May 27, 2003
10:00 p.m.
It was so beautiful out this evening, Dusty and I didn't want to go inside. In fact, we pretty much stayed out until 9 and I ate supper before I went to bed!
Dusty ate her supper out in the front yard, while we did some training. Mostly, this was a review of stuff she already knows, using the clicker as a reinforcement to fine-tune some of her skills.
In particular, we're working on her down-stay, which is a bit rusty these days. She's doing well.
I'm beginning to see a bit of the infamous 'adolescent slump' but mostly it seems that Dusty is just Very Distracted. I don't think she intentionally ignores my commands. I can see that her ears don't even flick back when I'm speaking to her - I believe she is so intensely absorbed in the sounds and sights around her that she just doesn't hear me.
She's successfully fetching her yellow ball in the front yard now. We started out working on this skill indoors. Next, I'll take her to the park with the distractions. Dusty's 'fetch' has been entirely shaped using the clicker. It's been fun to teach her a game for a change.