Mental Work

Winter is killing me. I don't remember Vivre having this much excess energy last winter. So I have started trying to find mental work to wear her down a little. One of the things I have been putting out her tricky treat ball and letting her knock it all over the house. Other times I hide her tug and then send her to find and retrieve it for a quick play session.

We have also been doing some shaping sessions. I have a much easier time shaping when I am not working on a behavior that is necessary for competition. I need to remember what Wayne would tell me about the horses. If I mess it up we can fix it. Oddly enough I have tried on several occasions to get started with sending Vivre out and around something it has never seemed like she really got it. At least until tonight. I started the session just clicking for a head movement with no idea of where I would go from there, but she made it very easy to click her for going behind the bookcase and by the end of the session she was going behind the bookcase and all the way around and back to the front.

I have been so freaked about retrieves because I really didn't want to mess it up so I haven't started for fear of that. (Same with tracking.) But I found a place in Knoxville that does both obedience and agility. I was looking for a place for private agility lessons, but may throw some obedience lessons in there as well. They are supposed to use positive methods, and I will go observe them first. Even with my primary sessions being agility I will try and observe the obedience classes since I think it is easier to see if they will resort to compulsion in that setting than in agility. Unfortunately I can't get down there to meet them or have any lessons until everything defrosts and I can get off this freaking mountain.

But for the first time in days I have finally gotten Vivre worn out and she is sleeping on the bed using a stuffed toy as a pillow. I had almost forgotten what peace was like around here.