We haven't worked with mats and hurdles in a while, so we did today. I have them go to their mat, then jump over the hurdle. Sometimes I have them bypass the mat and just come to me. They seem to enjoy the variety.

I noticed Gizmo would begin to raise his paw when I came over to him to give him his treat on the mat. So I thought, "what the heck?" and held out my hand. Gimme five! He's definitely got it.

Because sometimes they decide they don't want to jump the hurdle, I decided to throw in soem targeting, too. We haven't tried "sitting pretty" in a really long time, so I held the target just over their head. When they finished their treat and sat up, their heads bump the target. C/T.

Next I held it just a tiny bit further than their head. Gizmo sat up, grabbed the target with his paws. C/T. Unfortunately at the same time I clicked, he bit the target.

We did it a few more times, though, and he continued to grab the target stick (gently), but didn't bite it. So we have a sitting pretty — holding onto the target. I'm not sure if this will work or not — if I'll be able to fade the target stick and we'll end up with an actual sitting pretty.

This afternoon when I fed the boys, they were both sitting patiently, waiting for their food. This is happening more and more often now (although not every time yet!).

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