Graduation Day

Well, it was graduation day for Ranger, anyway. Our last obedience class last night was a great deal of fun. Each dog began with a front-and-center display of our commands, including his or her trick. Sandi and I had to switch off during this portion of the class, because I cannot get him to roll over. Afterwards, we played a game where we moved along a taped-off game board with commands in each space. Two games were played in total, and Ranger and I won the second heat. Since dice were involved, this of course means that Sandi did our rolling. Each dog got a graduation package with treats, a toy, and a diploma as a reward for completing the class. Sandi had her camera; if you ask her really nicely, she might post the pictures here.

Ranger had us more than a little worried before class started. After his walk, he more or less collapsed on the living room floor; we could barely get him to drink any water. Once we got into the room, though, he kicked into approximately ninth gear. He wanted to get up close and personal with each and every classmate in class as the room filled, and he felt the need to jump on both of us as well as Karen, the instructor. I joked that he was trying to fail the class so he could come back for five more weeks. Karen mentioned something called an 'extinction burst,' which can occur when a dog has been trained to stop a behavior. This burst occurs right before the dog abandons the undesired behavior for good, so keep your fingers crossed. We were still very proud of our big guy; Karen even mentioned how much he had improved to the whole class before we adjourned.

Sandi had quite a day at work today. Due to either an unusual electromagnetic disturbance or a concentration of swamp gas igniting near a weather balloon, the bank was slammed like it was the first day of the month. By the time she got home, she wanted nothing but to take her mind off work. I suppose most of us feel that way at times, but seldom does Sandi suggest playing video games within five minutes of arriving home. We spent the evening with Final Fantasy VII, and she went to bed early tonight.