Summer School

I usually play ball with Morey several times a day (typically before work, during a lunch break and then before heading home from work). But since the weather has turned hot I have changed Morey's schedule to include indoor training sessions instead of outdoor ball time. Morey loves to train so he doesn't mind this change a bit!

Morey and I are working on a few different training goals right now, most of them for agility. I taught Morey "left" a while ago and now am teaching him "right". Having directional cues makes it a lot easier for me to direct Morey through different obstacles when I am farther away from him. And, since he is much faster than me, it doesn't take much for him to get ahead of me!

Another training goal for Morey to learn "spot". This will be used for the contact obstacles (dog walk and A-frame) which require the dog to make contact with the bottom of the obstacle before moving on. I want Morey to do a "2 on-2 off"- basically to stop with his two front paws on the ground and his two back paws still on the obstacle.

All ICAN dogs learn the "shaping game" which is kind of like playing the "Hot Cold" game. The person has an end goal in mind- it can be a real task or a training goal just for that session. It's common to use an object and have the dog do something with it- touch it with their nose, put their front feet on it, pick it up with their mouths. You click and treat the dog any time it does something close to what you are wanting and continue until they figure it out. So you might start by clicking the dog for looking at the object and then for moving toward it and then for sniffing it, etc. If the dog does something different you ignore it (equivalent of telling a human "colder") and wait for them to offer another behavior.

When a dog know the game it is lots of fun! You can bring out an object and they will immediately start offering behaviors, trying to figure out what will earn them a treat. It's a great way to build your bond with your dog and since it makes them think it can tire them out as much as physical exercise. I have really enjoyed breaking out my clicker and doing some shaping with Morey!

What I realized with Morey is that he must have never been shaped to do anything with his back feet. It's almost like he doesn't know he has them! It took a really long time for him to step on the board we are using with his back feet. It's been slow going but each session we make more progress. By the time "summer school" is over and we go back outside I am sure he will have it down! Practice makes perfect!

Pushing Buttons

One of Morey's favorite jobs is pushing the automatic door buttons. He knows that pushing the button is supposed to open the door and if the door doesn't open he will keep pushing the button again until the door opens. The building where I work has five different entrances with automatic door buttons and Morey knows where they all are. Since I don't use a leash with Morey I can send him to open the door from quite a distance.

 Below are some short videos showing Morey opening the different doors at my office building. Enjoy!

Don't you wish you were that enthusiastic about going to work in the morning?? As you can tell, Morey can multi-task by holding a ball in his mouth and opening doors at the same time! Because I arrive at work at 7am before our office technically opens I don't usually put Morey's vest on him in the morning. But that doesn't affect his ability to do his job!

 

This is actually a double set of doors so Morey has to push two buttons for us to get inside

 

  Leaving work at the end of the day. This button is lower than the others so Morey doesn't have to do an "up" in order to touch the button.

Back to Reality

After spending three and a half weeks away from Texas Morey and I finally returned back to Austin and started the process of adjusting back to reality. I think it was tough for both of us! It was in the 90s when we got back and neither Morey nor I were prepared for the heat or to go back to work!

Morey was happy to see my roommate and all his toys. One night shortly after we returned I went in my room and found Morey laying on my bed with his bunny toy right next to him. Maybe next time Morey will bring his bunny with him when we go on a trip!

A number of people commented on how fit Morey looked. He was getting a lot of exercise at Grandma's with all the ball chasing, toy tugging and swimming and I think it toned him a bit more than his "desk job". I will have to switch up his activity schedule so he can keep that nice lean look and muscle mass he built up at Grandma's Boot Camp!