Sai has enrolled in a third class called Not Playing Catch Me if You Can.On last night's walk I took his leash off because he wanted to play in the creek. That led to my discovery of Sai's favorite game.
He came to me each time I called him. He lay down in front of me each time I said 'Sit'. But as soon as I reached out my hand, he bolted. He was having way more fun than he should be having.
The thing about training dogs (for me) is that it's trial and error. You just keep trying new things until you find the one that works.
1. I started walking. Every time he zipped past me I turned around and walked the other way. I thought he would eventually get tired of going back and forth.
2. I got tired of going back and forth, so I sat down and ignored him. His circles got smaller and smaller until he was right in front of me, bounching back and forth, barking, 'Catch me! Catch me! Come on, just try itI Try it! Look how close I am!' I lifted my hand, and ... you guessed it.
3. I got Ginny and Iggy to lie down beside me and we all pretended Sai was invisible. He lay down right in front of me, head between his paws, looking for all the world like a sad little orphan. Until I moved my hand.
4. I decided I would sit there all night if I had to, and until he climbed right into my lap I would ignore him. Iggy started to make his little 'Woof! Woof! I am unhappy! This is not ordinary procedure!' noises. I ignored him too.
5. Another human came along. Silly Sai forgot about the game and went up to her to be petted. She slipped her hand under his collar and that was that.
So now I have all my dog books out. I'll have to buy more wieners because Sai doesn't like any of the five kinds of dog treats and the one kind of cat treats I bought to temp him with. But one way or another, I'll win.
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