I started with "around" using the guides. As soon as I set them up Gimme jumped in (edited out). I was sure she'd be eager to get in there when she figured out that was where the rewards happened. I opened the guides and had her go out and re-enter, wanting to reinforce how she should enter. This session was really short - only 7 click/treats. Do note two things... first, she never left until I indicated the session was over (unlike prior sessions) and as soon as we were both in the circle she started moving around me. I think the idea of the guides is becoming clear to her.
This next session is a bit of target stick training related to waiting for the cue. The idea is to present the target stick and give her the cue. Then toss the treat and wait before giving the cue. If she comes back and touches right away, I do nothing and just wait her out. The moment she pulls away, I give the cue and reward her for doing the behavior with a click/treat. This is something I think I am slow to do and the video confirms my impression. If I give the cue and she doesn't do the behavior in a reasonable time (for now I count five) then I am lift the stick out of range to indicate a loss of opportunity. I also lift the stick out of range when she bites on it, which still seems to happen a lot, though it is diminishing. At some point I can also start clicking her for not touching the stick when she begins hesitating more often. I think her touch-touch-touch and then sitting is an indication that she is starting to figure out the game. There are clearly some missed opportunities during this session; Gimme will just have to figure it out in spite of me.
Then we did a bit of noodling about stays and heeling around food on the floor. I haven't done it for quite awhile and obviously we need to go back to it. It wasn't training so much as testing.
Because life isn't exciting enough around here... now that Gimme is coming out of season, Meaggi has decided to give it a go, for the first time in several years.
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