Life Skills

I am going to try to live the serenity prayer. I am going to focus on what a good dog Rocket is, how good with small children and even babies he is, how he loves all people of all sizes and temperaments, I'm going to think about how friendly he is with other dogs of all sizes and temperaments. I'm going to remember that he is fearless and welcomes wheelchairs and scooters and bikes without trepidation, I'm going to think about how good he is off leash and what good recall he has, I'm going to ponder his trick learning and be amazed.

He might end up being a very good therapy dog, I hadn't considered it in the past but it is worth giving some thought to as we move forward. I am not going to think about how he washed out of his Canine Good Citizen, Community Canine test  on Saturday because he was not able to perform this

 #8 Down or sit stay–distance (owner's choice).
Dog is on 20–ft line, owner walks away with back to dog, picks up an item (e.g., backpack, training bag, clipboard, folder etc.) placed on the floor/chair/ground by the evaluator and returns to the dog.

We got two of the ten done before we hit our Waterloo. I didn't even stick around for the rest of the test. I didn't know what the test would cover before hand, only that it was being given and I thought it might be a nice feather in Rockets collar. Seeing the requirements now, I don't think we are interested in sitting for this test again and we should not have tried in the first place. It all seems completely arbitrary and entirely too focused on obedience skills and  does not allow for dogs with special needs at all.  I do not believe that it covers skills a dog needs to be a good canine citizen in the community. It is the first year the AKC  has  offered it, and I hope that with feedback, which they are surely getting, that they will change the requirements and rethink the goals of test, how it is given, and how they interpret the dogs behaviors.

Other than that bitter pill, we had a good weekend. We went on walks and went to a Hispanic Festival downtown and that was very fun, we went shopping with Broskey and Alphagal and the littles and that was fun too. I did have to take the laptop to Brosky and Alphagals ICU for Sick Computers because it was infected and feverish and all out of sorts and that was sad making - Fortunately,  Broskey flushed it of its multiple impurities and toxins and sent it on its way. I am much relieved. I am also now running multiple anti-virus and  anti-malware programs to help keep it clean and happy.Yay!