This week’s big training goal was no more biting me instead of a toy. My hands look a lot better now. A goal accomplished! The other one was no struggly wiggles when I decide you need to be held! For snuggles or toenails or anything. Much better, but a work in progress.

This is the favorite trick right now. Banksy likes to do things very, very fast. She would like to start going down steep hills, not just scooting around our yard. I’m a lot better at clicker tricks that involve exciting things like skateboards. The ones where I sit down and try to look like Silvia Trkman are not doing quite so good. I try to look all waify and cute, like the photo I have on my refrigerator of us both where we look like messy haired sisters.

This doesn’t really help, and when I mess up, Banksy is across the yard to find her favorite toy, the smooshed up plastic plant pot.

Here’s what Banksy thinks of turning around the pole. That tongue sticks out a lot. I’m not sure what it means, something about my clicker training mechanics. Our little pivots on a disk and turning around the pole don’t look like they do on in the videos yet. They have improved. But not ready for prime time, let’s say.

I think Banksy’s starting to look like a grown up border collie. What happened to my little puppy? She will do practically anything for a tuggy or a tennis ball. Unless there is a teensy spider or a speck of dust blowing by, in which case all bets are off. Her training in the kitchen and just outside the back door, which luckily is wind and teensy spider free, brilliant!

Some of the hard things, nose touch doesn’t mean shark teeth attacking. Pivoting ALL the way around on the disk, not halfway and switching direction. Keep backing up on the backies. All things that I indadvertedly taught her how to do. And now need to undo.

We have a lot of undo. I suspect this is how it’s going to go. Luckily the other dogs find this fascinating, the Banksy show, best program on tv, most training sessions are watched by a howling group of team small dogs. Who then need to do their own training sessions. Because fair-ness. Which takes a long time. And then it’s late. For bed, for work, or something. I’m late now!

So much puppy, so little time!