But I DO need a dog blog. Here's why.
I've always been a dog person -- lived with them, loved them, trained them, studied the ways they are used to improve the human condition, et cetera. Then I met, moved in with, and fell in love with someone else who is also a dog person. Somehow the dogs went from important-but-peripheral to central -- both to each of us separately, and, somehow, to our identity as a couple. Don't ask me how that works, but that's what happened. The whole process of our life together evolving into our life with the dogs fascinates me, and I want to document it so I can have a record of it.
That is one part of it. Another part is that it's a new year, 2011, and time for some new goals, and I want my goals to include the dogs. One thing I have learned is that if you want to achieve goals, you had better write them down. And you had better update them frequently so you know whether you are getting closer to meeting your goals or not. I have dog goals across the board, so here are some of them and here is what I'm going to do to pursue them.
Dog Writing. I have been writing stories about dogs since I could put paper to pen and make words. I have always known I was going to not only write a book some day (in fact, I have already written several), but also have it published. I believe that my first book that I will publish will be a dog book. Specifically, I think it will be the book I'm writing about my life as a guide dog trainer. In this book I plan to spill all the secrets of guide dog training that I picked up over my years at Guiding Eyes for the Blind and The Seeing Eye, as well as puppy raising for Guide Dogs for the Blind. I am convinced that if I can find a good agent, I will be able to sell this book. Here's why. Dog books are always in demand -- training books, books that celebrate the dog-human bond, and books that give a glimpse into specialized dog worlds, like military dogs or service dogs. While there have been dozens of books written by blind people working with guide dogs, and some books written by outside authors about guide dogs and guide dog schools, there has never been a book written by a guide dog trainer about guide dog training. Every guide dog story is also a human interest story, which is another type of very popular dog book. My book will be unique, marketable, and timely. All I need to do is write the thing! I'm about 150 pages in, which sounds like a lot but isn't really. I would like to get it to at least 500 pages before calling it quits and starting the editing. I plan to really chop hell out of it and keep only the very best parts. (They say you can judge the quality of a book by the quality of the pieces you leave on the editing floor.) In the mean time, I have managed to snag a column in the bimonthly competition obedience magazine Front and Finish. Front and Finish is transitioning from print to all-electronic. The editor issued a call for new column ideas, and I proposed a column written by someone who is new to competitive dog sports. He liked my idea, and my first column will be published in the March issue if all goes well. (Tentative column title: Handler Error. Anyone have any better suggestions?) I also entered a story in the AKC Gazette's dog fiction contest. It's a pretty mediocre story in my opinion, but might still win something. I plan to write a couple columns for Front and Finish, then put together a killer proposal and start agent-shopping. (That way I can point out that I have a column in a national magazine, always a good thing for an aspiring published author.) Until that time I am not going to worry about writing any more of the book, although I am going to make sure I do plenty of blogging and column-writing to keep up my skills.
Hilda. Hilda is eight years old, but in fine shape. She is still wild about the clicker and loves to learn new things. So I have decided to switch Sunny over to regular AKC obedience in hopes of earning the first-level title C.D. (Companion Dog), and let Hilda play in Rally-O for a while. We started our first Rally class yesterday. Hilda hasn't been in class for a long time, and I was impressed with how quickly she calmed down and focused on me and started really applying herself. (Although I had to revert to some pretty good collar popping to get her damn nose out of the grass.) It was interesting doing the tight rally turns with such a long dog. I never noticed how short-backed Sunny is or how his short back makes tight heeling so much easier until I started working with Hilda.
I don't recall ever actually teaching Hilda a Front -- "Come" for Seeing Eye dogs meant to come to the handler, circle at the left side, and then sit -- but she showed off a beautiful, straight Front every single time at the rally class. Finishes were a different matter. I would have expected a nice left finish since that was how she learned it at Seeing Eye, but she seemed clueless yesterday. The right finish was even more baffling. She absolutely did not get the concept of coming behind me. She planted her butt and refused to be moved every time I attempted the right finish. What we need to do there is lots of clicker work, first encourage her to come around to my right at all from the front, and then raise criteria and gradually require her to go further and further around my right until she is finally all the way at my left.
So here are my goals for Hilda:
1) Earn the Canine Good Citizen title -- convince her that supervised separation from me is not a bad thing.
2) Earn the Rally Novice title:
A) Teach the left finish
B) Teach the right finish
C) Get her head out of the grass
D) Clean up her auto-sit
3) Teach her a repertoire of tricks. She already knows some good ones: Paw, Bang (even when using a toy gun as a prop -- oh, so cute), Close the Door, Speak, Back Up; but at the very least I would like to add Beg, Roll Over, Jump Through a Hoop, and Balance and Catch a Treat. And I would really, really like for her to be able to go to the fridge, get me a soda, and close the fridge door, then bring me the soda.
4) Finish the retrieve using Shirley Chong's method: http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/retrieve.html5. There is not a better retrieve method out there, though I really need to give The Clicked Retriever a try before making that statement so authoritatively.
5) Go back to Sue Eh's levels and FINISH THEM. If you don't know what the Levels are, look here and let your dog training adventures begin: http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/Levels/LevelBehaviours/LevelsBook.html
God bless the Internet. This is a priceless training plan, worth hundreds of dollars, available for FREE. It will change the way you think about dog training, I guarantee it.
Rally first. Then the retrieve. Then the CGC. Then the tricks. Then return to the Levels and finish them up.
Sunny: I will, perhaps, go on to the Rally Advanced title this year. But first, I want to earn that CD. There are several formidable obstacles to both pursuits:
1) The CD:
A) He needs to learn the long down and the long sit.
B) He needs to learn how to stand and stay.
C) He needs to learn that it's okay for a stranger to touch him while he's in a stand-stay.
D) He needs to learn precise heel position -- my pants seam in front of his front leg.
E) I need to learn precision footwork.
2) The Rally Advanced:
A) He needs a straight back-up for 3 steps.
B) He needs to clear up the confusion that has somehow developed between a left finish and a right
finish.
C) He needs to improve his ability to find Front from a Halt.
3) Finish Shirley Chong's retrieve in preparation for Open competition. We're on Step 17 right now.
4) He also needs a repertoire of tricks, to include, at minimum: Paw, Bang, Beg, Speak, Close Door, Roll Over, and Jump Through a Hoop.
5) Finish up the Levels with him, too.
6) Somewhere in the far, far future, I want to explore freestyle obedience. Maybe not even with Sunny; maybe with Annie. But with an Aussie, for sure.
I will work on obedience during the weekends, heeling daily (I hope), and the retrieve AT LEAST one step per day if not more.
Zsiga: Zsiga is Tim's puppy -- not my responsibility. Nevertheless, I want to fool around with him a little because 1) he's here, 2) I'm responsible for him much of the time while Tim is sleeping or at work, and 3) a German shepherd raised the wrong way can be a liability, and I don't want one. So what I want to do with him is:
1) Move through the Levels, as much as possible.
2) Try out the Clicked Retriever, on a dog where it doesn't matter if it gets screwed up.
3) Handle his feet and ears on a daily basis, so he doesn't grow up to be one of those shepherds who screams bloody murder when his ears or nails have to be attended to.
4) Encourage Tim in every way possible to get him interested in Frisbee. I want a Frisbee dog so bad, and I just don't think I'll have time to do that with Annie.
Annie: Little Arizona Annie Oakley. She's not even here yet. A beautiful, 2-week-old red merle Aussie that is going to be my performance dog in obedience, agility, freestyle, rally, who knows what else. I have such big plans for this dog. The sky is the limit. I bring her home mid-February and will start right in with the Levels as soon as possible. I just can't wait to have that dog at home and have her in my lap and start loving her.
Also, I can't wait for the craziness of having two puppies at home at the same time. I can't wait to do it all with Tim -- my perfect partner. We're just an awesome team.
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