Review week 28, plan week 29+

All the time: People, harness, muzzle, sit-for-leash (and release), touch-for-sniff, mat as needed. – Review: Touch for sniff is coming along; the life reward of doing stuff afterwards is reinforcing enough. Tried harness once, not as consistent this week what with the other stuff we’ve been working on. Sits have passed beyond training and into simply daily manners. Mat and muzzle has sort of fallen to the wayside. There is always something that falls through the cracks.

Week 28 – Review wed – sat, Foundation Folder skills:

Pivot platform: Variable. His directions are rather confused, so I’ve been working on my feet to help indicate “on my left”, “on my right” and “face me”. This is going to take more work.

Wrap: 1 meter good, 1.5 good. 2 meter – uh, he starts crossing in a sort of figure 8, to wrap the cone from the other direction?? That was a slightly stranger mistake than just passing between me and the cone… Going to re-test that a bit, to see if it’s just one direction he does it in – in which case it’s likely that it’s just a result of being right-pawed or left-pawed so he wraps the way he finds easiest.

Down: The hand signal is harder work than anticipated, but I’m sure we’re getting there. (Do I sit? Do I down? Do I bow? Maybe sit first and check?)

Other serious stuff: Took him for some ‘social training’ at a dog club on Friday, letting him out of the car for just a few minutes at a time. He made a new friend (well, he’s seen her before, but it’s been a few months), thanks to being literally pelted with bits of fish cake. (No, seriously, every time he looked up at her, she flicked another bit in his vague direction, so he was too busy finding food on the ground to care.) All the way up to her hands, and wagging. (And then someone else came forwards and it was same ol’, same ol’.) Should have taken pics, never had the wherewithall.

Week 29

We are going on holiday this week! Rented a cottage in the middle of no-where. I have no idea how much of anything will be done, but there is only a solar panel for power (enough for phone, but not a laptop), so I can say for certain there will not be any more posts before Wednesday week 30, after we get back. IF we do stuff, me thinks it will be:

• Continue wraps
• Continue Steps to Success Down level 1
• Continue Pivots
• Also, water stuff! We will be by a lake!