Two days after our initial toy-donkey meet and greet, when I offer it to Gus again, he grabs it willingly and shoves it back at me; granted, he lets it go immediately, but I get my hand on it, which earns him a click. Within two minutes, he’s bringing it to my hand wherever I hold it out. And in two more minutes, he’s picking it up from the ground and delivering it to me. Next he adds a few head shakes to get it flapping in his face, which soon seems to tickle his fancy as much as waving the pompom does.
Such good progress that I move right on to the next big step: putting the toy into the baby carriage. Off Gus goes, pushing the pram like a pro, then reaches inside for . . . Where’s the pompom? What’s this toy doing here?? The sky is falling! Still, despite the shock of the switcheroo, all it takes is a cheerful “Pick it up!” from me and he does pick it up. All’s right with the world again. Before we end the session, he’s reliably plucking the toy out of the carriage, bringing it to the pedestal, hopping up, and flapping it into my hand. (Video soon, I promise.)
This particular Stupid Pet Trick now has all its components in place: pushing the empty-looking buggy, followed by removing the oh-so-adorable babydoll, followed by presenting it for audience admiration. Only wrinkle is, there's so much violent flapping that perhaps the show needs an epilogue entailing a funeral for the infant with the snapped neck and the arrest of Gus as an abusive father . . .
Memo to self: Work on keeping the flapping as part of the pompom trick but removing it from the toy-baby trick.
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