|
Post by Fanged on Apr 21, 2020 12:30:09 GMT -6
He hesitated for a moment, not quite sure what Fanged wanted him to do. She whistled again, hoping the sound would draw him closer to her. Rusty decided that he would venture closer to figure out why the woman was making that sound. Fanged patted her legs encouragingly. The Lazaru broke into a run and happily raced over to her. When he reached her, she leaned down and gave him enthusiastic pets.
“Good boy, Rusty! You’re getting the hang of it!”
Rusty bounced around in happiness. Fanged waited for him to settle down before trying out the trick again. She scanned the area, searching for the ideal place to stand. When Rusty was no longer paying attention to her, she moved away from him, trying to get as far away as she deemed reasonable. When she was ready, she raised her fingers to her mouth and whistled loudly. Rusty raised his head to figure out where the sound came from.
(Rusty 28, 28)
(Training: Come 3)
|
|
|
Post by Fanged on Apr 21, 2020 13:08:36 GMT -6
He narrowed his eyes, trying to track where his owner was. By now, he had figured out that she was the one making the strange noise and that the noise indicated that she wanted something from him. It took him a moment, but soon he made eye contact with Fanged. Once he knew where she was, he started heading over to her. He picked up the pace to a trot and traversed the field’s length of distance over to Fanged.
“Good work! You did amazing!” She praised him once he reached her.
Rusty immediately thrust his head closer to her, demanding attention from the woman. He meeped with enthusiasm once she complied with his wants. After a few moments of pets, she drew back from him. She came up with an idea to test him the trick one more time. This time, she would make things a little more difficult for him.
(Rusty 28 1/5, 28 1/5)
(Training: Come 4)
|
|
|
Post by Fanged on Apr 26, 2020 22:32:26 GMT -6
She would first need to take cover. If Rusty could find her and come to the sound of her whistling, she will have deemed him as adequately trained. There was a pine tree that would hide her body from sight. She would just need to sneak over there without Rusty noticing. Luckily for her, the Lazaru was easily distracted. While he was chasing a fly, she dashed over to the tree, twisting her body to hide behind the thick covering of pine needles. She had an obscured view of Rusty, but she could see him well enough to know that he was still chasing the fly. She raised her fingers to her mouth and whistled loud and long. Rusty immediately stopped in his tracks and looked up, trying to find Fanged. Fanged purposely moved the tree branches, indicating where she was. When Rusty caught sight of the movement, he raced over.
“Look at you Rusty! You’re so clever!” she praised him.
(Rusty 28 2/5, 28 2/5)
(Training: Come 5)
|
|
|
Post by Fanged on Jun 25, 2020 11:47:42 GMT -6
Now that she had taught Rusty to come when she whistled, it seemed only natural to transition to teaching him to stay. She allowed him to have a short break, not wanting him to get too burned out from training. When she was ready, she had Rusty assume the sitting position.
“Stay!” She introduced the new command word to him. She then began to walk away from the Lazaru. Rusty was confused and stood up to follow her. “Rusty, no!” She lightly reprimanded him. She didn’t want him to think he was in actual trouble, but she needed to convey to him what the trick consisted of. And in this case, he needed to stay still. Rusty looked dejected, but he stopped in place. Fanged took a few more steps away from him before stopping as well.
“Good job, Rusty!” She told him when he stopped following her. The Lazaru perked up.
(Rusty 28 3/5, 28 3/5)
(Training: Stay 1)
|
|
|
Post by Fanged on Jun 25, 2020 19:31:45 GMT -6
Rusty relaxed once Fanged have him praise. He got anxious when he was told ‘no’ and Fanged did her best to snap him out of those emotions. She leaned close and scratched him on the top of his head in reassurance.
“Alright, I know it’s going to be unpleasant for you, but we’ll need to try that again.” She took a step away from him. “Rusty, sit!” She had him sit once again, finding it easier to keep him in place as desired. “Now, stay!” She switched to the new command word soon after, hoping to get Rusty used to it.
She took a step back. Rusty watched her carefully, but didn’t yet feel compelled to move and join her. She continued taking steps, moving slowly not to trigger any instinct to chase in Rusty. When she got a little too far away from him, he broke position and tried to follow.
“Rusty, no!”
(Rusty 28 4/5, 28 4/5)
(Training: Stay 2)
|
|
|
Post by Fanged on Jun 25, 2020 19:44:54 GMT -6
Rusty froze in place. His head dipped down and he looked away from her. Fanged immediately felt bad, but she needed him to stay still.
“Rusty, stay!” She commanded again. She took a few more steps back and to her surprise, Rusty remained in place. “Good boy!” She switched to praise once the action was properly followed. For additional reward, she also gave Rusty a small fish as a treat.
Rusty immediately switched into a happier mood. He accepted the praise and ate his treat quickly. When he was finished, he moved closer to her and looked up expectantly for more. If he wanted more, he was going to need to do additional work. Fanged disengaged from Rusty, waiting for him to grow distracted once again. It didn’t take him long.
“Rusty, stay!” She called his name to grab his attention and then asked him to perform the trick again.
(Rusty 29, 29)
(Training: Stay 3)
|
|
|
Post by Fanged on Jun 25, 2020 21:35:37 GMT -6
Rusty froze in place. He seemed to be making the connection that she wanted him to stay still, but she still needed to test how long he would be able to hold the position. She began to take steps away from him, feeling impressed when he managed to keep himself still. When she felt that she had moved far enough away from him, she stopped.
“Good work, Rusty! That was exactly right!” She released him from the command and praised him once again. She moved back over to him and began to give him affectionate pats across his back. Rusty wriggled in happiness, pleased that he had performed the trick correctly.
“Now that you’re understanding, we’ll have to make it a bit more complicated.” She mused. “Rusty, stay!”
She began to take steps away from him, moving faster than she had before. She kept her eyes on him, watching to see if he could stay in place.
(Rusty 29 1/5, 29 1/5)
(Training: Stay 4)
|
|
|
Post by Fanged on Jun 25, 2020 22:03:17 GMT -6
When she considered herself a decent distance away, she stopped and carefully considered Rusty’s position. He hadn’t move closer to her at all.
“Good boy!” She called out as she returned to his side. Rusty greeted her happily, however he remained perfectly in place until she allowed him to settle. She would have one final test for him, but she was confident that he would pass it. She waited for him to calm down from her praise before giving him the command word once again.
“Stay!” She told him before she began to back away.
She moved swiftly and further than she had before. Rusty kept his eyes fixed on her form, but he remained in place even after she had put a sizeable distance between the two of them. She continued further, moving so that his form was quite small in her view. When she deemed the test a success, she whistled for Rusty to come over to her. His small form immediately began to race over and once he reached her, she gave him a loving scratch behind the ears.
(Rusty 29 2/5, 29 2/5)
(Training: Stay 5)
|
|
|
Post by Fanged on Jun 26, 2020 11:13:53 GMT -6
With their training for stay completed, Fanged decided that Rusty was ready to learn how to follow her on command. It would be a lot easier to teach this trick because she could easily use food to guide Rusty to do what she wanted. She moved closer to him, taking out a fish to grab his attention. Immediately, the Lazaru looked up at the fish the moment he scented it. Fanged made sure he saw her place the fish in her hand and close it. She then began to walk forward, watching Rusty to see if he would follow her. The Lazaru hesitated for a moment, remembering their stay training. When Fanged didn’t order him to stop he continued forward.
“Follow!” She introduced the new word to him while he was doing exactly what she wanted. Of course, if she took the food away, he likely wouldn’t follow her so consistently.
(Rusty 29 3/5, 29 3/5)
(Training: Follow 1)
|
|
|
Post by Fanged on Nov 26, 2020 21:54:42 GMT -6
Rusty was quite easy to tempt with the promise of fish as a reward. He drew forward more confidently even as Fanged took a step away from him. He remained fixated on the food and followed her as she walked. Their training area was sizable enough that Fanged could move without worrying about running out of space. When she felt she had walked long enough, she stopped and allowed Rusty to take the fish from her.
“Good boy, Rusty!” she praised him eagerly.
Rusty ate the treat as fast as possible before sniffing the air to see if she had more with her. Fanged allowed him to see as she pulled out another, small fish. Rusty immediately perked up, his attention zeroing in on the fish. He moved closer to her, watching her intently to see what she was going to do with the fish.
“Rusty, follow!” she gave him the command word again.
(Rusty 29 4/5, 29 4/5)
(Training: Follow 2)
|
|
|
Post by Fanged on Nov 30, 2020 20:22:00 GMT -6
Rusty didn’t need to be told twice. He immediately followed after the fish as Fanged began to lead it away from him. She moved a bit quicker this time, though making sure that he was still following her even as she picked up the pace. When she saw that she was, she began to plan a path out for him to follow her through. He was intently focused on the treat and didn’t need extra encouragement to continue following her through the path that she constructed. Fanged led him in a loop, trying to cross areas with long grass which would require additional effort from Rusty to navigate through properly. When Fanged reached the end of the long grass, she stopped and gave him the fish she held in her hand.
“Great job, Rusty!” she praised him.
The Lazaru accepted the treat happily and moved away to eat it in peace.
(Rusty 30, 30)
(Training: Follow 3)
|
|