April 25, 2014

White Dog and Puff rushed the front door. There was no way they were going to be left behind as Steve went to the hardware store. When Taiko heard that they were also going to stop for dog food at the Pet Emporium, he trotted out to the porch as well.

YoYoMa debated whether the ride would be worth getting up from his ultra comfortable nap position, especially since Oso, Bella and I were clearly staying home. He heard me whisper in Oso's ear, "We'll have a treat while the others are off running errands," and my Big Boy's decision was made...staying home where the treats are!

It left us a nice chance to practice basic skills. Oso had his single chew and munched away in endless enjoyment while Bella and Yo worked for tasty tidbits.

YoYoMa is wonderfully adept at all of the basics and is generally proud to practice and showoff, unlike White Dog our well-trained Diva who must "feel the vibe" in order to perform. This makes Yes, Another White Dog the perfect training model and partner for our Little Dancer.

The littlest one is sharp and a quick copy. When I say "Down" to Yo and he squirms down onto his belly and waits, tail thumping for his reward, Bella watches intently. Then she comes to me and sniffs, asking for a treat. "Down first," I tell her. It usually takes a couple of rounds of YoYoMa repeating the trick and getting rewarded before she will successfully copy him...but she does. And then she prances around the floor excited and joyful at her praise.

The others being out for a ride allowed us to work 15 minutes on commands both know well...like "sit," and to continue reinforcement of newer tricks that are still being hardwired. While Yo loves playing the teacher, he also continues to push the boundaries of his own skills as he works on more complex commands that are pertinent to his blindness...like "veer right."

Oso finished his treat and was napping by the time the others returned. Bella and YoYo did not give their just finished treatfest away as their siblings and Steve walked in announcing, "We brought new treats from Rachael to try!"