Monday Mischief

Even at nine years old, R still does completely unexpected things during training - so unexpected that all that I can do is laugh. He has a mind of his own, and I like that about him.

Last week, I was practicing recalls with the Duo. When I called for them to come, Shyla bolted toward me, like usual. In contrast, R hesitated and then bolted behind Shyla at a right angle to the line toward me.

You can see Shyla's incredulous reaction. Since we don't use punishment in our training (aside from withholding the reward), she didn't have any experience to cause her to have that worried look on her face.

R quickly changed his mind and charged over to me. I wish I'd captured the looks on both of their faces. Most of all, Shyla looked so relieved that R had finally done the right thing!