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Post by Kadin on Sept 20, 2020 15:12:58 GMT -6
They continued on in the maze for a while longer. There still wasn't much to see and they had more turn arounds than Kadin really wanted to admit to himself. Eventually Miles even showed back up, but he wasn't with them for long before he decided to run off again. Dodge followed after him, too, yipping and running between the other houluh and Kadin, seeming torn as to who he should run after more. Kadin couldn't help but laugh at their antics. But eventually, something seemed to catch his eye. There was more stuff on the ground, some of it even shiny... Oh, that was why! There was a torch lighting it up. And it looked like there was another of those little goblins guarding the whole hoard. Kadin crouched down, ignoring the puppies for now, and reached out a hand to pluck up everything he could see.
"It's a good thing I brought a good sized bag. I keep finding all this crap." He muttered to himself, eyeing the marbles that still looked like eyes to him before putting them with the rest. The necklace went in a separate pouch, too, since he didn't want to accidentally break it.
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Post by Kadin on Sept 20, 2020 15:14:28 GMT -6
The pocketpet? That he picked up last. He didn't entirely trust the little guys, but he figured it'd be find if he kept it with its friend. That done, he stood up and brushed off his jeans, looking around. Dodge was back by his side, but Miles had run off again. So Kadin started walking again.
While they were walking along, Kadin figured that it would be a bad idea to teach the dogs how to stay. They already knew how to come so that would be the logical next step. Honestly, he probably doing have done it a while back. So he called out to the wayward pup of his, Dodge. “Miles, come!”
Once both pups were accounted for, Kadin nodded to himself. Right. This couldn’t be too hard. Oh. Wait. Shit. They didn’t know how to sit yet, either. Fuck.
Kadin went over to Dodge and held a treat in his closed fist, right in front of his nose. He slowly lifted his hand up, over Dodge’s head, and behind him. Dodge tried licking at his hand, he tried nomming on his hand, but nothing was working to get the treat! Whining in frustration, he couldn’t lean back any further and there corn stalks behind him so it was hard to back up. His butt touched the ground so he could look straight up to try and see Kadin’s hand and get the treat. “Good, Dodge!” Kadin said, relieved that had worked. "Good sit."
Sit: 1
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Post by Kadin on Sept 20, 2020 15:29:14 GMT -6
He then turned to Miles and repeated the same thing. Slowly lifting his hand over the puppy’s head until he was forced to sit. Once his butt hit the ground, he go the same praise. "Good sit, Miles! Good sit."
Now back to Dodge. Kadin repeated the same thing with the puppy, closed first, treat in his hand, raising it over the puppy's head until his butt hit the ground. Then praise, treat, rinse, repeat. He wanted to keep alternating pups, though. There was valuing in seeing another creature perform the trick you were learning, even if they couldn't understand that more complex thought. So he went back to Miles. Closed fist over the head, treat in hand, raise it up until a butt hit the ground. "Good sit, Miles! Good boy!" And trying to get them used to the word. He kept repeating the same thing, alternating from one pup to another, for a while more. He wanted to make sure they really got it before he tried anything more complicated. They were smart things and picked up things quickly, but it never hurt to have some repetition in their lives when learning something new. Especially something so basic.
Sit: 2
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Post by Kadin on Sept 20, 2020 15:33:28 GMT -6
Next it was time to try it stepped up a notch. Kadin turned to Miles and lifted his hand in the air, but not directly over the pup's head this time, and asked him to "sit". Miles, confused, tilted his head a bit. Kadin brought his hand down and then back up, more slowly this time and closer to over the puppy's head. "Sit, Miles!" He tried. This time, the pup did sit down, recognizing the same motion that they had been doing before! If he sat he got treats! Yay! "Good Miles! Good Sit!" Kadin praised, giving him a treat for his efforts. Alright, Dodge's turn.
"Sit, Dodge!" Kadin said, lifting up his hand in front of him, but not over, the other pup's head. He whined a bit, but then he sat down, too, with no more prompting necessary! "Good job, Dodge, good sit!" Kadin said happily, relieved that they seemed to be picking this up rather quickly. It would be frustrating if he had to keep doing something so basic for so long. Now he tried asking them each to sit, alternating between the two of them again, one after another to practice. He needed to make sure they had this down.
Sit: 3
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Post by Kadin on Sept 20, 2020 15:37:03 GMT -6
Since he didn't want to have to be hovering over their heads every time he wanted them to sit, he also made sure that he slowly had it so they recognized the command when he was holding his hand further away from them. First with one. "Sit, Miles! Good boy, good sit." And then the other. "Sit, Dodge! Good Dodge, good sit." He kept alternating between the two of them a couple times. He was still crouched on the ground, but he was making sure that when they saw him use the gesture and say the words, they would follow his head.
Eventually, he decided it was safe enough to try and see if they could follow the command while he was standing. He stood up, brushing corn dust off his pants, and looked down at the pups with, well. Not quite a frown. A contemplating look. "Alright guys, let's try this. Both at once this time. Miles, Dodge! Sit!" He said, making the gesture. Dodge, who seemed to be picking this up much more quickly, immediately sat down with his tail wagging. Miles hesitated a moment, looking from Kadin's hand to his face and then to Dodge. Then he remembered!
Sit: 4
30 *level up
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Post by Kadin on Sept 20, 2020 15:40:26 GMT -6
Finally picking up what was being asked of him, Miles said down, too, tongue hanging out and tail wagging because he was very pleased with himself for remembering! He was a good boy! "Good job, guys!" Kadin said happily, giving them both a treat. And now it was time to start repeating again. He asked them to sit again. Then again. Then again together. Next, he asked them to sit individually again, this time while he took a step back.
"Dodge, sit!" Kadin said, making the gesture and taking a step back. Dodge, confused, took a step forward before hesitating then sitting down. "Good Dodge! Good sit." Kadin reassured him, only really worried about the sitting, after all. Praise and treats.
"Miles, sit!" Kadin said, taking a step to the side while he gave the command. Miles didn't bother following him, just tilting his head and sitting where he stood. "Good Miles, good sit!" Kadin said, giving him his earned praise and treats. He kept this up for a while longer, just to make sure they really got it down. He kept going between one pup to the other or asking them both at once. They seemed to pretty much have it, though, it was a simple enough trick.
Sit: 5
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Post by Nadia on Sept 20, 2020 18:35:01 GMT -6
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Post by Kadin on Sept 21, 2020 14:02:22 GMT -6
Alright, next up was to teach them to stay where they were. Now that they knew how to sit, it would be easier to ask them to stay in one spot than if they had been standing. He just had to make sure that they didn't get up.
"Alright, pups. Sit." Kadin said, showing them the hand motion and giving the command again. "Good job! Now Stay." This time, he held out his hand in front of them, palm facing them, in a sort of 'stop' gesture. He wasn't sure if this was going to work, but it didn't hurt to give it a try. He slowly backed up one step, then two, then... Both puppies got up and ran towards him, yipping happily. Dodge came over to sit at his feet, Miles started running around him. Right. That didn't work.
"Miles, Dodge, sit!" He called out, watching with satisfaction as two butts hit the ground. "Now Stay." He held up his hand in front of them, staying complete still for a couple seconds. He wouldn't be able to get them to stay still if he moved, but maybe he could get them to stay still as long as he wasn't moving.
Stay: 1
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Post by Kadin on Sept 21, 2020 14:05:52 GMT -6
After a couple seconds had passed, he decided that was good enough. "Good! Good Dodge, good Miles, good stay!" He said happily, giving them both treats for... sitting still. Woot! That was a better start than their false start before. Time to try again. "Dodge, Stay. Miles, Stay." He told both pups individually this time, giving them the new hand gesture and just waiting like that, watching both of them critically. Miles' eyes were glued on the hand with the treat. Dodge's eyes were glued on Kadin's face. Luckily, they both stayed still again. "Good! Good pups!" And so they got more treats.
"Miles, Stay, Dodge, Stay." Kadin tried again. He'd repeat this several more times, too, just rewarding them for staying in one spot. He figured that they'd eventually have to get it. It wasn't like this was something that was difficult to learn, it just took time, like any other thing. Kadin had to work them up to it. He repeated the same thing probably nearly a dozen times, just rewarding them for staying still, until he'd feel comfortable moving on to the next this. Next up, he'd be moving. And he was less sure about their ability to tolerate that.
Stay: 2
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Post by Kadin on Sept 21, 2020 14:54:23 GMT -6
"Alright, you two. Now we're going to try staying still. Miles, Stay. Dodge, Stay." He held his hand out, made the motion, and shuffled his feet back a little while still holding his hand out. He waited only a couple second before moving back forward with a "Good job! Good stay!" And giving them treats. He did that a few more times, only moving a little, but trying to keep his hand relatively in the same spot so they wouldn't notice he was getting further away. They mostly stayed put, excited for the treats, only getting up with wags and happiness when he told them "good." Next it was time for him to actually move back.
"Miles, stay. Dodge, stay." Then he took one step back. Confused, Miles whined and stood up. "Stay, Miles. Stay." Kadin repeated, holding out his hand in front of him. Miles tilted his head, but he stayed put. "Good! Good miles, good Dodge!" Kadin said, walking forward again and giving them both a treat. Now he just needed to practice this a million more times to make sure they got it into their little heads to stay put even when he was moving backwards a little bit.
Stay: 3
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Post by Kadin on Sept 21, 2020 14:58:17 GMT -6
"Miles, Stay. Dodge, Stay." Kadin said again, holding out his hand as he had been and taking one step back. Miles looked from his hand to his face and back again, not getting up this time and staying in place. Dodge was having the time of his life, really, just sort of sitting there and wagging his tail, not worried at all about moving or not. He could just stay in one place and kept getting treats? Count him in. Kadin waited a little longer this time before releasing them. "Good Miles, good, Dodge, good stay!" And gave them more treats.
Kadin continued repeating this for a while longer. Tell them to stay, take one step back, wait for varying lengths of time, then tell them they did well. It was a long process that he didn't really enjoy doing, but they needed to learn how to do this. These basics were important to know in order for them to not run off and be crazy while they were here in this haunted house of fun. Especially while they were still half lost in a corn maze. Damn. They really needed to figure the way out of here at some point.
Stay: 4
35 *level up
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Post by Kadin on Sept 21, 2020 15:05:59 GMT -6
Alright. Time to test them out. Kadin asked them to stay. "Miles, stay. Dodge, stay." And held out his hand, just like all the other times. Then he backed away, two steps, three, four, five. This was where they started to get fidgety again. Miles whined and Dodge was the one who stood up this time, taking a step forward. "Dodge! Stay." Kadin called, holding up his hand at the puppy again. Dodge hesitated, then stopped moving, letting out a whine of his own. Kadin waited a moment to make sure he wasn't moving then, he let his hand fall. "Good! Good pups, good stay!" He walked over to them, meeting them in the middle to give them their treats. "Very good job! You guys are getting it!"
Time to try again. "Dodge, stay, Miles, stay." Kadin told them. He backed up five feet slowly, waiting to see what they did. They didn't start to move this time, but they still looked stressed, so Kadin decided not to push them on it. "Good! Good job, good stay!" He released them and went to go give them their treats for a job well done. Stay could be a hard trick to learn on a puppy.
Stay 5
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Post by Kadin on Sept 21, 2020 15:13:20 GMT -6
Best practice a little more. "Stay Dodge, Stay Miles!" He told them, moving back five feet. Since the last two times didn't go horribly wrong, they seemed less upset this time. Kadin had them wait a couple of seconds before releasing them with another "good! Good pups!" And giving them treats. Tiiime for the repeating and practice. Kadin kept repeating the same distance a couple more times. He wanted to make sure they were comfortable with it before he tried anything greater. Ever since he pulled that hiding act on them, they seemed to like to know where he was, even if they ran off on their own. Kadin kept up the practice several more times until they seemed comfortable with the distance. Then he tried to up the distance, little by little, step by step, to see how they did. He kept it, repeating each distance a couple of times, and sometimes doing less just to keep them on their toes. Eventually he could go up to ten feet away and they weren't even looking uncomfortable. That was about when Kadin figured it was good enough. He couldn't do much more while they were still stuck in the maze anyway.
Stay: 6
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Post by Kadin on Sept 21, 2020 15:18:20 GMT -6
Time for something else. But first, they were getting out of this damned maze. Kadin was very much done with. "Come on, Dodge, Miles. Heel." He called out to the pups, wanting them to walk with him for this. The maze was long and seemed to go on forever. They had been in here for long enough that he wasn't entirely sure where the way back was anymore, either. It wasn't the best position to be in, but Kadin was nothing if not stubborn. He could figure a way out of this if pressed. He continued walking through the maze for a while, grumbling at each wrong turn. He started marking his path by breaking a corn stalk whenever he'd have to make a turn, breaking it in the direction he was going, but quickly found out that either the corn fixed itself or this maze was even worse than he thought. Or. Changing. Through magic. That was a possibility, too, even if it was one he didn't want to think too hard about. So he stopped trying to leave a train for himself since every effort of that just seemed to be useless. He'd have to keep walking until he found a way out.
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Post by Kadin on Sept 21, 2020 15:21:26 GMT -6
And really, wasn't that the tried and true method of getting out of situations like this one? He continued along. The maze seemed to be mocking him, in parts. He'd go down one path and have the way blocked. He'd turn around, try another, only to find that one blocked, too. So he'd go down the path he'd already tried and find that, this time, it wasn't blocked anymore. For some fucking reason. He was honestly getting more and more paranoid by the second, the longer he spent in here. There had to be something watching him, something off in the corner that was trying to torture him like this. And it wasn't just the shadows he could see out of the corner of his eyes sometimes, this had to be something different. Something in the environment itself. His shadows couldn't change the room he was in, they could only spook him a bit. Biting his lip, he tried to not thing about all the paranoia in his brain and just focus on getting him and his puppies out of here, but it was hard when the path changing the moment he turned his back. He needed to relax and think rationally.
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