We went to the new Transformers movie tonight, so training was late and brief.
I didn't formally work on the protocol tonight. Instead, I took the activities we did yesterday, and threw some of them together into a short session. I got a somewhat more relaxed down from the little man... probably due to the heat more than anything. Maxwell was over-vigilant even in the quiet living room, but stayed down for my counting out loud, in my head, and taking quiet steps in random directions. He only popped up once.
Sadie was game for training and DINNER!!! I got her in a down and massaged her ears and neck. At least, I tried to. For the first several minutes, she'd snap up into a sit as soon as I touched her. Definitely not relaxed. Even once I convinced her that allowing my touch in a down meant kibble, she did the most tense version of 'relaxing' that I've ever seen. Mouth shut, ears pinned to the sides of her head, on her back with her legs in the air tensed, tail stiff. I tried to treat only when I could feel her muscles relax, or if she softened her face.
Question: In the protocol, it says to ask the dog to sit or down for each exercise in the sequence. Should I be encouraging the pups to move around between exercises? Or can they maintain the down if they prefer to, and just begin the next item in the list?
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