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Chewie’s Diary Week 88: Boot target

Chewie has recently learned to touch a small blue cone attached to my boot! It took just a handful of repetitions to teach this behavior, because I used the idea of “transferring actions.” I started with a behavior that Chewie already knew, touching her nose to a blue cone. Then, I made a few changes […]

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Chewie’s Diary Week 87: Green cones

I recently acquired more traffic cones! They are bright green, and I have lots of fun ideas for how Chewie and I can use them in our training. Chewie walks between an orange cone and two green cones. However, first, I needed to introduce Chewie to the new cones. I did not think Chewie would […]

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Chewie’s Diary Week 86: Muddy Chewie!

Fall is here! Our hot, hot summer and drought are finally over. Chewie and I are both happy about the cooler temperatures and rain. Chewie, as well, is quite pleased about rolling around in the damp dirt. Chewie takes a roll in the dirt Muddy Chewie! This week, we’ve starting expanding Chewie’s stay behavior. Up […]

Chewie’s Diary Week 84: Shenanigans

I have a security camera set up at the barn, since I’m generally only there for a couple of hours per day. I can use the camera to see what Chewie and Liberty are doing and monitor the property for anything unusual or unsafe. Most of what I catch on the camera is rather mundane, […]

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Chewie’s Diary Week 83: Tambourine target

Chewie looks at and listens to the tambourine Earlier this week, Chewie and I spent some time playing with a small tambourine! We’ve spent a lot of time exploring new and interesting objects, including various objects for Chewie to stand on. (You can check out the exploration sessions tag to read about some of our […]