Smile!

I wanted to work on something different this morning to hopefully avoid the 'before breakfast' attitude from Chrome (and also because I'm bored lol), so I pulled out the target. We haven't done any target work in over a year. As soon as Chrome saw it his ears perked up and he started toward me. I did some regular touches at chest level, then some a little higher, then some on the ground. I might use the target to build duration in the head down cue.

Then I walked to his side, reached over his back and used the target for lateral flexion. He liked that and never tried to yield his hindquarters. :) I did a little more work on his stiff side to try and help him loosen up. Then, for curiosities sake, I wanted to see how high he would target so I held it way up in the air and he reached up to touch the tennis ball on the end. When he reached up he lifted his upper lip in a 'flehman' or 'smile'. I about fell over dead. Could it really be that easy to teach him to smile??

So I did it several more times and he got it every single time. He didn't even have to touch the target. As soon as his lip came up I clicked and he got his treat. The only problem I had is he was wanting to step closer so he could reach the target. To fix that I went to the outside of the gate and did it a few more times. :) I'm excited because smile is one of the cutesy tricks I really wanted to teach him. Fading the target is going to be the hard part I think lol. I'll try to get video of it tonight. It's so cute!

Also tomorrow is his progress report day so we finally get to measure him to see if he's reached 15hh. And on Sunday I get to go visit with the Appy mare I had for twelve years as a kid. I've been missing her a lot so I called up her new owner and asked if I could visit. I'll get some pictures so you all can see the adorable mare I learned to ride on. She's twenty one this year.

Yummy Carrots!

I bought baby carrots the other day to see if I can get Chrome to eat them since they're healthier than treats. They'll be cheaper too when we start growing them ourselves. :) He made faces over the first one and then started inhaling them. :D

I worked on head lowering first. I realized he was biting at my boot again so I moved my feet away from him (which resulted in a strange spraddle legged crouch for me lol) and asked again. I got him to lower his head several times, down to just a few inches from the ground and he even held it there for a second. He didn't try to snatch away this time. I did a little bit on both sides. He's getting it, just needs more practice. He gets tired of that one quickly and walks away so I don't do it for too long.

Then I worked on his lateral flexion. He's way more flexible on his left side than his right. I did some on both sides and he did perfectly! He only tried to yield away from me once or twice. I just ignored it and waited for one with the feet still.

After that I worked on hindquarter yields. He's still having trouble with them, so I think I'm going to leave it alone a while. I really think it's because of his sore leg so I don't want to push it. He knows to move off of pressure and that's good enough now. I don't have to get it absolutely perfect right now. I noticed I was pressing harder waiting for him to do it right and realized I needed to take a step back. I would rather him be light off of pressure than worry that he puts his feet perfectly or doesn't step forward, etc. I'll pick it back up later when we get the club hoof under control and decide what we're going to do about the hock.

After that I did some backing and grownups are talking just to finish off the carrots. We were even working around the feed shed and he was being a good boy. He's definitely an afternoon person like me. :) Oh and I also forgot to mention that since the warm weather both of his testicles are down and staying down, so he's definitely not a cryptorchid. Thank goodness! I'm trying to scrape up the money to get him gelded before it gets too warm. I don't think I would have been able to afford it if he's been cryptorchid. Well, that's all for now. Carrots got two hooves up and Chrome gets an A+. Good session!

Clicker & Chrome's Pissy Attitude

I decided to work with Chrome this morning because it's supposed to start raining sometime today and I figured I wouldn't want to after work. Unfortunately I did the session before he had breakfast so he was pissy and snatchy. I just reviewed the things he knows.

First I worked on head lowering, using my hand as the cue. He's gotten to where he lowers his head, but also snatches it away trying to get my hand off, so I only clicked for the times when he lowered his head straight down without pulling away. I also clicked while my hand was still resting on his head instead of taking it away. I'm hoping this will help us add duration in too. I just want to work on the snatching away first. I only did it a couple of times because of his snotty attitude. Once I accidentally clicked him for lowering his head . . . just as he tried to take a huge chunk out of my boot! Brat! He needs to be gelded! I'm trying to figure out a way that I can afford it . . . I wish my husband's back would get better.

After that I worked on his lateral flexion. At first he wanted to yield or just walk off. I let him, but he got no click or treat for it. He finally paused long enough to notice I was tickling his side so he swung his head around. At this point he was still being a bit grabby about the treats, but doing a little better. I worked on both sides. His left side is definitely his better side.

Then I worked on hindquarter yields. He kept wanting to walk off, but I only clicked the ones where he yielded without taking steps forward first. He also wasn't wanting to step under himself, so maybe he was stiff. I don't think he's any more of a morning person than I am lol.

After yields I did some backing alongside me with my hand on his chest. He did them, but not very happily. He was just impatient and bratty the whole time. After that I just stood there and ignored him while he walked around and acted ugly. When he finally positioned himself on my left side and stood still with his ugly face away from me I clicked and ended the session. I think I need to work on Grownups some more because he's being passively muggy. Again I think most of the attitude was from an empty tummy. He works a lot better on a full stomach. I guess he can't concentrate when he's hungry lol. Tomorrow I'll try to do our session after breakfast, but before work if I can squeeze it in. I may just feed earlier than I normally do.