Video Progress - Training Levels

I love Training Levels.

I don't love trying to keep track of what has and hasn't been done in Training Levels - particularly since I have two dogs.

Yes, I do use the Training Tracker (at least I try to) and in the beginning was I was really wild about it. Then my son discovered XBox Live. So much for my internet connection! It always seemed that when I had free time to work with my four-legged boys, my two-legged boy was on-line.

Funny how that works.

Without an internet connection to check Tracker, I found it hard to remember what I had done and what was left to do.

So I wrote up checklists for each level, printed a copy for each dog, printed the training level instructions for each level, and put the whole thing in a binder with pocket folders so I could easy pull out either the instructions or the progress sheets.

That worked extremely well, and I still rely on it (going on a year now?) as the ultimate guide of what I've done and what is left to do. But then I started videoing everything, which created yet another wrinkle (x2 - a wrinkle per dog.) Now, in addition to tracking what they know and what they are working on, I needed to track what had already videoed. Oh, and don't forget noting what actually made it into a final video.

Arg!

So I created a simple Excel spreadsheet (aside: While I'm not much of a Microsoft fan, I really love Excel.)

I created rows for the activities and a pair of columns for each dog for each level. It's very much like Tracker (surprise, surprise - I did say it was wonderful, I just can't get to it when I need it!) only made to handle 2 dogs and in black and white instead of pretty colors. A solid color in the square means that activity is not part of that level (ie: there is no Heel in Level 1), a white square is a required item, a gray square is an optional item, and a square with a single slash is one with no training aides.

There are some things that I have no intention of videoing (like my boys doing their business for handling level 3 or, most likely, things requiring "strangers")  and I mark those squares with a red circle with a line through it. Things that I have clips for are shown with a clear happy face and when they are "released" in a video the face turns yellow (following Tracker's cheery yellow seal of accomplishment.)

Below is how it looks at this very moment. While hardly a thing of beauty, I have to say it gives me great satisfaction staring at it!

(Click to see larger)

Duck Zen - update

Well, it's been a week since we started practicing Duck Zen and I'm pleased to say it's going well.

Well for me, at least.

The first few days were pretty a much a repeat of the first, with quite a few demanding barks, quite a few perplexed looks when I didn't budge, and ultimately... silence.

I knew we were making real progress the day he DIDN'T stop barking. Ah, the Extinction Burst. I knew it would come, as Beau was a rather difficult teenager and we had experienced more than our fair share of Extinction Bursts during those trying months.

As those things go, it was absurdly tame - perhaps a sign of his (long awaited) maturity. I spent 5 minutes or so standing by the Kitchen table, with him stopping only long enough for me to twitch in the direction of the bookcase before he started barking again.

He stopped, I twitched. I twitched, he barked.

Repeat...
    Repeat...
         Repeat...

Poor guy, he did his best to appear non-demanding. He averted his gaze, stared at the floor, then stared at the wall, then backed out of the room altogether. He tried a whimper-bark, a whine-bark, a half-howl bark, and then a cute little muffled bark I'd never heard before.

No joy.

Finally, after I was beginning to wonder if we would even have time to play (or equally if Zachary was going to get disgusted and try to deck him) he just stopped.

That was three days ago, and the barking hasn't returned.

No barks.
No whimpers.
No whines.
No half-howl barks.

Not even the cute little muffled bark.

Just beautiful silence.

I don't know if things will stay quiet or if he will regress again. I do know that I won't let him get away with regressing!

... as for him barking while Zachary is finding the Duck? I've changed things up so that Zachary is now looking for the Duck in a room out of sight of Beau. That stopped the barking during the "find" part. During the "victory laps" (wherein Zachary zoomies around the room proudly displaying Duck and causing it to quack) I've been keeping Beau's attention riveted on a cookie and his butt firmly on the floor.

It seems to be working.

Once Beau figures out that Quiet Dogs Get Cookies, I think peace will return to our happy little kingdom...

... unless you happen to be a Duck.

Derailed

One of the biggest challenges I have Homeschooling my dogs is staying motivated.

Without a class to attend or a test to take, it's not always easy to justify the time spent instructing my dogs - especially given the many Other Things vying for my time (hubby, son, job, house,...)

It's hard to spend a day at work, rush home to make dinner, spend an hour or two with Lacrosse/School things, clean up the house, and still have the desire, energy, and proper frame of mind to give my four-footed students the instruction they deserve.

And so I created a curriculum to give the effort scope. I make syllabi, lists, and schedules to keep things focused. I post things here to force myself to stay the course and not let my dog's tuition fall victim to those louder forces.

But in all honesty, I fail as often as I succeed. There are weeks that pass without a single Field Trip. There are months that go by without one Special Event. And while I usually manage at least 1 hour per week per dog, it's not as consistent as I would like (5-10 minutes per day, per dog, 5 days a week.) Had I paid "good money" for the time, would I do better?

Probably.

But there is a Silver Lining to Homeschooling.

Last week Beau's exuberant behavior with regards to "Find the Duck" reached my annoyance threshold, and so I promptly dropped everything else to work on it. No, it wasn't on any list or plan. No, I had not allocated any time to it. Yes, it will cause other things to "fall behind".

But it doesn't matter.

Whereas a traditional student climbs aboard the education train at the start of a course, takes in the information along the way, and hopefully disgorges the knowledge learned on a test at the final station - a Homeschooled student's (or dog's) education doesn't have to follow predefined tracks.

It is OK to derail the Homeschooling train.

Last week, Beau and I veered off onto a footpath and explored Zen Duck. Late last year, Zachary and I spent three weeks wandering down Watch Way - one little second at a time. This week we might take the bridge over the river Lunch Time Begging, or go down the fire road that explores NOT running out Open Doors.

Or we just might stay on the tracks of this Week's Worksheet (wouldn't that be a change...)

The point is, in the end (as with most things in life) I need to make the most of the journey and worry less about the destination. So long as I remember to do so, then these side roads and detours will never seem like a waste of time.