Training Day 36

When we got there today my trainer had left us a note saying that Bailey's stomach seems to be back to normal. But we however, decided just to stick with kibble treats today instead of chicken. We started off today with a light switch session and he did well. He flipped the switch a few times and got lots of praise instead of chicken. Even though we weren't using chicken today (his favorite treat) it didn't seem to make a difference with his motivation or performance. After that we tried our new "eye" command. He seems to be getting it and looks into my eyes 70% of the time. Then we went outside for an auto-sit session but I upped the ante. Not only does Bailey have to automatically sit when I stop my chair, he now has to look me in the eyes after he sits in order to receive a reward. This way he will be ready in case I give him an eye command. He caught on pretty quickly. At the beginning of the session two of Baileys friends came running into the yard and were trying to distract him by barking and even trying to get treats from my aide. Bailey sat next to me quietly poised and waiting for my next move. What a good boy.
 After the auto sit session I wanted to do a game of hide and seek in the tennis courts. I hid but Bailey was on a short leash today with my aide. My aide would guide Bailey to an area far from where I was hiding and then tell him "go find Eva'. Since he was on a short leash he had to pull my aide to where I was at to "find me". Now Bailey never pulls while on leash, but he seemed to understand he was leading my aide to me and the very first round he pulled her with no hesitation. After a few games of hide and seek it was chill time and we went back inside the house for a break, and soon it was time for lunch.
After lunch I wanted to try something new for our light switch training. This time Bailey was on leash and attached to my chair. I had my aide take the light switch board and go to one side of the room. Then I walked Bailey over to where the light switch was and when he touched his nose to the switch he got a treat. This is a more realistic way to teach the light switch since in the future I will be entering rooms with him and he will need to turn on/off the lights when I stop in front of a light switch. He did great! I think that me taking him around the room makes the task more exciting for him. After that it was play time. Sadly, his brother was not at the house today. But I got some great photos of Bailey hanging out with me, Magic and his girlfriend Lucy.