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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 24, 2021 12:21:42 GMT -6
Fiera hesitantly set down her bag in the little clearing. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. At the very least, she could get some basic obedience tricks down here. So where better to start than with his name? It was the first trick that Fiera taught all of her pets, and Twinkle would be no different. For all she had been shouting at him on their way here, he didn't actually understand any of it. Still, it was the perfect warmup to ease him into training, and should be easy enough for her to pull off. While Twinkle sniffed around the clearing, Fiera tied his leash to a branch jutting from the nearby log. That would keep him from running off while allowing her free movement, so long as the log wasn't rotted through. It looked pretty solid from her point of view though, so hopefully they'd be fine.
Fiera 1 Twinkle 6.1/14.1 Name 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 24, 2021 12:48:39 GMT -6
Once Twinkle was tied off, Fiera checked her supplies. She brought a couple of training tools- sticks, foldable hoops and weaving poles. But the most important tool she had was a baggie of treats at the bottom of the bag. She brought a ton with her- who knew how many she would end up needing- and had another unopened package in there, just in case. These meaty treats were always a favorite among her houluh, and she had the feeling that Twinkle wouldn’t be any different. Sure enough, he was chomping at the bit as soon as she got them out. He had apparently picked up on the smell and was now leaning over to try and grab some for himself. Fiera raised an eyebrow. “Well, if you’re paying attention already, we might as well get started.” She said, before picking herself up and brushing her knees off.
Fiera 2 Twinkle 6.2/4.2 Name 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 24, 2021 13:02:31 GMT -6
With Twinkle still focused, Fiera looked right at her houluh. “Twinkle!” She said loudly, addressing him directly. The sudden change seemed to invigorate him first and he barked once. Fiera took that as a confirmation. “Oh, good boy!” She said, and offered him a treat. She tried not to hiss too loud and scare him when he clamped down on her fingers a little too hard to get at the treat, but he hardly seemed to notice her wincing as he chewed it up and swallowed. “…Great. Good job.” She said through clenched teeth and waited for him to lose interest again. If he responded when she said his name again, she would give him another treat, east as that. Sure enough, after a few minutes of sniffing around her hands Twinkle realized that she wasn’t holding anything else (for now) and continued to sniff around the small clearing.
Fiera 3 Twinkle 6.3/4.3 Name 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 24, 2021 13:15:36 GMT -6
Once she was sure he wasn’t paying attention and had moved on to other things, Fiera called to him once more. “Twinkle!” She said, but there was no response. Ah. Maybe that first time was just a fluke. Well, that was the point of training- they had to work up to it. She’d try again. “Twinkle.” She said, louder and more firm this time. The “you’re not in trouble but if you don’t shape up, you will be” tone of voice seemed to get to him, and Twinkle finally, hesitantly looked up at her. Thankfully, she was waiting with a treat in hand. “Oh, good boy Twinkle!” She said with a chuckle and handed it to him. He was more than happy to snap it up, and wagged his tail at being praised. Hopefully that drove home the idea that Fiera was trying to teach him a bit more.
Fiera 4 Twinkle 6.4/4.4 Name 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 24, 2021 13:26:52 GMT -6
With that extra lesson hammered in, Fiera decided to give him one last test. If she was right, he would have had his name repeated at him enough times that he would know that Fiera was talking to him when she used it. So without further ado, she opened her mouth and tried the command for what would hopefully be the last time. “Twinkle!” She said, in a normal tone of voice. She couldn’t be too enthusiastic, or else he’d likely be responding to her mood and not his name. Sure enough though, he stopped what he was doing (chewing on some sort of mass of leaves and sticks) and looked up at her, tilting his head slightly as a leaf fluttered out of his mouth and drifted to the ground. “Oh. Good job, Twinkle.” She said with a nervous chuckle. It wasn’t the most hygienic victory, but she’d take it.
Fiera 5 Twinkle 7.0/16.0 Name 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 24, 2021 13:37:35 GMT -6
With one trick done, Fiera figured that she might as well segue right into the next one. Twinkle was, well, a pretty naughty pup. He had a bad habit of picking up whatever he wanted and not giving it back unless you stuck your fingers in his mouth and made him. Needless to say it was all a little exhausting, so she’d have to work with him to fix it. That led her to the next trick she wanted to teach him- “no”. That was a pretty simple and easy trick that she taught to a lot of her critters. All she needed was something that she didn’t want them to touch and a lot of patience. The thing not to be touched was easy- she still had plenty of treats left, after all. But the patience was admittedly a little harder for someone like her to acquire.
Fiera 6 Twinkle 7.1/16.1 No 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 24, 2021 13:44:36 GMT -6
Still, she always mustered the effort to not snap at her pets until they had finished this trick. All she was really doing was playing keep away. The pouch of treats was still pretty much full, as she had used barely any at all during the last trick. Now though she got out just one treat and placed it in her hand. Almost immediately Twinkle leapt up and tried to grab it from her, hovering in front of the humanish’s face for a moment before falling back down. “…You’re really cruising for a bruising right now, you know that?” Fiera said with a chuckle, more amused than offended. Then she sat down, shoving Twinkle off as he tried to bite the back of her head when she did so. “Ok, that’s enough. Now, sit. Watch.” She said, knowing full well that he didn’t know either of those commands.
Fiera 7 Twinkle 7.1/16.2 No 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 24, 2021 14:51:43 GMT -6
Once he had backed off on her a little bit however (but still tearing madly around the clearing), Fiera opened her hand to reveal the treat she had stashed in her palm. With her other hand, she pointed to it. "Okay Twinkle- no." She said, clearly and loudly setting the command word. It went in one ear and out the other with Twinkle however, who simply ran around in circles before rushing over to her hand and trying to snatch the treat right off of it. "Wh- NO!" She said again, and clamped her hand shut around the treat. He kept trying to get at it though, biting down on her hand again and again to try and prise it open. She winced as she tried to just tank through it until he calmed down some. He wasn't going to get a treat with that kind of behavior, only if he listened to her.
Fiera 8 Twinkle 7.3/16.3 No 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 24, 2021 15:44:11 GMT -6
She waited for a while with bated breath, to see if he would stop biting her any time soon. It took a while- it was quite frustrating to him that he couldn't get at the food, but eventually he got so mad that he had to take a step back, jumping all over the far side of the clearing in rage. It was only then that Fiera opened her hand up again, letting the battered digits blossom like a flower to reveal the treat inside. "Good job Twinkle, good no." She said, holding it out for him. The houluh paused for just a second but then wasted no time, darting forward and snatching it away from her. She just rolled her eyes- it didn't matter to her HOW he took it, just that he left it when she asked. With that done, she went ahead and got another treat out of the pouch.
Fiera 9 Twinkle 7.4/16.4 No 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 24, 2021 15:52:53 GMT -6
She placed this one on the palm of her hand as well and held it out. After Twinkle finished the treat he was chewing on, he turned back to look at the new one that was being presented to him. He walked toward it and opened his mouth to take it, only for Fiera to give the new command again. "No, Twinkle." He stopped, and barked at it instead, lunging forward and back. "Twinkle, NO." She repeated, wanting him to keep up the good work. He whined loudly but held back, practically trembling from the effort it took him to be good. When she was sure he could hold out no longer, she finally relaxed and offered him the treat. "Good job Twinkle, you can have it now." She said. The houluh wasted no time and rushed forward, grabbing the treat before rushing away again. Fiera chuckled- that didn't take nearly as much effort as she thought.
Fiera 10 Twinkle 8.0/18.0 No 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 24, 2021 20:52:46 GMT -6
For Twinkle's next trick, she wanted to do something that... maybe could be used to get her incredibly hyper houluh to calm down just a little. Or at least look like he was calm. So maybe something to get him to hold still. Perhaps... stay. That was an easy enough trick to train, and pretty standard among her houluh. She just needed to get ahold of him first. She waited for a moment, biding her time as Twinkle sprinted around in circles, kicking up dirt around the clearing. Then she struck, lunging out for Twinkle's leash. With a swift movement she finally managed to grab it, keeping a tight hold as the juvenile houluh did his best to drag her along with him. "Twinkle, hold still!" She hissed through gritted teeth, but he hardly seemed to hear her. Yeah, 'stay' was definitely a good idea for the next trick to teach him.
Fiera 1 Twinkle 8.1/18.1 Stay 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 25, 2021 8:32:28 GMT -6
The humanish yanked back on the leash, finally bringing him back toward her. He made a small "yarp" noise as the collar yanked back against his neck, but seemed otherwise stunned enough for Fiera to tie him back to the log. This would keep him still long enough for her to teach him the command. After that, he would hopefully stay there when she left him even after he was untied and left to his own devices. Still, she had to start him off easy. She stood up while he got situated, brushing off her pants. Then, she pointed at Twinkle. "Ok boy... stay." She said, before turning and walking away. She wasn't going far, of course. Outside of this clearing, the copse of trees was sparse enough that she could easily hide herself just a few feet away while still breaking the line of sight between herself and Twinkle.
Fiera 2 Twinkle 8.2/18.2 Stay 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 25, 2021 8:39:03 GMT -6
She trudged through the outer border of hedges, and heard a slight jingle as Twinkle stood at attention, watching her go. "Stay." She said again, before following it up with a more empathetic "...I'll be right back." Sure enough however, once she stepped behind a tree he started up with a flurry of barks, and she heard him straining against the log, but not succeeding in dragging it anywhere. She left him for a bit to try and get him to calm down. He'd need to get over the separation anxiety and learn that she would always come back to him. Sure enough, after about thirty seconds (when he seemed to wear himself out a bit, or at least pause to try and listen), she stepped back out from behind the tree and walked into the clearing once more. "See? Told you I'd come back. Good stay, Twinkle!" She said, and tossed him a treat.
Fiera 3 Twinkle 8.3/18.3 Stay 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 25, 2021 8:55:28 GMT -6
He jumped on it instantly and Fiera gave him a minute to finish eating it before she got ready to try again. He seemed a lot calmer after eating though, and it didn't take long for Fiera to give him a quick nod and repeat the command. "Stay there, Twinkle!" She said, and stepped behind the bushes again. He stared after her, but when she finally disappeared into the brush she didn't hear a single bark. Sure enough, when she peeped back over, he was sitting resolutely, looking around but not trying to struggle or get away. He was still tied to the log though- she was going to have to try it again without him being restrained to see if he got the trick "right". He was looking good so far though, so she hopped out from behind the tree and returned to the clearing. "Good job, Twinkle!" She said cheerfully.
Fiera 5 Twinkle 8.4/18.4 Stay 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 25, 2021 8:59:58 GMT -6
Twinkle wagged his tail happily at her even before she handed him another treat. He snacked on it loudly as Fiera crouched down to untie his leash, carefully undoing the loops and knots she had tied in it. Soon he was free, and the humanish was half worried he was going to bolt into the woods again when he got up to stretch. He was just bimbling around though, and soon Fiera decided to try giving him the command again. "Okay Twinkle... stay." She said, placing her hands up and backing away. He looked up at her but didn't try anything yet, even as she sunk into the trees. Sure enough, she could tell he wasn't going anywhere from her silent vantage point, just kind of sniffing around but ultimately staying put. He had done it! She practically burst from the treeline to praise him, exciting him again in the process. Still, he had done it- putting another feather in his hat in the process.
Fiera 5 Twinkle 9.0/20.0 Stay 5
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