Patience Makes Perfect

Gonzo (14 weeks old today) fell sound asleep while I was reading about teaching him self-control behaviors like waiting at doorways and not barking for attention. I have been having a bit of an issue with him trying to "demand bark" for food or attention. But as a future service dog it's important that he learns to be patient and wait quietly...

But when I say he needs to practice being patient... And he falls asleep?? At my feet??? Sheesh. Now he's making me look crazy. Where's the chapter on that? Ha! :)
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No Parking

It says:

ENILORACHaley "no parking"

aka: Caroline and Haley's spot, No Parking Here!

Oops... At least they didn't write me a ticket!
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A Friday Flop

Cookies, kids, crazy hair...

And PBS.

Even Ranger and Gonzo are relaxing.

Let the weekend begin. :)
*sigh*

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The Boys

The boys have been keeping the whole family busy these days, with school projects, homework, and football practice.

This week, Dylan had a project for his social studies class. He had to make some sort of topographic map of Virginia showing the different regions (Blue Ridge, Valley and Ridge, Appalachian Plateau, Coastal Plains, Piedmont). Bonus points would be given to kids who also labeled the capitol, Richmond, or three rivers they talked about in class, the James, Potomac, and Rappahannock.

Dylan made his from cake, cupcakes, and candies. He went WAY above and beyond, labeling all of the necessary points of interest and much more. (Cities from the colonial days, the Fall Line where the rivers turn to waterfalls, etc...) His teacher told him it was "really cool," and Dylan said he got all the possible points!

Unfortunately, it was made of cake and cupcakes and candies... and I forgot to take a picture of it before he took it to school. The kids in his class gobbled it up, which is exactly how Dylan wanted it, but I do wish I had taken even ONE snapshot to remember it by. Stink!

Also, both boys had totally awesome interim reports. They are realy making me proud, as both are doing well in school academically and socially. Daniel has been setting a good example for classmates and Dylan was voted by his classmates as the good citizen and got a McDonald's gift certificate as a prize.

And to top off this blog post, I can tell you both boys played some crazy-good football last night. Dylan forced three fumbles, one of which was behind the line of scrimmage and he recovered it! Very cool! At Daniel's game, my boy pulled four flags and also made an interception which he ran for a touchdown!! Unbelievable. His teammates piled on him as he trotted back to the line of scrimmage. They were all smacking his back and smiling ear to ear. Daniel was feeling real good... and walking like he was hot stuff. It completely cracked me up and made me proud all at once.

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Gonzo, 11 Weeks

Here's a video of Gonzo that I just had Dylan record.  It only captures a fragment of what this pup can do so far.  He can also walk loosely on a leash, lay quietly on his mat while I'm at work, he has a fantastic recall (meaning he hears his name and comes running), and a great "leave it."  "Leave it" comes in awfully handy...

When he hears "leave it," he almost always looks at me and spits out whatever treasure he's chewing on: a Barbie, the rocking chair, a baby doll, or whatever, and then starts coming to me.  I guess that shows not only how much he wants to chew on things, but also how much he gets rewarded for stopping!

This video shows Gonzo doing a "watch me" which will be critical for communication between him and his handler.  "Watch me" is when he gives his handler eye contact.  He also sits politely when asked and gives an example of "touch" with a plastic lid as the target.  He can do "touch" with my hand as a target, but for the video I positioned a lid on a cupboard door as his target, so that when he touches it, the door closes.  Fancy.  Very fancy.

You'll notice at some point during the "touch" example on the video that he does not always shut the door completely, but he does still get a click and treat.  That's because the goal is for him to touch the target, if the door closes, that's a bonus.

But there is a time in the video when he does not actually make contact with the lid, although it appears as if he does from the camera's perspective. He does not get a click or treat that time, so he sits and waits, then he tries again.  The next time he actually does touch the target and so he gets a click and treat.

Here is the link, but I still haven't figured out why I can't hear any sound.  Technology isn't my thing...  Ugh.  Figured I'd post it anyway!  :)



College Football Day

Watching college football with the boys and Tom... And a finally-sleepy Gonzo.

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Puppy Trainers-in-Training

Part of raising a service dog involves not just teaching the puppy, but also teaching my kids.  I have to show them how to ask him to sit politely, and how to reward him for good behavior.  We have all grown so much in just a couple of weeks.

For example:

This morning, Haley wanted to try to do some training.  It's nothing too complicated, there's just lots of sitting and eye contact at this point.  But when Gonzo does what Haley asks, he gets a piece of his kibble.  She even makes sure he takes the food gently by holding her hand there, with her fingers covering the piece until he lightly nibbles it out.

Caroline, just like most little sisters, thinks anything Haley does is amazing. So she sits right next to Haley and watches the process. And when anybody sits and watches a process that intently, you know they walk away with some more understanding than they had before.