When I pat my belly and say “come to me” as sweetly as possible, Gus cold-shoulders me as hard as he can. He might surf the ground for tidbits, or go to the far corner to inhale important information from the manure bucket, or stand on his pedestal with his back to me. Eventually he does come, because he wants to get clicks and treats; and as soon as he takes two steps toward me, that’s what he gets. He’s also surrendering to the lead rope more often: when he starts to crane his neck and yank away, I dig my feet in and make like a tree, he leans on the line but doesn’t increase the pull, and at that point a soft kissy noise and a pat on my front will often get him to relent and return of his own accord. That wins him a big click every time.
In cold weather, Gus likes to trot, and I encourage it by trotting alongside him. Walking over a ground pole particularly inspires trotting. He clearly finds it a hoot — he puts his ears back, gets a merry gleam (or evil glint?) in his eye, and throws his head around as his little hooves twinkle over the ground. I love his delight, but sometimes he crowds me with that thrashing head, so I stiff-arm him at his neck or face. Once he trots a few paces in proper position, aligned with my shoulder and not too close or too wide, I click, which stops him and he gets his treat. Then he decides if he’d like to trot more or just walk.
On the pedestal, I’m getting several steps of his hind feet before I click. A full 360 pirouette is a crowd pleaser for anybody passing by the arena door. It’s a donkey pleaser too, as he seems to really enjoy the opportunity to be taller than me. I still repeat the verbal cue ”over” for each side-step, but I hope I can fade that to just one cue at the beginning.
`
No comments:
Post a Comment