Sunday, April 25, 2010

box work


Hey, everyone! Kiri here, waiting for Mom to do some box work with me.



What's box work, you ask? Well, I'll show you!



You know how some folks encourage you to think outside the box?


Well, my Mom encourages me to think on top of the box! Watch this little video clip to see what I mean:




You see, Mom started clicking and rewarding me for putting my two feet up on the box and staying there. Once I got good at that, she went on to the next step, which was clicking and feeding me for moving my hind end while I keep my front feet on the box:




Then she started moving to my side to feed me there after clicking me for moving my butt. She calls this "placement of reinforcement". Phbbbt....I call it having a snack! (I call a LOT of things having a snack....):




That's when I started figuring out that I could just move along with her and get my treats faster that way:




Now, I know you're wondering where this is all going. I'm gonna let my Granny Annie and my brother Apolo show you. Watch how Apolo moves along with Granny Annie and tries to stay right next to her side just because he's watching her and knows where he needs to be:




Here's my friend Tessie showing that she can move with Auntie Christine in both directions on the box. (whoa, advanced stuff!):



Ok, so here's the point of all this. Once we figure out that we need to be in that spot next to our Moms, we can get in the right position to do what Mom calls "heeling". The sheep-moving sisters have told me about "heeling" -- it means moving in unison with your Mom or Dad while staying exactly in position on their left side. Here's Tessie and Auntie Christine doing this "heeling" stuff, while Mom bugs them with directions:




See how Tessie knows to get into that position even when Auntie Christine is doing weird things? That's what Mom's teaching me with the box work!

Ok, enough work, time for some recreation! Maybe today's the day I catch those Wood Ducks by surprise....

See ya!

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