Training Ts

The Ts were really bored tonight, so they were both eager and happy to work. And I was really struck, once again, by the differences in their learning style.

Taenzer is a very physical, athletic dog. I always think of dancers and athletes in connection with her--the way dancers say they can feel a difference if they go a day without class, the way dancers learn with their bodies. Taenzer's a little that way, and she can get so excited in a session that her brain just leaves. I've found (slowly) that the best way to deal with that is to let her do several physical things very fast, like spin and twirl several times in succession, then to put her in a down and pet her very gently for a minute or so. The accumulated tension gets released in the motion, and the stillness gives her brain a chance to resume residence. At least that's how I think of it. But I find it not restful, because I'm always thinking "what are we going to do next? should I ask her for one more or is she overloaded? she's moving too fast for me to click!" Argh.

After we'd worked on some of the levels stuff, we worked on some other things. I've been wanting to teach her to "march"--pick up one front foot in place, then the other--and we've got a pretty good right foot pick up on cue, so tonight I tried asking for a left foot and blew her little mind. She knows "left" and will look to the left--one of the first things we ever shaped--and she knows "foot," but when I put the two together, she sort of tried to turn her head to the left while lifting her right foot, which made her skid off backwards diagonally. After I stopped laughing at her, I told her she was a good girl--she *did* try her best, after all!--and just started clicking for left front foot movement.

I knew this would be hard. She's a funny mix of lighting quick and tenacious. She learns something very quickly, but only in a very narrow, specific context, and gets confused if you ask for it out of context, it's like teaching her a brand new command. Timber's slower, but he's much better at generalizing--he gets the concept, not just the action.

As Timber came galumphing through the kitchen, I found myself automatically looking to see where Annie was to be sure she was safely out of his way and wouldn't get trampled. *sigh* I miss you, little Annie-kitty.