cackle emanating from the teacher as they handed them out. “Let’s see you pass this one, my pretties.” Quizzes always seemed designed to trip students up.  Now a parent, I’m finding quizzes are wonderful things. The threat of quizzes keep students in pace with the class and cut down on cramming (so we all get to bed on time.) Quizzes are wonderful at finding holes in your student’s knowledge so they can plug them up before the Big Bad Test comes along and clobbers their grade. Of course, quizzes should only test what the student is suppose to already know.

Quizzes are a good thing.

So what does this have to do with dogs? Absolutely nothing. In fact, in my admittedly brief spell educating dogs (six years) I have yet to hear anyone talking about giving a pop-quiz to a dog. Tests, yes. Tests (aka Trials, Meets, or Shows) are quite common in performance sports.

No quizzes.

Some might argue that a Match is like a quiz, but I don’t think so. There is nothing impromptu about a Match. The preparing to go, the atmosphere when there, and the ring – not to mention all the “warming up” that happens - all big clues to the dog as to what is coming up. A Match is just a trial (or test) where the score doesn’t count and you can re-educate your student during the process. That’s not really the same as a pop-quiz.

Others might think Proofing is like a quiz, but proofing always seems to me like dreaming up things you figure your dog might fail at, tossing them into the situation (witches cackle optional) all the while praying they won’t fail, then picking up the pieces after they do.

Not a quiz.

Wikipedia states: “A quiz is usually a form of a student assessment, but often has fewer questions of lesser difficulty and requires less time for completion than a test. This use is typically found in the USA and Canada."

Seems to me a quiz would be a great tool for objectively evaluating how your dog is progressing and what bits need more work. So why aren’t they used more? It could be that they are, and I’ve just never seen it done. If that is the case, I would love to hear about it!

Assuming I haven’t heard about it because it isn’t done, my guess as to why goes back to that whole Homeschooling thing. A quiz requires some pre-planned thought; both to determine what will be quizzed and then decide how well the student actually did on it. Those are the parts the instructor needs to do. When you Homeschool your dog, guess who that lucky person is?

Yup, you.

Since most people are learning as they are teaching their dog (and who hasn’t stood in front of their dog with a book in one hand and some treats in the other, trying to puzzle out the instructions) figuring out what to quiz when is just one more thing to think about.

But I think quizzes have merit, so this year I’m going to try adding quizzes to my curriculum. I’ll pick out 5 individual things each week that the dogs should already know and can be tested quickly and jot them down on an index card. At some point each day I’ll whip out my card and run through them, one right after the other. The dog can get 2 points per item: perfect = 2 points, tried = 1 point, not a chance = 0.  (For a sample, see here.) Assuming none of my selected items involve lengthy stays (and they shouldn’t) these quizzes will take just a minute or two. Each day I’ll try to run through the items in a different order, but I’ll only ask for the behavior once and I won’t deviate from whatever order I decided to do them in before I started. Only asking once is important. It will make it much more like “test mode” (see Cheating.)

With luck, I’ll see improvement between the first effort and the last last.  No matter what happens, they’ll still get rewarded for their efforts with a jackpot at the end of the quiz.

After all, I don’t want them thinking I’m the wicked witch!

Canine Curriculum – Primary School

There is a pair of Canis familiaris curled up on my sofa. Standing 24” at the shoulder and weighing in a 70-80lb apiece, they are formidable carnivores with sharp and pointy teeth, muscular bodies, and the ability to run circles around me without even trying.

And yet I do not fear them.

Centuries of selective breeding have transformed their kind into the loving dogs lying across my lap at this very moment (yes, I said dogs (plural), no, it’s not easy to type with 150lb of dogs in my lap, and no my lap is not that big.)

Those selective breeders have produced an animal primed to learn, eager to please, and desiring attention and affection to the utmost degree - at least it did in the case of my Golden Retrievers.

What I do with those attributes is entirely up to me.

Human offspring come with those very same attributes, and over those same centuries society has developed both methods of teaching and a body of knowledge that needs to be taught. Obviously, this knowledge morphs and grows with each succeeding generation, but the fact that children should respect their elders, get along with their peers, can be taken places without being an embarrassment, and ultimately learn the necessary skills to become useful members of society is as true today as it was when Lord Tweedmouth began breeding golden-furred dogs with sound temperaments and a desire to retrieve.

When you go into a bookstore today, you find lots of books on raising children, educating children and nurturing children. When you go to the dog section you find row after row of books on dog TRAINING. When was the last time you saw even one row of books on “Child Training”? Ok… I’ll give you Potty Training, but that’s it (potty training and housetraining being not so very different, when you think about it.)

Even worse than the titles of the books, is the sameness of their content: sit, down, come… useful skills to be sure, but just a fraction of what it takes to turn a dog into a Family Member. And isn’t that what most people want - a Family Member? That is certainly what I want – a dog to share my life and my home, who respects me as their elder, gets along with my friends, can be taking places without embarrassing me, and has the necessary skills to be a useful member of the family.

So, now you know the perspective from which I created my Canine Curriculum for Zachary. Following the style of education for children, I titled the first skills Primary School, then added Middle School, and finally Secondary School. I felt that Primary School contained the bare bones minimum needed for a dog I could live with. Middle School and Secondary School expanded on earlier concepts. The end result would be (hopefully) a dog who would make a wonderful Family Member.

As an example, on the right is what I included in Primary School. You can click on the image for something big enough to read.

You will note that I made no mention of HOW to teach those things. That is because I wasn’t trying to create a dog TRAINING guide, but rather compile the skills and experiences that I felt my dog needed in order to reach maturity.

For the curious, I chose Clicker Training (hey, I didn’t name it) as my primary method of teaching. Zachary is a “soft” tempered dog and he seems to be flourishing with that form of education.

I have no doubt that I will be creating additional curricula (think College or Trade School) but those will have to wait until Zachary’s true potential becomes apparent. Just as I cannot foresee the path my son will take in life, Zachary’s future “occupation” remains a mystery. But no matter what he ends up doing, be it Rally, Obedience, Agility or something I have yet to consider, I know he will always be a loving and well-loved member of my family.