Baby Steps

Had another pleasing time with Sonny today! I have a big animal science exam Thursday that is supposed to be really challenging, so I needed all the time I could get tonight to study. I figured I would play a little at liberty since I didn't have a whole lot of time.

I started with some stick to me, which he was putting a surprising amount of effort into! He did so well at sticking with me without lagging behind that I didn't play with that very long. Then I moved onto some small circles at the walk/trot. He stayed really close to me, but the best part was that I barely took a few steps back and not only did he turn into me (that is usually a problem for us, he likes to take off running rather than come into me), he came into me with a happy face! Usually if I ask him to come into me straight from a circle without stopping, he turns it into a driving game and gets really dominate. I was completely shocked that he came into me at liberty with a happy face! Wow! That was enough to make my day!

Along with that, he laid down twice today. I want to teach him to lay down when I ask him to, so I used Marion's advice and rewarded him a ton while he was still laying down. I did that both times and quit after the second time. I didn't 'ask' him to lay down either time, but I am hoping that eventually I can get him to piece together the puzzle. He is so stinkin' smart I don't think it will take long. I will definitely be playing with it and updating here about it soon!

Oh, how I love that little booger!