Finally Training Again

I did a short mat session with the girls yesterday. Even though it had been a long time since either had seen their mats, they did really well. I decided yesterday that I should test Shawnee on it today.

While the girls were out in their fence, I put the mats into place. Although Molly passed this level ages ago, I like to include her in practices and tests. It makes her feel a part of things.

As soon as I let the girls in the room, both ran to their own mats. I knew right away that Shawnee would pass her test.

Armed with my clicker and some fish flavored dog food, I started test. I sent Shawnee to her mat, and she went right to it. I told Molly go to her mat as well. Then I threw treats off the mat and repeated the commands. Both still went directly to their own mats and lay down. That passes L2 mat for Shawnee.

Molly reminded me how well she distinguishes different commands. I asked her to take Shawnee's mat and she took the right one. She took the mat as opposed to doing a mat behavior on it. She did the same with her own mat.

Then we played for a while, until Shawnee was good and tired. I crated her.

Then I decided it was time to do some were finished training with Molly. I haven't trained her at all lately. That she knew what she was supposed to do right away. She still won't hold eye contact while moving. But she is very quick to reconnect after she moved wherever I am.

Later, while Molly was out in the fence alone, I did some watch training with Shawnee. I've only done it in the bathroom before so this was new to do it lying on the sofa. She figured it out pretty quickly, but I only got up to a two second hold.

I need to get to training more with the girls, but it's hard for me right now. I'm frustrated by my pain levels and stressed with the government issues. It's also much more challenging to work with two dogs than just one.