Training fun

Not much has happened over the last couple of weeks, hence why there has been no post.

However, I don't want to get out of the habit of posting so here goes with a new post.

A couple of weeks ago, Pepper went to the groomers to get clipped. With it coming into summer (even though it hasn't acted like it), we decided it was time to get her coat cut short again to keep her cool (also to keep her cleaner when she goes swimming/rolling around). I couldn't take Pepper to the groomer this time as the only appointment we could get was for 4pm and I don't get home from work early enough. So my mam took her, and I made the mistake of not telling her exactly what to say. Normally I don't get the hair off the top of Pepper's head shaved, her ears don't get cut as short and neither does her tail. However, this time she came out looking like a completely different dog! It's a good thing hair grows lol.

Before

After

So, onto today. We went for a walk this morning, just up to the school running track so that Ellie and Oscar could chase their tennis balls. After running around non-stop for a while, both dogs got tired and lost interest in the chase. So we headed home. It had rained a little bit, but not as bad as it's rained for the last few of weeks. 

This afternoon, Ellie and I did a bit of training. Nothing major, and probably not things that we should have really worked on, but it was fun. I made a little video of the things we did, but as I'm not used to filming things, it's not particularly well done! I'll show you it anyway though. 

The tricks she's doing are things she's been learning in her training classes each week. They are sit, down, stand and watch me, along with twist/spin and 'both'. 'Both' consists of putting both front feet on an object. We only learnt this on Wednesday so it still needs work. We used a cardboard box and a sponge mat in training class to try and generalise the command/behaviour. Today I used an empty Celebrations tub (with a 2.5kg weight in to stop it tipping). I'm going to try different objects once she's completely comfortable with doing it. She still occasionally has issues with putting her feet on the tub as I think you see in the video. 

I also let Ellie play with her interactive paw toy today. I would have let Pepper, but she doesn't get a look in when Ellie's around. 

Next time, I may get some videos of Pepper doing something. For now, have a picture of her looking a bit odd.