Tonight was the second mini-lesson for Ru on the 2x2 weaves. I started training in my livingroom and of course it snowed last night so there was no moving our training outdoors. To top it off, I'm sick with a cold so we'll only have 1 mini session today.
I started with the 2 weave poles perpendicular to us so the "gate" was the simple "go through the poles". After a very brief moment, Ru went between them and I tossed the toy and played with her. After doing that a few times, I moved the 2 poles to the 8 & 2 o'clock position. Ru got it right away, but it began to deteriorate after that first success.
Part of the issue is that she appears to be stopping/pausing (even though I toss the toy and then she continues) at the entry. Part of this may be I'm slow at tossing the toy and I also think that a part of the issue is that all of the things I've been shaping and rewarding has a "stop" at the end (i.e. her 2 on 2 off contact behavior, her stay, her play bow, etc.). Of course I am training in the house and I'll admit a little fearful of tossing a toy toward a window!
I can't wait to get outside so I can encourage her to run more and have the room to stretch and play on a larger scale. In the meantime, I want to be sure I'm not reinforcing a stop/pause prior to going through the poles....
A wonderful thing is that Ru has a ton of drive and really likes to play. Her tail just wags and wags and wags while we're training!
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