Recently, Chewie and I have been playing with a rainbow exercise mat.
I like to set up sessions in which Chewie can investigate and explore new objects on her own terms. I call these exploration sessions. My goal is to create an environment in which Chewie will want to interact with the objects we use during the session.
I want Chewie to be brave and curious as she investigates the object. So, before doing one of these sessions, I think carefully about whether she is ready to play with each new object or whether the object might be scary or overwhelming.
Chewie was definitely curious about the rainbow mat!
During the session with the mat, I didn’t try to direct her to interact with the mat in a certain way. Instead, she was free to choose what she wanted to do. At the beginning, she spent a lot of time sniffing the mat. Later on, she often stood on the mat or walked across it.
I did sometimes move or reposition the mat. One of the fun features about this rainbow mat is that I can position it in lots of different ways. Each time I repositioned the mat, Chewie was curious and wanted to spent time smelling it again.
I also spent time scratching Chewie when she was interested in engaging with me and wanted some scratches.
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