Charlie's Practice Tonight

SCHOOL WORK:

Targeting a matt (towel) inside and out. We used the same towel from class. Outside was REALLY slow, but we didn't have a time limit tonight. LOTS of distractions out there this evening, including a squirrel. Took us 2 minutes to get 10 paw touches. We did the same thing inside in the living room. Much better timing. It only took us 45 seconds to get 10 paw touches with thrown treats.

Nose to fingers targeting inside tonight. We're at hugely varying levels based on location. Inside in the dining room we did 1 set of 10 with tossed treats. Took us 45 seconds to get 10 touches with a 100% success rate. We also did 10 tries at taking 9 steps + 180 degree turn + 1 step. We were able to get in five before Sheila decided it was her turn. I asked her to stay, and we achieved another 4 tries before she intervened. We called it quits there. It took us 2 minutes to complete the 9 tries, but not to bad considering the interruptions.

Eye contact inside tonight. 4 seconds on eye contact in the dining room with thrown treats. Got 10 out of 10 in 90 seconds. On sofa with Sheila on floor next to sofa (first time we've tried this). Not to bad at all. I got 3 seconds of steady eye contact with hand feeding 10 times in 90 seconds.

While we didn't focus on repetitions of sit, he did have to sit to get out of his crate, get attention, get fed, etc. This behavior is pretty generalized for him, though we could use some work on response time.

We're also practicing nicer treat taking, and using a verbal cue of take it at the same time.

OTHER WORK:

We're working on some nosework. The plan is to lay out 5 treats and find them in successive order. If he doesn't go straight on to the next treat, I'll stand 4.5 feet away and point/look at the treat.

GENERAL COMMENTS:

I'm going to have to start keeping Sheila out of whatever area we're practicing. He defers to her every time, and it takes a bit to get him refocused.

Materials:
TOTs
Liver Biscotti
towel
clicker