Think, Aiobe, Think

Comment from the most recent training report:

"Aiobe is an enthusiastic worker. She sometimes gets a little too excited to perform a skill and ends up getting confused. This is particularly true with the Light command right now. As she gets more familiar with the skill her confusion decreases and the skill becomes more consistent."

Trainer: Aiobe, Light!
Aiobe: Quizzical look.
Aiobe: Pause
Aiobe: Sits
Aiobe: Rolls Over
Aiobe: Speaks, Downs, Heels, Shakes, Rolls, Stands, Jumps, Spinsincirclesputspawsovernosedoesahandstandturnsincirclesgrinsrollsagainpaddlespawsinair...

As a puppy she used to lose her head at times and perform commands at random when she got tired or confused. Once she got started the confusion only seemed to grow, but even in the midst of it what she most wanted was to please.

Most of the rest of the report was very much like last month's. Her December field trip was to the shopping mall. A December shopping mall trip--that must have been full of excitements and distractions!

According to her trainer, Aiobe has a moderate response to correction, high response to motivation and a high learning rate. Yep, he's describing the puppy I've known.

Belated Update

Hi,
Greetings from the far side of the holidays. I got Aiobe's November report but never got around to making an entry about it. She's doing well. Everything looked good except for her licking and lack of calmness (no surprises on either of those). She's working on lots of commands now--Hold, Get, Tug/Drop, Push, Light, and Switch. There are a couple boxes checked whose meanings I don't know. What does "Interactive" mean? Does anybody know? There's also a box checked that says Other: step. It's in the same section as the boxes which say "Ambulatory" and "Wheelchair"--she's working on all her commands in both those positions.

In November Aiobe had a field trip to the hardware store. She's also been polishing her retrieving skills.

I'm looking forward to her next report, which should be coming very soon. I'll be sure to let you know what it says in a more timely fashion.

The trip to Santa Rosa feels like it happened a long time ago.

I hope everybody had a happy holiday season.
Best wishes for the new year!