Readjusting Learning Goals

Well, I took Nyah to Canine Good Citizenship class last night. Almost missed the first class last week because the lecture was at 7 instead of the usual 8 o'clock class time which I should know for all the times we've been down there. Only a master "space cadet" (if you recall the term from the '70's) can look at a registration confirmation paper for just that information almost every day for three weeks and not see given information even though that particular information takes up a third of the page, is highlighted in yellow AND it was probably in bold type, too.

Although there are ways she did great and ways we failed miserably, if she will listen to me and do loooooooong sit stays and down stays while we're waiting in a loooooooong line for our turn we will make significant progress. (ADD in dog and owner - possibly.) There's an incentive for a new pet therapy initiative and lots of people and their dogs are ready to go through the program and start work, they just need to have the CGC class to go on to the next level. That's why the class is so big.

Needless to say, we won't be moving on to the next level just yet. (I knew that!) If she can get through a whole class being nice to every dog she encounters and listen to me I will be in heaven! I hope the dogs in heaven are....

Never mind.

I don't think I'm lowering my expectations, just readjusting my goals. (There was something about that in a previous post.) It's making the most of an opportunity to work on listening and patience in a very stressful situation with mostly very well-behaved dogs. And they'll be throwing out tidbits about strategies for being more social. I'm mostly there for the tidbits - a scavenger by nature. Hah!

Maybe we'll pass someday but that isn't what matters to me. She and I need to relax! Stay tuned. we'll see what happens..