After making a list of things we need to work on, I realized that I have start moving Ellie’s contact training along. We’ve been stalled at hand touches for the exact reason that was given at the puppy camp. They’re boring! But, the excitement will be our incremental but observable progress!

So, today at lunch, I worked with the plexiglass target. My mechanics are better, but still rough. As soon as the target is within an inch of the floor, Ellie wants to hit it with her paw. For the next couple of sessions, I need to have her practice hitting it high for a couple times, then low. Set her up for success. She will get that even when the target is parallel to the floor, it’s still to be hit with her nose. She’s so fast that she sneaks her paw in there right as I’m saying “yes”.

Quick session on the buja board. Very good. C/T for two feet on and making it move.

Second session - also good. Clicking for movement of the board. She started walking over it with her back feet touching the board as well. Almost without any concern for the movement of the board.

Third session. Excellent. Going over board with all four paws. Towards the end, she stepped on the board with one front paw and may have caught her other paw under the board. This made her a little bit more cautious. Next session, she’ll get lots of clicks for confidently hitting the board no matter what.

This is awesome progress for her!