Progressing nicely

[crysania4]

Dahlia is now doing a "sit pretty" for 2-3 seconds without balancing on me. I sort of shaped the whole thing (without using a clicker). The steps went like this:

1. Ask her for a sit pretty while holding onto her paw and lifting upward just slightly, which made her bring her other foot up.

2. Ask for a sit pretty and let her bring both feet up onto my legs, so that she was resting with her legs on me.

3. Ask for a sit pretty and when she tries to rest her feet on me, step back and tell her to try it again. You could almost see her mind work! She looked at me for a second and then tried it without resting against me. It took her a moment to really get her balance, but after a couple tries she figured out how to balance properly for a few seconds.

We'll keep at it, but I think she's getting it. It's not a behavior I'm really going to "proof" as it's not an important one, but I do want to see if I can show it off at the work picnic this Saturday! Last year she was only just getting "down"!

Comments

[crysania4.livejournal.com]

I figure she'll really respond to "Cesar" so when I ask "what do you think of Cesar" she'll really be responding to the end of it. If that makes sense? Kind of like when I asked her if she wants to go for a walk and she responds when I get to the word walk.

And yes you're most welcome to use it!

Holly's a wonderfully smart dog. It's fun to try to keep up with them!

[anobjectinspace.livejournal.com]

*nod* Yup, that's about it... I will try that then... running low on treats though until my carer picks me some up on Monday so it'll have to wait methinks. We have an awesome pet shop though - £5 keeps her in treats for over a month! Pretty good when you have a dog who is so damn smart you're constantly having to teach her new things just so she doesn't get bored of you...

*grin* Yup, she is smart. Dahlia's part collie, isn't she? Or am I remembering that wrong? Either way - I bet she runs circles round you sometimes :-P Next time I'm getting a sheep. Tuh.