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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2016 2:03 am
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2016 2:04 am
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Oh no. Ohhhh no. He had never once gotten Truly to actually retrieve a stick. She'd chase them and chew them, but giving them back? No way. Not even when he gave up and tried to do something else. She was super possessive of sticks. "I don't think this is gonna work," he warned, before picking up a stick and setting off a cacophony of yips and leaps. He flung it and she was off like a shot- and then the dance began.
She'd come close, then tease away, growling around the stick as he asked for it- she'd dance near his feet, then dart away, flopping to the ground for a chew, only to spring away again as he approached, trying to get the stick back from her. She had no intention of giving it up. At first, he chased her- but then he stopped, remembering what had worked to get her to follow. He turned away from her and trotted towards his grandmother, trying very, very hard not to look back in her direction.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2016 2:05 am
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"The idea is to get her to bring it to you, first," Streams of Silver said gently, watching the muskie as she uselessly protected her new toy, before turning to her grandson. "It puts the proverbial stick in her jaws– she's got to relinquish it if she wants you to throw it. We'll try to teach her 'go find a stick', so you have some way to reward her– but for now, you can play a short tug-of-war as a reward. She'll enjoy that just as much, and she only needs a few moments' enjoyment as a reward– she can go back to being miffed afterwards, and keep on feeling miffed until she does what you want."
She kept walking, letting him follow her. "She's clearly interested in your attention, and in holding your interest. You'll need to learn to discipline yourself, so she gets positive attention only when she's doing good– but she's stuck with you this long and hasn't run off to join a pack of dogs, so I'm confident she won't grow bored of you and decide to abandon you. She just needs discipline– her lifestyle currently has you relieving her boredom whenever she cares to stir up trouble, and you are very right that that's far too high-maintenance behaviour to trust taking her on a pilgrimage with."
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2016 2:05 am
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2016 2:07 am
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2016 2:08 am
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"Hm!" he said, nodding, then flung the stick again. He didn't yell "Fetch!"- he didn't want to reinforce the association. Sure as the rains, she darted after it and returned it. This time, he dove for her, flopping to the ground and rolling with her as he had when she was a pup. After a few moments, he let her get the stick away from him. He then picked up another one and waved it to get her attention. He had a plan! He tossed the stick, and shouted. "Fetch it, girl! Go get the stick!" Then, when she returned with it...
He ignored her. It was hard, but he did it, hoping he was doing the right thing. She circled him, stick in her mouth. He waited for her to drop it or get bored and wander off. Hopefully she'd drop it first.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2016 2:09 am
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2016 2:09 am
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2016 2:09 am
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