We had a pretty good night considering how stressful the drive was for her. We just hung out for a couple of hours letting her explore us and the dogs. We did one quick ‘charge the clicker session’ and then headed to bed. She whimpered for a couple of minutes and then fell asleep. All night I kept looking over the side of the bed wondering if she was awake and needed to go out. I woke her up at 4 am and and took her outside. She peed and pooped and then we just hung out on the kitchen floor for a couple of hours. Just before heading back to bed I did another quick ‘charge the clicker session’. I knew she already understood the game. As soon as I clicked she was looking for the treat. Again she settled in just a few minutes and I got to stay in bed until 0730. That’s unheard-of for me.
I decided to start our first training session with the Staples easy button. I put it down and she went to sniff it. Click – treat….and she had the game. I got Don to video our second session. You can tell from the first moment of the video that she knew what she needed to do to get the click. Once I raised my criteria and didn’t click for a nose touch you can see her mind working to try and process what was going on. She looked at me and then at Don…thought about for a few seconds and then came back to the button. That is just what I Iove to see. She didn’t give up and walk away from the game.
After her lunch, I brought out the easy button again. She accidentally hit it with her paw and the recording went off. I made a big, happy fuss and she was so pleased with herself. The next time I put it down she immediately hit it with her paw. I just wish Don had been video taping.
Here is one more quick video of her playing. I can’t help but laugh as I watch her pounce on the ball.
Life In The Dog House 