8 State Hurricane Kate

I’ve been doing some training with Bandit, Chase, and Cayenne. Cay is still learning the basics, like sit, down, stay, come, and stand, now from a distance and with a verbal cue and/or hand signal. We’re adding distractions too. She is very biddable and wants to please, but is still vulnerable to distractions. Sometimes I can look into her eyes and see that the wheels are turning, but she doesn’t quote have it yet. But then I think about where she was even three months ago and I can see that she has come a long way. We’re in obedience 3 class now and she improves each week.

I’m working off and on to teach Bandit and Chase a trick that isn’t easy for them. Their learning styles with this trick are very different from each other, yet similar to how they each performed when we were out tracking.Chase concentrates and is deliberate in his acts. Part of this is his natural style and part goes back to his past of abuse. He is afraid to make a mistake. If he’s not sure about what to do, he’s more likely to shut down than Bandit. He responds very well to the least bit of encouragement and thrives on praise for a job well done.

Bandit is like the smart kid in the class who gets bored easily and finds ways to entertain himself (and others). Part of this trick involves picking up a tennis ball and dropping it in a bucket. The trick that I’m looking for is kind of boring for Bandit. Although he wants to please me, he usually wants to entertain me (and himself) more. Chase picks up the ball, looks at me, carefully thinks about what to do next, looks at the bucket, responds to my encouragement, etc. Bandit may pick up the ball, toss it up in the air, lose it under the chair, scramble for it, pick it up again, toss it in the general direction of the bucket, etc. He throws in all kinds of crazy behaviors while he is trying to learn what I’m looking for. This is much more fun than just picking up the ball and putting it in the bucket, which he is learning to do without all the extras! (Hmmm… this is like scattering the sheep all over the field and collecting them up again, which is much more fun than walking along behind them in an orderly manner…)

Both dogs will eventually learn to perform the trick as I want them to. The behaviors that I don’t want will be ignored and the desirable actions will be rewarded. Eventually Cayenne will be ready to learn this trick too. It’s just funny to see how much their personalities influence their learning. So far, Chase is performing this trick more consistently, but I think Bandit is having much more fun!