February 22, 2018 by theclickercenter

Goat Diaries – Day 11: A Walk In The Park

Our brains love habits. Predictable routines let our brains go on auto-pilot. We don’t have to make decisions about every little thing. Think how exhausted you’d feel before you even got as far as deciding what to have for breakfast if you didn’t have these micro-habits helping you get through the day.

I was establishing routines with the goats that were definitely helping with the smooth running of the day. The morning of this their eleventh day of training began with a long cuddle/groom session. E was particularly interested in being scratched. I had the grooming mitt with me. He stood perfectly while I used it all over his back and sides. He seemed to be enjoying the feel. P was not interested.

These goats need to be combed to get their beautiful cashmere fiber. Combing was on the priority list, but they were both very clear that they weren’t ready for that step. The grooming mitt was enough of a stretch for now.

Cuddle time was followed by leading sessions for each of them. I was pleased by how good they both were. I worked on grown-ups and took care that they stayed back during food delivery. They were becoming very good at maintaining space between us. I was also feeling that they were definitely responding to the click and not just my body language. Their “wheels” were turning.

Little things were now evolving. They knew the routine. They knew they came out one at a time. They knew they got treats on the floor when they went back to the stall so returning was not an issue. They had become eager backers. That meant I had to be careful to keep backing in balance with all the other things I was teaching them. Backing is good, but in all things – moderation.

Our learners always tell us what we need to work on next. Their eagerness to throw backing into everything suggested that I might want to put some mats out in the arena so they would have stations to go to. That would help build solid standing still so I didn’t get hung up in some unintended chains.

E’s Session: “A Walk in the Park”

E was a delight. He’s a charmer. The way his long coat ripples as he walks, I can’t help but think I’m leading an overgrown Yorkshire terrier. He’s a very elegant walking partner. His good manners were beginning to match his good looks!

E has become a very elegant walking partner.

P’s Session

P came out full of energy. I thought he might need a bit of a run across the mounting block, so I let him loose. He stayed with me. We did a little bit at liberty and then I put him back on the lead. He fussed a bit as I clipped the lead to his collar. If he had been staying with me through the summer, cleaning that up would have been high on my to-do list.

He had much more go in him than E. When I walked off, he trotted by my side. He didn’t pull. There was no feeling of the original sled-dogging. He was staying with me. He just had a lot of joyful energy that needed to be expressed. I clicked, fed and went into grown-ups.

He was reminding me of an Icelandic stallion I had met at one of the spring clinics. The stallion was in a new environment. What an adventure! He was a jumble of emotions. He was excited – new horses, new sights and smells, so much to explore! He was worried – new horses, new sights and smells, so much to take in.

He could have been a handful, but he came with a superb foundation in grown-ups. Any time he started to get excited and to rush forward, his person stopped his feet and folded his arms together. That was his cue for grown-ups. That’s all he had to do. His stallion instantly stopped his own feet and stood quietly. It was a master class in the value of these foundation lessons.

P was on the first rung of the ladder that leads to grown-ups having that kind of stabilizing effect. It doesn’t matter that he’s a fraction of the size of this horse. Having these good manners in place will make him a much more enjoyable companion. He made me think of the many dogs I have watched with their owners. Some are over-controlled. In an effort to manage them in human environments all their dogginess has been suppressed. Don’t jump, don’t bark, don’t chew the furniture. Don’t be a dog.

The other side of the pendulum looks at all that control in horror and lets the dogs do whatever they want. Somewhere in the middle is a place where our animals can live comfortably and safely in our environments and still be themselves.

P is so very smart, and so full of joyful energy, that’s something I value and very much want to preserve. I want to encourage his energy, not suppress it. A very wise training mantra is: never get mad at energy. You need it to train.

P’s energy can be channeled into so many fun activities. I want to celebrate his quick learning. His eagerness is a plus, something I want us both to enjoy. He was learning to stay with me, to stand by my side, to move away from my treat pockets – not by being punished, but by being told over and over again how right he was.

Goat Diaries Day 11 Visitors

In the afternoon a friend I hadn’t see in quite a while came for a visit. Ann joined us, as well. We started by taking three chairs into the stall. The goats visited a bit with Julie even though they hadn’t met her before. That’s progress! We talked for a while, then I took both goats in to play on the mounting block – except they didn’t want to! After telling them how much fun it was watching the goats racing up and down the mounting block, they were total fuddy-duddies. Oh well. Perhaps Mount Everest loses it’s appeal after you’ve scaled it a few times.

Instead they stayed with me as I walked around the arena. They were working together beautifully as a pair. When I clicked, they both stayed well back away from my pockets. All that was a plus. What they didn’t do was put on an acrobatic show. Oh well.

I took them back to their stall and then brought P out by himself on a lead. I had Julie introduce herself via targeting. She offered a target, in this case her hand. When we clicked, I gave P his treat.

This is such a very safe way for him to meet new people. I’ve used it many times with horses. In clinics I’ll station people around the perimeter of a large circle. For safety I’ll keep the horse on a lead. One person will hold out a target, and I’ll walk with the horse as he moves towards the target. Click. I usually begin by handling the food. The treats initially come from me.

After he gets his treat, we’ll back up to a mat that’s in the center of the circle. Click, he gets reinforced for landing on the mat. We do a couple of rounds of grown-ups and then the next person offers a target. We use the mat in the middle so the horse’s hind end is never turned towards a person he doesn’t know. I don’t want him to be frightened and suddenly kick out at someone. Instead we back up away from the ring of people.

Remember, this lesson is most often used with horses who are worried by people. If something else in the environment suddenly startles him, I may be stacking one worry on top of another, creating a bigger spook than he would have to either one by itself. So I structure this lesson with lots of layers of added caution, including backing up away from the people, but towards a mat.

All these little steps mean that this is not a beginning lesson. I must first build all these components to make sure the lesson stays safe. Look at all the skills this horse needs to understand and do well: targeting, taking food politely, backing, going to a mat, and even harder backing up with enough directional control that he lands on the mat, and finally grown-ups.

It’s a great pattern. Every element gets stronger the more you play with it. The horse gets more comfortable approaching people he doesn’t know. His targeting skills become more generalized. Backing becomes better. The mat becomes an even stronger conditioned reinforcer. Duration in grown-ups expands. Treat manners get better. Cues get stronger. The behaviors overall become more solid. Each element serves as a reinforcer for whatever preceded it. You get all these benefits, and the animal thinks he’s just playing a game.

With P I wasn’t concerned about him kicking out so I didn’t worry about moving him away from Julie. We just ping pinged back and forth between going to her to touch her offered target, and coming back to me for a treat.

I had just one more day with the goats and then they would be going back to their home farm. Giving them this lesson would make it easier to transition new people into the games they had been learning with me.

Goat diaries day 11 meeting new friends.png

Goat Joy

Before we left the arena, I took P back over the mounting block. The first time I kept the lead on and had him follow me up. On the top step, I unhooked him, and he delighted us all with a wild leap into the air. Such fun!

There’s more to this than just letting P entertain us with his acrobatic prowess. P gets to practice getting excited, and then I ask for grown-ups and he practices calming down. That’s a useful life skill no matter the species.

On the next run I unhooked him on the first step of the mounting block and let him go the rest of the way on his own. He rewarded us all with another joyful leap off the mounting block. I loved how he always came running straight to me. Without really trying, I was building a great recall.

Goat diaries Day 11 Goat Joy.png

Who knows. I may be triggering some form of goat to goat aggressive display. All the goat experts reading this may be shaking their heads, thinking oh the trouble she is going to get into encouraging this kind of behavior. Perhaps they are right. Or perhaps, balancing his antics with grown-ups will mean I can allow this behavior without it tripping over the edge into emotional states I don’t want.

E’s Turn

E is much more people shy than his brother. Again, I took advantage of the opportunity to have two experienced clicker trainers in the barn to help build his confidence.

We began by having him target to Julie’s outstretched hand. He approached her very directly. Click, he had to leave her to come to me for the food. I do like this process. It begins to build some duration between the click and the actual arrival of the treat.

With the horses there can eventually be a considerable time lag between these two events. When I click, there are times when the horse I’m working with may be eighty feet or more away from me. He’ll stop and wait patiently while I bring him his treat.

All the behavior that he is presenting between the moment he hears the click and the moment I get to him and stretch my hand out to deliver the treat are things that I like. This kind of duration didn’t happen over night. It is built in small increments through a long series of lessons. The horses wait patiently because they know the treat is coming. All that good, quiet waiting is reinforced over and over again through the ritual of the food delivery.

We moved from Julie to Ann. I had Ann hold out a cloth frisbee. E touched it, got a treat from me, but then was reluctant to go to Ann again. I wanted him to be successful, so I had Julie step forward and offer her hand as a target. He went to her directly, click, the treat came again from me.

We went back to Ann. This time I had her hold her hand out. Again, E was reluctant to approach her. After a couple of failed attempts, I offered him the frisbee. He touched it directly. I handed Ann the treats. E took them from her without hesitation.

So we used this pattern a couple of times. Flexibility was the name of the game. Training is not like baking a cake where you need to stick to the recipe or you end up with a mess. In fact sticking rigidly to a recipe is a good way to guarantee a mess. Always it is a study of one. And always you are adjusting to the needs of your learner. That was the major takeaway from this lesson. We were asking E what level of interaction he was comfortable with and then making changes as needed to help him succeed.

Goals – Short or Long Term

When we were all done playing, I was really pleased with the return to the stall. Both goats tend to rush ahead on the way back to the stall. I could have simply released them. The immediate goal was to get them back to the stall. That’s where they were heading. Letting them go on their own would have avoided any pulling they were doing on the lead.

It would also have missed an opportunity to teach them to stay with me in distracting environments. There were going to be times when letting them off the lead wouldn’t be an option. The walk back to the stall created an opportunity for me to show them that staying with me was worth the added effort. I was taking them back to the stall. But on the way there were lots more opportunities for treats. Walking beside me had value.

E was figuring this out. He was walking with me down the aisle. There was less rushing ahead, less pulling to get back. Out in the arena he had been listening to P calling. He had clearly been wanting to get back to his brother. I had kept the session short because I didn’t want him feeling too anxious. So I was especially pleased that he walked back with me to his stall.

8 pm

At the end of the evening I had another cuddle session. E in particular wanted to be close to me and to be scratched. He’s so very sweet. I’ve discovered he really likes having his chest and belly rubbed. In fact, I haven’t found anywhere that doesn’t turn into a “please scratch” spot. I can think of few better ways to end an evening than with goat bliss. This was their last evening in the barn. I was going to miss what had quickly become part of the day’s routine.

Goat Diaries Day 11 Goat bliss.png

Coming next: The July Goat Diaries: Day 12 – E and P’s Last Day at the Barn

Please Note: if you are new to the Goat Diaries, these are a series of articles that are best read in order. The first installment was posted on Oct. 2nd. I suggest you begin there: https://theclickercenterblog.com/2017/10/02/ Two of the goats I write about originally came for a twelve day stay in July. The July Goat Diaries track their training during this period. In November these two goats, plus three others returned. They will be with me through the winter. The “Goat Palace” reports track their current training. I wish to thank Sister Mary Elizabeth from the Community of St. Mary in upstate NY for the generous loan of her beautiful cashmere goats.

December 15, 2017 by theclickercenter

Goat Diaries: If One Mat Is Good, Two Must Be Better

Please Note: if you are new to the Goat Diaries, these are a series of articles that are best read in order. The first installment was posted on Oct. 2nd. I suggest you begin there: https://theclickercenterblog.com/2017/10/02/ Two of the goats I write about originally came for a twelve day stay in July. The July Goat Diaries track their training during this period. In November these two goats, plus three others returned. They will be with me through the winter. The “Goat Palace” reports track their training. I wish to thank Sister Mary Elizabeth from the Community of St. Mary in upstate NY for the generous loan of her beautiful cashmere goats.

July Goat Diaries – Day 4 Continued

Multiple mats serve many functions. For starters having a second mat gives your learner something to move towards. This is especially useful if you have a horse whose feet feel as though they are stuck in cement – or a goat who is learning about cues.

The first thing Pellias had learned with the clicker was you got treats for moving your nose to a target stick. He could do that.

Then I had taught him the platform game, and with it came a “rule”. You get treats for staying on the platform. He had that one!

But now if I held a target out just beyond the platform, the “rules” seemed to conflict. What was he supposed to do? I didn’t want him to feel confused or frustrated. I thought adding in a second platform might help him solve the puzzle. Now if he stepped off the platform to touch the target, it just took him to another platform. What a good deal!

In effect the appearance of the target became the cue to go to another platform. From his perspective I’m sure he was convinced that I was saying: “Stay on your platform until you see the baton. When you see that, it’s your cue to move to the second platform.” Down the road I will want targets to have a more general meaning: “orient to this object”. For now I was content with this as a starting point. It was okay to attach that very specific meaning to the baton. When I want to expand his understanding of targets, there are lots of other things I can use.

It’s important to notice the “rule” your animal is following and to understand what he thinks the cues you’re presenting mean. You don’t want to make him wrong for something he thinks he is getting right. After all, whatever odd conclusions he is coming to are a result of what you’ve taught him. The training mantras to remember are:

“Don’t make them wrong for something you’ve taught.”

“You never know what someone has learned. You only know what you’ve presented.” (Your learner will tell you later what he thinks you’ve been teaching!)

I wanted Pellias to stay on platforms. I also wanted him to leave them. And I wanted him to orient to targets. I needed to set up my training so the “rules” he was learning didn’t conflict.

When they did, I either needed to go have a cup of tea while I figured out a way to explain things better. Or I needed to let his rule be right. That sounds as though I am caving in to my animal, but really what I am doing is reinforcing him for what he already knows while I sneakily insert extra pieces. As the behaviors expand, suddenly the rules can co-exist without conflict.

Essentially Pellias was learning about cues. The platform was a cue – go stand on it. The target stick was a cue – go touch it with your nose. If the target was close enough to the platform, he could do both at the same time, but now he had to choose. Do I stay or go?

For every exercise you teach, there is an opposite exercise you must teach to keep things in balance.

In this case leaving meant going to the second platform. The pull of both cues took him off the platform to the target. Click – treat. “That was right. Now how about hopping up on this block of wood?” He was learning that cues weren’t meant to put him into conflict. What should I do? What should I do? Instead it’s: “You’re doing great, so here’s the next cue.” That cue opens the door to another fun thing that you also get reinforced for.

The general takeaway is this: my learner has continued to be successful throughout, but now the training has gained a new layer of complexity. Inserted into the mix is the control that cues give us: You’re doing this now. That’s great. Now wait there. That’s still great. Now switch and shift to this other activity. Perfect! What does my learner experience? You’re right, you’re right, you’re right. Learning is easy!

My second platform was much smaller than the foam platform I had been using. A horse would have needed some time to figure out how to get all four feet on such a small landing zone. P’s mountain goat heritage meant he had no trouble not only balancing on the platform, but pivoting on it, as well. Again, I was learning that goats are like horses, except they’re not. This long series of photos shows how quickly I was able to open up space between us while he stayed on his platform.

Goat diaries day 4 two platforms Pt 3 panels 1-4.png

Goat Diaries Day 4 Two Platforms Pt 2 What a Nimble Goat - panels 5-8.png

Goat Diaries Day 4 Two Platforms Pt 2 What a Nimble Goat - panels 9-12.png

Goat Diaries Day 4 Two Platforms Pt 2 What a Nimble Goat -panels 13-15.png

Goat Diaries Day 4 Two Platforms Pt 2 What a Nimble Goat -panels 16-20.png

Goat Diaries Day 4 Two Platforms Pt 2 What a Nimble Goat -panels 20-24.png

Goat diaries day 4 two platforms Pt 3 panels 24-26.png

Goat Diaries Day 4 Two Platforms Pt 2 What a Nimble Goat - panels 26-30.png

Goat Diaries Day 4 Two Platforms Pt 2 What a Nimble Goat - panels 31-34.png

Based on this series of photos, I wouldn’t want you to think that the training was all smooth sailing or that P was a perfect little angel. He did have his moments. The good news was he was beginning to have a repertoire of desirable behaviors that I could reinforce. He very quickly recovered his good manners and returned to standing well on the platform.

Goat Diaries Day 4 Two platforms Pt 3 - A Less Than Perfect Goat - panel 1.png

Goat Diaries Day 4 Two platforms Pt 3 - A Less Than Perfect Goat - panel 2.png

Goat diaries day 4 two platforms Pt 3 panels 9-12.png

Goat Diaries Day 4 Two platforms Pt 3 - A Less Than Perfect Goat - panel 4.png

P was not lacking for energy. He jumped at speed from one platform to the next. He needed to learn how to control his speed so he could land on the platform. He was certainly fun to watch as he leapt from one platform to the next. I loved the air-planing of his ears! These goats are full of such joy. That’s something I very much wanted to preserve in their training.

Goat Diaries Day 4 Two platforms Pt 3 - A Less Than Perfect Goat - panel 5.png

Goat Diaries Day 4 Two platforms Pt 3 - A Less Than Perfect Goat - panel 6.png

The Goat Palace Journal for Dec. 14, 2017

That was then. This is now. Pellias had a session by himself first thing in the morning. We had the length of the hallway to play in – thirty feet. I had all the platforms out: the storage box at the far end, the narrow platforms set at right angles to one another in the middle, the larger foam platform at the near end, a “balance beam” of a thick piece of wood, and a couple of wooden mats. Pellias had a glorious time bouncing from one platform to another.

When I started with him in July his eagerness and energy would sometimes erupt into a charging head butt. That behavior has completely disappeared (at least towards me. He’ll still have a go at Elyan and Galahad.) I never punished him for these displays towards me. Instead I stayed focused on showing him what I wanted. Go from this platform to this one, and I will give you a treat. Now he can bounce joyfully from one to another. He can get excited and still stay in the game. Training – it’s a wonderful thing!

I let Elyan join him for another game of leap frog. Back and forth they went, from one platform to another. Oh, and did I mention there was an open box of hay sitting by the gate? I normally bring the hay out in empty shavings bags so the goats aren’t tempted. I had run out of bags, so this morning I carried the hay out in a big plastic box. While I was restocking my treat supply, the game stopped briefly. They took advantage of the break to run over to the box to eat. But as soon as the game was back on, they left the freely available food to play leap frog with me. Training – it is a wonderful!

Coming Next: Goat Diaries Day 4 Eagerness

December 13, 2017 by theclickercenter

The July Goat Diaries: Day 4 – Learning About Goats

What are you feeling?

The timing is perfect for posting this particular article. In it I reference Dr. Joe Layng’s 2016 presentation on emotions at the Art and Science of Animal Training conference. The organizers of that conference have just made that lecture available on the internet. It is very much worth listening to. (https://www.artandscienceofanimaltraining.org/videos/)

Today I’m going to begin with the July Goat Diaries:

Both goats were now consistently greeting me at the door. They were accepting and seemed to be enjoying long head rubs before we began the more structured sessions.

Seemed to be enjoying – there’s an interesting phrase. We use so many emotional labels. They enjoyed the session. They were happy to see me. How do I know what they were feeling? The answer is I don’t. I don’t know what a goat is feeling any more than I know what another person is feeling.

I can observe behavior and see how that correlates with what I experience. Under these conditions, I feel happy. When I feel happy, I present the following behaviors: I smile. I get wrinkles at the corners of my eyes. I laugh. My shoulders relax. Under similar conditions, when I see these indicator behaviors in another person, it’s a fair guess to say that he’s feeling happy.

What conditions would make a goat happy? What does a happy goat look like?

Several years ago at the Art and Science of Animal Training conference, Joe Layng gave a great talk on emotions. Here’s the example that stuck with me. Suppose you’ve been in an accident, a doctor might ask, on a scale of one to ten, how much pain are you in? What does the answer mean? We all know people who are running for the nearest hospital if they even so much as stub their toe, while others stoically tolerate broken bones. And that’s the point Joe was making. The answer does not reflect some absolute answer. We can’t know someone else’s pain. The answer tells you what level of intervention that person is asking for.

When I first scratched the goats, I would say they tolerated the attention. Now they were enjoying it. My hand was doing the same action, but the response was so very different. Now they arched their necks into my fingers. Their ears got floppy, their eyes soft. And when I took my hand away, what level of intervention did they ask for? Did they move away relieved that I had stopped? Or did they push into me asking for more?

I think I was safe in saying that they were enjoying the head scratching. But whatever they thought of this ritual, I was finding it most reinforcing!

I used another emotional label to describe P at the start of our next training session. He was eager.

2nd Session 11 am

P’s Session:

I let P out into the outside run. I wanted to film this session so I had the camera and tripod with me. P went straight to the platform. I should have reinforced him, but I was busy setting up the camera. Note to self – have camera set up ahead of time. These initial offerings at the start of a session are too precious to miss.

For the most part P was very good. He stayed on the platform – click then treat. When I offered the target, he left the platform to come to the target – click then treat. (Figure 1.)

Goat Diaries- Day 4- P's 11 am Session - leaving platform 3 photos.png

Figure 1

He was experiencing success with both responses. Stay on the platform – get reinforced. Orient to the target when it’s presented – get reinforced. All was going well, and then – conflict! P got stuck between two choices. What was he supposed to do!? He wanted to go to the platform. But I was holding out the target.

He started to leave the platform to get to the target (Fig. 2:1.) , but then he hesitated. He looked back at the platform. The pull was strong. (Fig. 2: 2-3.)

Goat Diaries- Day 4- P's 11 am Session - 3 photos leaving platform.png

Figure 2

He went to the platform. There was no click. He turned back to me, saw the target, and leapt towards it. When goats butt one another, they rise up on their hind legs and then curl their necks so they collide horns to horns with their sparing partner. (Figure 3.)

Figure 3

It looked as though P’s charge was going to turn into a head butt (Fig. 4: 1-4.) , but it fizzled out. He landed in front of me with a puzzled look. (Fig. 4: 5-6.) What to do? He looked back at the platform. (Fig. 4: 7.) That must be the answer. He turned away from the target and went back to the platform. (Fig. 4: 8.) No click. (Fig. 4: 9.) What is a goat to do?

Goat Diaries- Day 4- P's 11 am Session - charges target 9 photos.png

SGoat Diaries- Day 4- P's 11 am Session - goes to target 5 photos.png

Figure 4

The target was still there. (Fig. 4: 10.) He left the platform and came forward to the target. Click! (Fig. 4: 11.) He kept coming forward as I reached into my pocket. (Fig. 4: 12.) Food delivery should support what you want. I had been asking him to back up away from me to get his treat, but in this case I wanted him to stay forward with me. (Fig. 4: 13.) He followed the target back to the platform. (Fig. 4: 14.) This time there was no conflict. The target was directing him back to the platform. This was an easy choice to make.

Video: Goat Diaries – Day 4 – P’s 11 am session

P does everything with so much energy! If orienting to the target is good, running to it must be better! His enthusiasm was beginning to create some problems. I want the energy. I want the enthusiasm. I also want him to have the ability to relax and settle. That comes from being confident in the process. It comes from understanding how to use the information that cues are providing. Now is a great time to stay on a platform. Now is a great time to leave the platform to go to a target.

I don’t want P to feel conflicted. I want him to know that it is safe to make mistakes. And I want him to know that there are lots of way to earn reinforcement. That’s what these early foundation lessons clarify.

The Horses have shown me that mats can help to stabilize the emotional yo-yo. Mats have three parts to them – going to a mat, staying on a mat, and leaving a mat. All three elements have to be in balance. If mats equal lots of reinforcement, I don’t want my horse or goat rushing to get to the mat. Nor do I want them refusing to leave the mat when asked.

My plan was to reinforce P a lot for just being on the platform. We’d go from the excitement of moving from one platform to the next, to the more predictable just stand still and get clicked and reinforced. Time will tell if that helps him gain confidence in the whole process.

The Goat Palace Journals

That’s where we were – just beginning to sort out platforms and the emotional high they created in Pellias. Yesterday I introduced him to a fun game, one Elyan is really enjoying. I set a large plastic storage container out at the far end of the hallway. It’s filled with leftover wood from the construction, blocks that are too small to be really useful, but too big to throw away. I’m being reinforced for being a pack rat. It turns out they really do have a use. They add enough weight to the storage box to make it a stable platform for the goats to jump up on at speed.

Elyan had already shown me that he’s very clever at getting up on things. When I get up out of my chair, he takes my place. If he can jump up into a chair and turn around, he can certainly jump up onto a box. So on Monday I let him run to the box, click and treat. He thought that was the greatest game yet! I clicked and reinforced him several times for staying on the box. Then I went to the far end of the hallway and called him.

He jumped off the box and ran to me. Click and treat! I want to say he ran joyously, but I am mindful of Joe Layng’s lecture. Who knows what he was feeling, but the speed with which he ran to me certainly filled me with delight.

I reinforced him for staying with me, then released him back to the box. He ran down the hallway and jumped up on it. Such fun! What a great way to teach recalls and send outs.

Once he was on his box, I could reach my arms around him and give him a quick hug – click and treat. He seemed to like the contact and started to press in closer to me.

I taught Panda to press her body against my leg. This was done for her work as a guide for the blind. When her handler is busy doing something where her focus not on Panda, for example buying something at a store check out counter, Panda will press herself against her leg. Her handler knows exactly where Panda is. She isn’t swinging her rear end around into the face of some small child. She is standing exactly where she should be by her side.

I taught this behavior for a very practical reason. I reinforced it a lot, and it became a behavior Panda loves to offer. After almost fifteen years working as a guide, it is certainly one she offers readily. As I was giving Elyan a quick squeeze of a hug, I thought this was a behavior he might enjoy as well.

Yesterday I introduced Pellias to the box. He was more hesitant at first about jumping up on it. I used a target to indicate that was what I wanted. In true goat fashion once he had one foot on the box, the rest quickly followed. When I called him off the box, he trotted to me. And then he turned and raced ahead of me back to the box. Hmm. Was this really what I wanted?

With Elyan it seemed fine. He’s so very good at sticking to my side, sending him out in front of me to the box didn’t seem as though it would create a problem. But Pellias is a much stronger goat. Did I really want him running ahead of me? Is this something I wanted to be encouraging at this point? I didn’t think so. So I brought out a target. He jumped down off the box and began to follow the target. Click. He stopped with me and got his treat.

I had him follow the target to the opposite end of the hallway where there was a stack of plywood mats that we had been using earlier. He hopped up on those. Click and treat. We turned back to the box. He kept his nose oriented to the target as he trotted towards the box. I clicked. He wasn’t expecting that. He had been heading to the box, so he overshot past me, but instead of being pulled in by the tractor beam of the box, he turned back to me.

What a great lesson! He had so much energy and enthusiasm. He wanted to get to the box. But when I clicked mid way down the hall, he stopped with me and got his treat. And then he stayed with me as we continued towards the box. That’s a great preparation for putting a lead on and asking him to stay with me even when there is something exciting up ahead.

This is such a fun stage in the training. I’ve constructed the first layer of building blocks. Now I can use them to create the next layer.

Coming Next: Goat Diaries: Day 4 – Goats and Platforms