I know, I haven't been nearly as regular about doing the protocol as I said I was going to be. This is an unfortunate case of work getting in the way of life.
Maxwell moved on to the third set of exercises tonight. Instead of doing protocol before any traditional training, as I have all previous nights, I put it in the middle of the session. I don't want him to get complacent about when to chill. He pleasantly surprised me by settling down immediately, sliding from his proper SIT into a relaxed sit, then a sloppy down, during the exercises. He was un-phased by my jogging, clapping, circling, or standing still for 20 full seconds. He broke once, to check out the closet where the kibble and toys are kept. Otherwise he was alert but not hyper-vigilant, and obedient but not anticipatory.
He is still aware of his environment, and turned to check out a few noises at one point. But he did not get up to investigate, and returned his attention to me without prompting. I'll probably only need to do this set one more time, then move on again.
He's getting good at this! I just hope we can begin to apply it to the real world soon. Hopefully learning to relax will also help his new-found reactivity. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
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