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Post by Kadin on Oct 8, 2020 16:50:25 GMT -6
That thing was really good at running away from him! He had absolutely no idea that what he'd been trying to chase after had been his own tail all along! He just lay there on the ground, winded and a bit stunned, at how well that thing had kept away from him. (spoiler, it was literally attached to him and he couldn't catch it because it was attached behind him, not in front of him.)
The HUMAN had it instead and therefore it was clearly a toy that SHE had to have. Eventually she was tempted over, dropping the one in her mouth to bite down on the toy Kadin had instead.
“Good girl, Cookie!” Kadin encouraged, playing with her by tugging at the rope toy, encouraging her to bite down harder. “Good bite!” He played with her for a while longer to give her a reward for a job well done so far.
Kadin repeated this game for a while longer. He’d tell Cookie to bite, holding out the other rope toy, play with her for her reward, and then do it all over again with the rope toy she’d dropped. He was trying to get her used to the command word and also building up her bite strength at the same time.
Bite: 3
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Post by Kadin on Oct 8, 2020 16:51:06 GMT -6
With a pitiful whine he got back to his feet, stumbling around while he tried to regain his footing. He was so dizzy! That thing had been so rude, it kept running behind him and it got him so dizzy! Now he could barely walk! He couldn't see the thing anymore, either, which was good. He'd have given it a piece of his mind if he saw it again!
Slowly, he was working her up from biting down with just simply strength, to biting down harder and harder to hold on to the toy as he tried to tug it away from her. She was still only a juvenile houluh so their natural bite strength wasn’t as strong as it would be as an adult, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t build up her strength with careful training.
After he’d practiced this until Cookie was dropping her rope toy right away to bite at the next one, he figured it was time to move on to the next step in the training. He tempted her away from both toys with a treat, then he took out a sleeve. This was something for bigger dogs, but she should be able to handle it.
Bite: 4
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Post by Kadin on Oct 8, 2020 16:53:31 GMT -6
He grumbled and growled to himself, stumbling off back towards the water. Maybe he'd be able to find more fish... He looked around, sniffing at the air, to see if he could maybe find that fish he'd lost before. But he couldn't! It was pretty disappointing. He sat down in the mud with a huff, very disappointed! When all of a sudden, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t have another person to hold onto it and encourage her to bite it, but that was fine. If he could just get her to bite onto it just as fiercely as she went after the rope toys, it should be fine. He held out the sleeve, letting her sniff at it and get used to it first. Then he called out “Bite!”, trying to encourage her to bite onto it. But this wasn’t something she was used to! This wasn’t a toy she’d played with before. She was hesitant, sniffed at the sleeve then whining. Kadin shook it like he had the rope toys, trying to encourage her to go for it. He tempted it towards her and away, trying to get her worked up and excited for it. Bite: 5 15 *level up  |
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Post by Kadin on Oct 8, 2020 16:55:57 GMT -6
What was THAT? He jumped up, running over to the thing that was scurrying around in the mud on skinny skinny legs. What the heck was that thing?? He barked at it, wondering if it would do something if he did. But it just kept scuttling around, looking for food, not even looking at him! So he barked at it some more, just for good measure. He wanted to know what it was!!
Eventually, it worked. Cookie jumped at it and bit, a little unsure, but when Kadin started to play tug with her again she gave a playful growl and bite down hard, trying to pull it away from her.
“Good girl!” Kadin said, playing with her a bit more. He eventually released the sleeve and took out something new! This time it was a larger wooden stick. He slowly waved it back and forth in front of Cookie. “Bite!” He said, showing her the stick. She was MUCH less hesitant this time! She let for the stick, biting down on it and growling, tail wagging a million miles an hour. “Good girl!” Kadin encouraged, pulling at the stick to play with her. He repeated this same thing a while longer, trading between the stick, the sleeve, and even the rope toys.
Bite: 6
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Post by Kadin on Oct 8, 2020 16:59:38 GMT -6
It kept moving away from him on its little little legs! So he chanced after it, still barking and causing a general ruckus. He wouldn't let it get away that easy! It might be trying to get away (or it might just be ignoring him and, you know, looking for food) but he still wouldn't let it get away! So he kept chasing after it gleefully, pleased to having something to play with.
At once point he dropped all of the toys and started pointing at them instead, telling her to “Bite!” them. It took her a minute to figure it out, but quickly enough she was biting at the toys to play with him, growling and holding on as tight as she possibly could to keep them away! He kept up this part of the training (game), too, for a while. He kept up pointing to different things and asking her to bite them until she was running around all over the place, jumping from one item to another item to bite at them! He played with her each time, too, as a reward for a good job. He figured that she was doing a pretty damn good job so far with that.
Bite: 7
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Post by Kadin on Oct 9, 2020 18:37:43 GMT -6
Eventually, the thing seemed to grow tired of having him follow it around. It ran off into the water, disappearing from view. He whined as it went, disappointed not to have anything to play with anymore. He paced up and down the bank, hoping that it would come back, but it seemed as if it was well and truly gone. Still, he didn’t give up! He sat and waited to see if it would come back, just in case!
Now that they were reasonably confident with bite, Kadin figured it was time to move on to a move that would use her claws. Because, oh boy, whoever thought dog things didn’t have claws was an idiot! Sure, they weren’t as sharp as an estharne’s or a sarane’s, but Cookie absolutely did have claws she could inflict some damage with.
But this one wasn’t as simple as bite or pounce. Clawing things wasn’t as natural an instinct to houluh as those were. But digging? Kadin could work with that.
He pat Cookie and wandered off onto the sandy flats. She, of course, followed him. Now all he needed to do was wait for her to Do The Thing.
Claw: 1
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Post by Kadin on Oct 9, 2020 18:39:51 GMT -6
But it did not. Finally, he seemed to give up. He let out a distressed whine, but then he got up to wander over and see what the human and Cookie were doing. But wait! He didn’t know where they were! Whining again to himself, sad about being lost, he put his nose to the ground and started to sniff around, trying to retrace his steps. What the poor puppy didn’t realize is that he’d really run all over the place.
Eventually, Cookie did find a scent that she thought was SO fascinating that she had to start digging for it. Once he saw her claws in action, Kadin said, “Claw! Good Cookie!” And offered her a treat. Cookie accepted it happily, tail wagging, but had zero clue what that was even for! And thus they began. Kadin basically followed her around, waiting for her to start scratching at the ground, and he’d say, “Claw!” followed by “Good Cookie!” and give her a treat for it.
He continued this for a while, basically just following her and praising her for scratching at the ground. Until, eventually, he started trying to direct where she scratched at. She needed to attack what he told her to!
Claw: 2
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Post by Kadin on Oct 9, 2020 18:42:22 GMT -6
It was hard to retrace his own steps when he’d spent so much time running after a scuttling thing that basically ran in circles around him! He was even starting to make himself dizzy again. Stumbling over his steps as he traced the fifth tight circling in a row, Cirrus found himself sitting on his butt shaking his head. He whined to himself some more, sad and distressed at how hard this all was! Kadin pointed to a spot on the ground and said, “Claw!” Cookie looked up at him and tilted her head. She wanted over, sniffed at the spot he’d pointed to, and looked up at him again. “Good girl.” Kadin encouraged. “Claw!” He patted at the ground then moved away again, waiting to see what she’d do. Curious, especially since she recognized that word, Cookie clawed at the ground a bit, then looked up to see Kadin’s reaction. “Good girl!” Kadin praised, giving her a treat. “Good claw.” He gave her a good scratch behind the ears, too, for good measure. Cookie’s tail thumped, pleased that she’d done well. Then Kadin pointed to another part of the ground. “Claw!” He encouraged with excitement. Claw: 3 20 *level up  |
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Post by Kadin on Oct 9, 2020 18:44:13 GMT -6
Why had he wandered off to begin with? He shook his head and sneezed, knowing that he needed to find his human and Cookie! They’d know what to do! Especially about this whole being lost business. He stood up again and tried to sniff the air to see if he could catch their scent that way. It was hard to track his own tracks, but if he could find them through smell he could go after them anyway!
Cookies sniffed at this new spot, too. She glanced up at him once before she clawed at the ground. “Good girl!” Kadin encouraged. “Good Cookie!” He gave her another treat and more pets, hoping she’d get this down with how well they were working up to the main move.
Kadin repeated this same thing with Cookie for a while more. He wanted her to get used to using her claws wherever he pointed and this soft, sandy mud was perfect for it. He continued practicing with her for a while longer. He didn’t stop until she was enthusiastically clawing wherever he pointed, happily accepting praise and treats each time she did it successfully. He kept having her practice, over and over again until they had it right.
Claw: 4
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Post by Kadin on Oct 9, 2020 18:45:35 GMT -6
But no luck. The smell of fish and water and rotting seagrass was too strong. If he couldn’t trace his steps and he couldn’t smell them, what was he supposed to do next? He whined to himself again, trying to figure out how else he could possibly find them if he couldn’t use his nose. It was difficult because he was houluh, they basically entirely thought with their noses to begin with.
Time for the last part of the training! Kadin brought out a large, soft toy, a sheet, a wooden log, and some other random objects. He first started with the sheet, throwing it on the ground and pointing to it, telling Cookie to “Claw!” it. Since it wasn’t too different from clawing at the ground, she went and did that just fine. Kadin had her practice a few more times before directing her to the wooden log. He told her to claw that next. She was a bit confused this time, scratching around the base of the log instead of the log itself. But he kept insisting that she claw the log and, eventually, she did get it. He had her practice that a few times, too.
Claw: 5
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Post by Kadin on Oct 9, 2020 18:46:33 GMT -6
But around then was when he finally heard something. There was a voice that sounded an awful lot like his human’s! And it sounded like it was talking to something. That must be them! With a pleased yip, Cirrus shot off in the direction the sound was coming from, following his ears (for once) to try and make it back to his human and Cookie. He was pretty sure he heard them at least!
Next he had her claw at a stuffed toy. Again, at first she seemed to want to claw underneath it or around it, but he kept encouraging her to claw the toy itself until she did. He had her practice that for a while longer before moving on to something else. He had a target pinned to the bark of a tree and had her go back on her hind legs and claw that, too. He had her go from tree the tree, clawing at different parts of the bark. Every time she successfully clawed at her target, she earned more treats and praise. Eventually, Kadin figured that she pretty much had it. He called for a break and gave her a good rub down, pleased with her progress.
Claw: 6
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Post by Kadin on Oct 9, 2020 19:59:10 GMT -6
Now that Cookie was off and able to do whatever she wanted to do, she wasn’t quite sure what to do! For a while she stood nearby, watching Kadin and Cirrus. But all they were doing was looking at boxes for a while. Or, at least, Kadin was looking at boxes while Cirrus looked at Kadin. That was BORING. She wanted to do something fun! Like all the games Kadin had been playing with her! Instead she was bored!
After so much working with Cookie, Kadin figured that it was time to give her a break and work with Cirrus a little bit, too. He shooed her off and looked around for the wayward houluh, pleased to finally have him making his way back over to them. “Cirrus!” Kadin called to get his attention, holding out a treat. With a please yip, the pup bound over to him, accepting the treat with a wag of his tail. Kadin had a couple things he wanted to teach Cirrus. The first? Involved a large crate that could probably fit two adult houluh easily.
Kadin brought out the crate from the supplies he’d brought. Inside were more crates of smaller and smaller sizes, but he put those aside for now.
Accept Enclosed Spaces: 1
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Post by Kadin on Oct 9, 2020 20:02:24 GMT -6
When Kadin started trying to get Cirrus into the boxes that was a bit more interesting, but she was still bored. Cookie flopped onto her side. Then she rolled onto her back, wondering if that would make this more interesting. I can reliably inform you that it did not. Looking at it from upside down never made being left out more interesting. With a huff, Cookie scrambled back to her feet and went to go complain to Kadin. He didn’t need them just yet. He set up the large crate where Cirrus could watch. Then, he gestures for the houluh to go inside. Cirrus did not seem like he wanted to go inside. He sat with Kadin, staring at the crate and wondering what it was for. Kadin rolled his eyes. Of course. He tossed some treats into the crate. NOW Cirrus wanted to go inside. He happily walked into the crate and sniffed around, eating the treats. Kadin closed the door behind him, but Cirrus was too busy eating treats to notice. Even when he’d finished all of the treats, Kadin kept feed him more through the bars of the crate. He kept Cirrus in there for a while longer, feeding him treats more and more slowly. Accept Enclosed Spaces: 2 25  |
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Post by Kadin on Oct 9, 2020 20:02:41 GMT -6
But Kadin kept giving treats to Cirrus! Just like when they had been playing games, all of his attention was on Cirrus when before all of his attention had been on her! And Cirrus only had attention for the treats! He didn’t want to play with her either! Cookie huffed again and trotted away. Then she looked back and huffed louder, hoping that someone was paying attention to her, but they were still doing work.
Cirrus was having a GREAT time, really. He had all the space he could possibly want and Kadin kept giving him treats! He didn’t mind being in here for a little while if it meant that he could constantly get treats!
Eventually, Kadin went ahead and let Cirrus out. Being inside a large crate like that clearly didn’t bother him at all. Kadin grabbed another, medium sized crate next. This one would be able to comfortably fit an adult houluh with no problem. Kadin tossed a couple of treats inside and watched Cirrus trot right in, nosing around and eating the treats with no problem. Kadin didn’t close the door right away, just in case. When Cirrus had finished all of the treats, he fed him some more through the open down, but didn’t let him out.
Accept Enclosed Spaces: 3
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Post by Kadin on Oct 9, 2020 20:02:57 GMT -6
Finally fed up, Cookie wandered off. She’d dug at a lot of the sand so she tried to find one of the holes that had actually smelled interesting and dig it deeper. She could smell things! Under the sand! And she really wanted to get them but no matter how quickly she dug it was really hard! They kept digging faster than her. She actually found a small hole at the bottom of one of her holes.
Cirrus simply sat down in the crate, seemingly content to stay in there as long as he kept getting treats! Kadin closed to door on him and watched for any negative reaction. Cirrus still didn’t seem too bothered. He kept wagging his tail as Kadin gave him more treats, perfectly comfortable with the size of the crate he was in.
After having him sit in there for around ten minutes or so, feeding him treats at increasing intervals and praising him for being such a good boy about it, Kadin eventually opened up the crate and let him out. Time for the next one.
This crate was a bit smaller. It could comfortably fit a juvenile houluh, which Cirrus was. So it shouldn’t be an issue.
Accept Enclosed Spaces: 4
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