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Post by Kadin on May 14, 2021 21:07:59 GMT -6
Come and stay were, after all, essential basics to any good trainer's arsenal. Next up it was time to do something else Elk knew, this one a little more complicated than all the basics, but still a basic command in its own right. Now that Elk was right in front of him, Kadin wanted to show that he knew how to bed.
"Beg, Elk!" He said, watching was satisfaction as the houluh sat back and raised his paws, giving the human some pitiful eyes to show just how sad and pathetic he could be when he wanted something. Kadin let him stay like that for a moment, enjoying his show, before saying, "Good, Elk!" and tossing him a treat for his excellent performance of the trick beg. Those were the main basics that the houluh knew, all of his other tricks were a bit more complicated, a bit more advanced than that.
[Beg (1)]
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Post by Noa on May 14, 2021 21:12:17 GMT -6
Well, it was time for them to show their stuff, since that was what these contests were all about. Noa knew that much, having been in several before. Rhys had won one recently, actually, which had been a nice surprise, considering the whole thing had been Rhys's idea to begin with. But suffice to say that Noa had experience. That wasn't the issue. The problem was that he wasn't sure what, exactly, he was supposed to show off in this case. {You can do it!} Rhys cheered on, waving his whiskers in the air, as if that would somehow inspire Noa to think of something useful to do. Nana stood beside him, looking up, presumably waiting for his instructions, like a good and well behaved dog. Which she was. It just wasn't remarkable or anything. But, well, it wasn't like he was doing this to win or anything. And there were points involved, so he supposed he ought to at least make an effort, even if it was a half baked one. "Alright, let's go then," he said, and led Nana out into the ring. {Break a leg!} Rhys said; as usual he was more excited about this than Noa himself.
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Post by Kadin on May 14, 2021 21:12:24 GMT -6
For these next tricks, he needed some special equipment. Elk knew how to track down fish to get, how to pull a buggy with items (and fish) in it, and, of course, he knew how to fish. All of the mentioned tricks were things Kadin wanted him to show off in the ring, but they were also all things that needed to be prepared for. Luckily they had set up for just that. Kadin had a buggy that he was able to get hooked up to Elk. The houluh stood perfectly still while Kadin got him hooked up and then easily demonstrated how well he walked, pulling the buggy once Kadin started leading him around the arena, showing off to everyone who could see that the houluh was trained to follow his directions while pulling this thing behind him. Eventually Kadin led him over to where a small pool had been set up for the next part.
[Pull Buggy (2)]
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Post by Noa on May 14, 2021 21:12:28 GMT -6
But then, it must have been easier to be a spectator. Noa glanced at him the once, then turned his attention to the audience.
"Wow. Nice crowd," he said, surveying them idly. "Well, this is Nana. Oh, wait, I use the fancy name here, don't I? GH Ignorance is Bliss, for your viewing pleasure. Life's a little more fun when you don't know any better, right?" He winked, smiling his lazy smile. But there was no delaying the inevitable: he had to come up with an angle to play this. Noa thought about it for a moment, then went on.
"You might be wondering what kind of work she does. Actually, I've got this friend who can't speak - or at least not like I can. I'm training Nana for him! Watch this." He snapped his fingers, and Nana snapped to attention, looking at him. He gave her a hand signal to stay, then walked a few steps away, before patting his thighs. Nana stayed where she was until she saw him do it, then ran at him and stopped right in front of him.
He gave her a pat, then placed a treat on the ground in front of her.
(Nana demonstrates Watch Me, Stay and Come on command)
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Post by Noa on May 14, 2021 21:12:55 GMT -6
Nana started to go for it, but Noa hissed the way Briar had shown him and Nana stopped. He gave her the signal to stay again, then picked up one of her paws, then the other. "As you can see, she's got her basic obedience down. Won't even bite you if you do this." He moved his hands to her face, pulling her mouth open - not hard, but with just enough force to prompt her to open her jaws. It was only a little uncomfortable, but it looked dramatic, which was what mattered in this case. "See?" he said, holding that position for a moment, before letting Nana go and feeding her the treat, which she ate with great enthusiasm. Good to see her appetite was just the same as it always was.
"Ah, but as for the job she has... You see, my friend doesn't like people very much. But not everyone knows sign, you know, so they don't always listen to him when he tells them to get lost. That's where Nana comes in!" He snapped his fingers to get her attention, then gave her another hand signal - and in response, Nana put her ears back and began to growl.
(Nana demonstrates Tolerance and No Bites, and demonstrates Growl on command)
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Post by Noa on May 14, 2021 21:13:05 GMT -6
Nana kept growling until Noa gave her the hand signal to be easy, at which point she returned to being calm. "And if that doesn't work..." Noa set up a dummy in the ring; he'd had the forethought to bring one, even though he hadn't known what his routine would be, simply because Nana only knew so many things and he knew he'd probably have to demonstrate her bite at some point. "If growling doesn't get rid of my friend's problem, nothing says 'get lost' like a bite to the face, hmm?" He gave Nana the hand signal to bite, and she rushed at the target, latching onto an arm with her teeth. Noa called her back to him, and she let go, trotting back to collect another tidbit as a reward.
"Very useful, wouldn't you say?" Noa said. He wasn't sure if it was very convincing, but hey, he tried, didn't he? "That's it for us. It's been a real one." With another smile for the audience, they walked out of the ring, back to where Rhys was waiting for them.
{Did you really have to say that last part about the bite?} the Faeron said with a wince, but Noa only shrugged.
(Nana demonstrates At Ease and Bite on command; end)
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Post by Kadin on May 14, 2021 21:15:26 GMT -6
Kadin unclipped the houluh from the cart once they got over to the pool, letting him free and watching him shake out his coat for a moment before calling him over to looked into the water. Mechanical fish that moved like the real ones and fish toys had been set up in the pool, perfect for demonstrating that the houluh knew something of fishing. Kadin pointed the fish out to the houluh and watched as Elk suddenly turned alter, staring down into the water with complete focus. He waited, watching, until, quick as a flash, he struck down into the water and lifted a fish out, caught in his jaws, mechanical body moving weakly. The houluh wagged his tail as the human praised him, trading the fish for a treat and tossing it into the cart. Kadin had Elk catch a few more fish, just to demonstrate that it hadn't been a fluke, too.
[Fishing (5)]
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Post by Kadin on May 14, 2021 21:19:14 GMT -6
Once Elk had successfully demonstrated all that he knew when it came to fishing, Kadin felt that it was time to show off his final trick. The houluh also knew how to track down various things, which was a useful trick to have when they were out and about and needed to find certain things out in the wild. He offered the houluh a scent that had been set up before and told him to track it down! The houluh sniffed and sniffed for a while before eventually snorting and lifting his nose in the air. He wandered all over the arena, searching high and low, looking for the source of the scent, Kadin following him and encouraging him the whole time. Finally they came to a stop in front of a crate which, when Kadin lifted the top off it, was revealed to contain a giant stuffed... fish. Well. He found it! And thus their performance was at an end.
[Track (5)] [done]
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