
Scout, the assistance dog puppy, has come to stay. Wouldn’t you know it, she loves to chase moving objects. Birds definitely fit that category. Here’s the wonderful part. All the times the Willies and I have played together safely around strange dogs has culminated in them gaining a confidence to approach and land on my finger with dogs present. When I took Scout outside to do some training and the Willies flew in to visit, Scout was enthralled. She lunged after them with gusto. The Willies were unperturbed and still flew near and tried to land on my hand. I immediately changed my training plan and decided to teach Scout a new task: not to chase the birds. To do this I needed to give her something else to do which paid off big time. Scout practised her new behaviour of sitting watching instead of chasing them no matter what they did. Since the Willies came and stayed on cue, I could use them as distractions in a very controlled and safe way. It worked beautifully within seconds. I had the presence of mind to run inside and grab the video camera. Who knows when an opportunity like this may come again? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVE9k2f83T4