2-Min. Dog Trainer, 50 days of writing

Today I’m beginning 50 days of writing. I’m reworking all the 2-Minute Dog Trainer brochures, converting them to the unfolded, 2-sided, version.

I’m hopeful this will make copying and storing the 2-Minute homework easier.

Additionally, I’m working through the overall structure of the document. I’ve got four categories of handouts, each with its own audience, and I want to enable folks to purchase individual chapters as well as the entire book of handouts.

Basic Obedience, formerly the shelter package, will be enlarged to include more exercises to encourage ongoing training of the family pet.

Sport Foundation package never actually got posted to the webstore. I’ve e-mailed a few copies of this package to our supporters, and have been using the homework for our students, but it’s had limited exposure. I want to expand the sport foundation package to include more agility work, some tracking, some freestyle, and some retrieving (ball-fetching).

Advanced Obedience, the skills covered in Go Rally Training Manual, will have 30+ handouts to accompany the training manual used by instructors.

Advanced Agility, including some of the handout material Bud (Houston) created years ago for our beginner agility classes. The advanced obedience and agility homework handouts will build on the presentation in the sport foundation chapter.

Additionally, I intend to blog each day for the next 50 days. We’re setting up our 2010 camp schedule including instructor’s camp and (perhaps) rally camp. I want to wrap my head around our new “deconstructed” camp price schedule and will be describing different options.

In other news, my sister and her husband drove to her son’s new home in Martinsburg, WV, for Thanksgiving. Bud left for a judging assignment in Jacksonville, FL.

That left Mom and I on our own for Thanksgiving and we decided to help serve dinner to local folks at Norwood United Methodist Church. Norwood is a neighborhood in Marietta where my parents lived for a year or two, over 50 years ago — that is so hard to absorb.

I’ve seen pictures of myself somewhere around ages one or two, dressed for Easter, in the front yard of a house in Norwood. By the time I was three we’d moved to another rental property. By the time I was four we’d bought a house in Williamstown, WV.

I’m trying to picture a world in which I would be moving every year with FOUR children. This must  have been an exhausting time for my Mom. When they finally moved into the house they purchased she was 9 months pregnant and actually went into labor with her fifth (and last) child as the family was moving. Sheesh ….

Today I’m housebound, catching up on chores. I’ve also trimmed Kory’s toenails and helped him relax during that process. He was actually very good, enjoying the belly rubs that occurred during the grooming session. He’s actually acting more and more like an adult dog.

Tags: 2-Minute puppy training, basic dog obedience, Bud Houston, dog agility, dog performance sports, Marsha Houston, sport obedience