The Head Snap-Training, Day 6

We were so tired yesterday, that this is a little late!You might have noticed in the tracking videos that the trainer keeps mentioning to look for a head snap...Well, there was a big head snap today-MINE! I was doing fairly well trying to hold on, bend my knees, lean back, etc during my track, but there was one big lunge where I actually heard my neck crack :) Both of my feet left the ground, but thank goodness I didn't faceplant! Don't worry, I'm sure it will happen eventually. Slugger is one strong boy, who loves to track. He did really well on both. Brian has started to learn about slowing down, so that Slugger doesn't overshoot the scent. Um, that won't be a problem for me. When Brian is tracking, they definitely get there faster and in one piece. Hey, I can't be a foot taller, even in my mind!

We learned more about hand signals, commands for behavior disruption (love this) and practiced tethering for the first time.Here is Slugger resisting the pull on the tether and even not going for his favorite treats that I have in my hand. I think that this is one of the skills that I am most excited about! It seems that with one hand on Slugger, I have not been able to get to Cole as fast. He knows this, so he has ran out in the street multiple times in the last few days. I can't wait until we can hook them together, I can put Slugger in a down, and Cole can't really go anywhere while I am trying to do something like pay for groceries, or get something out of the car. Hooray! Cole has started taking to dragging Slugger around (with supervision, so neither of them get hurt).Slugger just complies and follows him! Now, Cole just doesn't know that the tables are going to be turned :) I think he will get used to it eventually, just like his cast.

We talked more about seizure alert. Slugger has a really tough job, since Cole pretty much smells like a seizure all of the time. He has not been sniffing him up and down like he did in the beginning, because he has just started to get used to it. We are in that place where we want him to have as many big ones as possible, so Slugger can tell the difference. It is just going to take time.