Khyan Crack
Khy and toys.. as mentioned before.. don't really mix. Or didn't.
We started with normal toys- floppy octopi, squeaky toys, balls, leather, rabbit fur anything. Nothing really clicked. She'd play with Gam. Sort of. She'd play back if he started it, then slowly progressed to taking a toy from him and running outside with it to tease him into playing- toy being soon forgotten, to maybe taking a toy out of his mouth to do the same.. to sometimes even playing with him with a toy. Sometimes.
Incoming: totally unrelated photos.. but it feels weird having no photos in a post..
That progression took the better part of 17 months. Meanwhile, I've been clicker training a tug behavior with her. I knew it was possible and then needed a project for the KPA course. So got a raccoon tail from a trial and started with sniffing, nose targeting, mouthing, holding, duration holding, shift back, pulling, tugging with it. She got the mechanics quickly, as usual. I transferred that to a clean run raccoon/fleecy tug (which I don't recommend at all- it tore almost immediately) that held food. I also covered the velcro on it so she could dive in and get the food as well when tossed. Then I made her one with a long braided fleece tug on it. And at Nationals found a fleece tug with rabbit fur braided into it. She was wanting it in the booth and was tugging right there just for fun!
So.. she enjoys it.. but doesn't *love* it. Really.. there's not much that she's really passionate about. She wants to play with me and for me (if there's something good in it for her... -sigh- girls...) but not really for herself or anything particular. She enjoys playing with Gam and sometimes gets a crazy streak and just picks on him since that's what forgiving boys are for. I love her, she's a sweet, caring girl that will be a *FANTASTIC* mother and puppy raiser and has the best disposition of any dog I've ever met... but getting her to be a little crazy is hard. So in that way, I guess she's a lot like me..
Super long story short.. How to get her to lose her self control and just GO FOR something? No clue... I didn't realize it, but I had pretty much given up on thinking that was a possibility.
Until she met the lotus ball.
Ho. ly. Crap.
I had toyed with the idea of getting it for her, but wasn't really sure. Thought it *might* help, or it would just be another one of those toys I thought that about that wouldn't do it for her. I was still on the fence about it but had expressed interest to a friend.. who got for Khy for Christmas. <3
Khyan already gets super excited about the sound of velcro (the clean run tug and her thundershirt are both velcroy) and thanks to Wes, has a new found addiction to Lil Smokies (ugh).
So 1/4 Lil Smokie (smoky?) + Lotus ball? Wow... She lost it. She figured out how to open the lotus ball on a slippery tile floor in about 30 seconds and once we went outside with it....
That distance we never had?
15' no question
That speed we *don't* have except under extreme agility droughts?
Got it. For every obstacle.
RUNNING the dogwalk?
Unheard of.. until today. She even surprised herself when she had to slam on the breaks at the top of the 3rd plank.
Goes to show the importance of the value of treats.
Some thoughts... Do I think we could've gotten this a year ago with the same toy? No. I think this was part of the progression. She wouldn't play or pick up a ball or any toy a year ago- especially if it was us playing.. more likely with Gam, so I don't think this would've been any different. She also had no treat value differences until Wes introduced her to lil smokies before the trial at the end of October.
All of a sudden, she was spitting out natural balance, jerky, hot dogs, lamb lung, chicken hearts/gizzards and bison liver. All that would do is cheese, lil smokies and 5 Guys' french fries.
Talk about a quick learning curve for both of us. Gam plays to play with me or his ball or treats or tug or whatever... So completely new territory. I understood it for the kennel dogs and for other dogs I've worked with, but it really has never been a *thing* with my own dogs. Cheerios were as good as steak.
So now that she has treat value and treats that make her eyes bulge out of her head and her tail try to fly off, a toy that she can chase AND that has velcro? We've got distance.. and speed.. and she fetches it back when it's empty!
Love breakthroughs. Especially ones I didn't know I needed. Love this girl, she's taken me on quite a ride so far, can't wait to see what else she'll teach me that I didn't know I needed to learn. :-)