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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2019 9:10:02 GMT -6
This next trick was fancy, but undoubtably tricky. She wanted more than anything to give the audience of the upcoming competition a show, but knew that Aces and Jack, her love plush, weren’t there yet. They had learned a lot of basics, but so far nothing that would ‘wow’ anyone. Well, wow is what she wanted people to say- she wanted to hear the crowds gasp and roar, ooh and ah. Thankfully, those basics she had taught them could be built up into something more impressive over time. She just needed to branch them out a bit. They learned easily, so hopefully this wouldn’t be too difficult, but the humanish could see it taking a while. They were eager learners, but got distracted easily. Getting them to weave between her legs had been a task and a half to complete, and that was with knowing how to weave in general well in advance.
Fiera 1 AJ Lv. 13.1/Lo. 8.1 Through Hoop 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2019 9:18:32 GMT -6
The trick that Fiera wanted to teach the pair now was to jump through a hoop. As far as she knew, it was a staple of the fancy footwork and cute tricks seen in agility contests- she couldn’t see any self respecting contest pet of hers NOT knowing how to do it. Though, she wouldn’t apply that standard to others. Unfortunately, Jack and Aces weren’t the most disciplined pets in the world. Teaching them to leap had been easy enough, but now they needed to move on to something that was a bit more complex without them immediately getting bored and running off to do something else. Jumping through a hoop was easy in theory- Fiera knew she could certainly do it- but theories never did copy over well to the harsh face of reality. She eyed Jack and Aces carefully- with wishful thinking, this would at least be… interesting.
Fiera 2 AJ Lv. 13.2/Lo. 8.2 Through Hoop 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2019 9:18:59 GMT -6
She rustled through her bag. Thankfully, she had planned to train this in advance and had brought a hoop with her. It wasn’t anything fancy. It was simple, unpolished wood, bent into a circle. She was pretty sure it was intended to be used in embroidery, but Fiera didn’t know enough about the hobby to say for sure. The point was was that it was a circle, it had a big hole in the middle, and it was big enough that Aces and Jack could jump through it without hurting themselves. That was all she really needed. She took it out with a flourish, immediately catching Aces and Jacks’ attentions. It was easy to get their attention, but maintaining it was what took some effort. They trotted over carefully, in sync as usual, and Fiera prepared to get them used to it- they’d be using it a lot soon, after all.
Fiera 3 AJ Lv. 13.3/Lo. 8.3 Through Hoop 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2019 9:19:36 GMT -6
She set it on the ground first, leaning it on its edge, letting them get a good look at it. They sniffed at it carefully, and walked around it. Jack rubbed up against it affectionately (did they ever do things any other way?) and Aces barked at it, wagging their tail as if inviting it to play. Fiera thought at first that it would be easier to teach them to jump through it by holding it in the air and commanding them to leap… but now that she looked at it, she thought there was another way. She could encourage them to step through the hoop while it was on the ground, and then slowly inch it up, bit by bit, until they were finally leaping through it at the height that Fiera wanted. It would certainly be a lot easier and gradual than putting it in the air to start with.
Fiera 4 AJ Lv. 13.4/Lo 8.4 Through Hoop 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2019 9:27:09 GMT -6
With that plan in place, Fiera left the hoop there on the ground, sitting on its side. Then, she got out her favorite training toy- a little red flag on a stick. She waited patiently until Jack and Aces were both on one side of the hoop, closer to her. Then, she lowered the flag and waved it on the opposite side of the hoop. “Jack, Aces!” She said, drawing their attention to the flag. “Hoop!” She requested, setting the command word for this trick. The love plushes looked at each other momentarily. Jack immediately ran through the hoop to bat at the flag with their paw, followed by Aces shortly after. A sense of satisfaction rushed through Fiera- so far, so good! “Good job, Jack! Good job, Aces! Good hoop!” She said happily, and leaned down to give them pats on the head- their favorite equivalent to being given treats.
Fiera 5 AJ Lv. 14.0/Lo. 9.0 Through Hoop 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2019 9:27:50 GMT -6
She let them revel in the affection for a moment before withdrawing her hand and the flag again- bring it around to the front of the hoop first so they would “reset” to their original positions near Fiera. Then, once they were settled, she raised the hoop about two inches. Not sitting on the ground, but still low enough that they could just step through it if they wanted to. “Hoop!” She said encouragingly. The pair just looked at her, confused. Right- they weren’t quite ready for that, Fiera thought. Instead, she got out the flag again, waving it behind the hoop. Aces’ tail immediately started wagging. “Hoop!” She repeated. “Hoop!” Jack walked forward, but bumped into the hoop awkwardly. Aces, on the other hand, was quick to step on top of Jack, and awkwardly fell through the hoop, before gnawing at the flag. Well, it was awkward, but it would work.
Fiera 6 AJ Lv. 14.1/Lo. 9.1 Through Hoop 6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2019 9:28:14 GMT -6
Not to be outdone or left out, Jack was quick to follow on Aces’ heels, stepping over the rim of the hoop and joining Jack at the finish line. Fiera was quick to withdraw the flag and replace it with praise and scritches, placing the hoop back in front of them in the meantime. They hardly seemed to notice the change with how much they were enjoying themselves. Once she was done, the hoop was back in position, a couple inches above the ground. She didn’t move it any higher quite yet- she wanted them to understand that she wanted them to step through it on command first. “Hoop!” She repeated again, pointing at the hoop. She didn’t use the flag again this time- hopefully the repetition would let them understand it. They looked at her quizzically, before Aces stepped forward and put a single foot through the hoop. “Yes, good job!” Fiera praised.
Fiera 7 AJ Lv. 14.2/Lo. 9.2 Through Hoop 7
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2019 9:28:42 GMT -6
Tail wagging, Aces put another foot through the hoop. With encouragements and repetition of “Hoop! Hoop!” (Which likely would have made her look like a crazy woman to any outside observers.), soon Aces had stepped all the way through the hoop. Then, she moved on to Aces, who quickly joined their lover once they had an example to work with. She dropped the hoop and bent down to praise them both, rubbing their heads all over with enthusiasm. They adored the attention, purring and whining happily. From there, Fiera stood up again and picked up the hoop, setting it up again a bit apart from the pair. Now that they had the basics of jumping through a hoop down pat, she could turn up the heat a bit. She raised the hoop up to about a foot and gestured to it. “Leap! Hoop!” She said, in a combination of the two tricks.
Fiera 8 AJ Lv. 14.3/Lo. 9.3 Through Hoop 8
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2019 9:29:17 GMT -6
Jack was the first to approach the hoop, being the more intelligent and considerate of the two. They sniffed the hoop carefully, and put one foot on the edge. “No, no!” Fiera chided gently, and Jack put their ears back and looked at her. “Hoop! Leap!” She tried again. Jack crouched down, bunching up their hind legs. “Yes! Hoop!” She reiterated. Then, Jack leapt into the air, curving elegantly, and landed on the other side of the hoop, safely on two feet. Jack looked back at Aces and meowed loudly. Encouraged, Aces made a running start and leapt through the hoop as well- hitting the edge and landing awkwardly, but a success all the same. Fiera cheered wildly, a one woman crowd- they had finally gotten the idea! She tried again another time at that height, and that time both of them landed with the grace she was looking for.
Fiera 9 AJ Lv. 14.4/Lo. 9.4 Through Hoop 9
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2019 9:29:47 GMT -6
From there, Fiera slowly jacked up the height of the hoop. She went from a foot to two feet, giving the command “hoop” every time she adjusted the height of the hoop. They were understandably nervous at first. It was a tricky thing to do. Eventually however, they took to it with the same gusto they handled most tasks. She was then able to raise it from two to two and a half, to three feet. Each time, she gave them the time and repetition to make sure they got through the hoop cleanly and gracefully. Finally, she raised it to its final height of five feet- at about shoulder height. She had backed up enough to give them space for a running start, and told them “Hoop!” One last time, they ran for the hoop, pushed off the ground, and leapt- up, up, and through, as good as any circus performer.
Fiera 10 (Level up!) AJ Lv. 15.0/Lo. 10.0 Through Hoop 10
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2019 9:31:14 GMT -6
It was time for a simpler trick. She had taught Aces and Jack how to leap, but it was time to teach them a trick that was a variation of that. One thing she wanted them to be able to do was fancier tricks impressive leaps and acobatic feats. Granted, her love plushes were pretty cute and chubby- not what one would expect from an athletic competitor- but that meant that they would just have to work all the harder. She had two similar tricks in mind this time- jump over and jump up. She figured that jump over would be the best to teach for now. Hurdles were quite a common sight in agility contests, so it would be best for them to deal with those first. With how well they did learning how to jump through a hoop, she didn’t think it would prove too troublesome for them to learn.
Fiera 1 AJ LV. 15.1/Lo. 10.1 Jump Over 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2019 9:31:39 GMT -6
Unfortunately, she didn’t actually bring any hurdles with her to train them with. She had finite space in her bag, after all, and even if they folded up, they would have been a little heavy for her anyway. It didn’t take Fiera too long to find a replacement, however. She let Aces and Jack tumble along behind her while she went searching for something she could use, and soon found a series of logs that had been cut up and placed around a fire pit as makeshift stools. They would be perfect, for both jump up and jump over! Fiera dragged them back to her tree, happy to make the most of it. She could put them back later, whatever. It would be fine. A bit of effort, sweat, and elbow grease later, she had them arranged in a row, one after the other. An excellent training track for two junior hurdlers.
Fiera 2 AJ Lv. 15.2/Lo. 10.2 Jump Over 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2019 9:32:16 GMT -6
Now, all she had to do was get them to jump over the stumps. That took a little bit of thinking, admittedly, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle. The first thing she knew she needed was, of course, her little red flag. The cheap toy had been proving its worth lately as a valuable training tool. Aces and Jack found it fascinating, and so would follow it anywhere. As if on cue, Aces and Jack looked up the minute she took it out. “Ready, guys? Let’s get started!” She said, and waved it over one of the stumps. “Jump over!” She said encouragingly. Aces, ever the enthusiast, was the one to move first. She held the flag over the stump, so about two feet up. Thankfully, Aces already knew how to leap, and so it was effortless for them to throw themself at it, but missed and landed on the other side of the stump.
Fiera 3 AJ Lv. 15.3/Lo. 10.3 Jump Over 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2019 9:32:47 GMT -6
Thankfully, jumping over like that was exactly what Fiera wanted from them. “Good job, Aces!” She said, playing up the joy in her voice while giving them rough pats on the head (their favorite kind). “Good jump over!” She reiterated. Then, she told Aces to stay (which they carried out dutifully), and turned to Jack. Again, she waggled the flag over the stump. “Aces, jump over!” She said. Jack had just watched their other half do the same thing, and so was even quicker to throw themself at the flag. She jerked it out of the way just in time, and Jack landed on the ground right next to Aces. She was fast to praise Jack as well, stroking their whole body, front to back. Jack purred loudly at the reward, and they both turned eagerly to Fiera as she walked to the next ‘hurdle’, clearly ready to try again.
Fiera 4 AJ Lv. 15.4/Lo. 10.4 Jump Over 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2019 9:33:12 GMT -6
This time, she decided to give them a proper test- jumping without the flag to encourage them. She pointed at the stump, and their gazes followed her. “Jack, Aces… jump over!” She said, waiting with bated breath. A bit of hesitation… and they moved! Picking up speed, Jack made it over first, followed by Aces, who just barely clipped the stump. Fiera pumped her fist in the air with victory, and fell upon them to reinforce them with praise. The hardest part was over- it was only a matter of refining the action. She repeated it over and over again after that. Each time they moved more gracefully than before, she’d give them even greater praise, and dropping off the praise for sloppier performances. Soon, they were hurdling with the best- able to effortlessly clear each hurdle in turn, and jumping right into the next one with no pauses at all. Fiera’s efforts were paying off- these two were looking pretty good!
Fiera 5 AJ Lv. 16.0/Lo 11.0 Jump Over 5
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