I have started to do a couple of sits with the boys before I give them their food. I get the food ready, then do a couple of sits. The idea is we'll start with sitting, and once we've got that, we'll move on to stay. And then maybe eventually to sitting on their own stools.

They still don't understand the cue for "sit", so getting that first sit is the key. I guess what I really ought to do is try to catch them in sits more during the day, but the truth is there's always so much to do, and now that the days are longer they're not inside for very long, there just never seems to be time.

I think they've begun to get the "go to your mat" cue. Today, after working on sits while cutting up their treats, I said "go to your mats". They milled around a little, but when I took one step in the direction of the mats (about 6 feet away), they seemed to get the idea and ran over. They're certainly not to the point of total recall, but all the work we've put into it the last few weeks really seems to have paid off.

I wanted to shake things up again, so once I got them to their mat, I tried to get them through their tunnel to me. I've tried that in the past, and it was a failure — they just kept walking around the tunnel to get to me, which is strange since they love to run through the tunnel.

This time, I tried a little luring. Once I had them on their mats, I made sure they saw me throw a couple of treats into the tunnel. Sure enough, that got Gizmo into the tunnel. Then I went to the other opening, and did a "come", which he did. Simba, as usual, was a little harder, but he got it eventually.

I got about 4 to the mats, then through the tunnel to me. Gizmo seemed to like to go into the tunnel to get his treat, pause, then leap out of the tunnel to me, which is fine with me.

I finished off the session with a final "come" (not through the tunnel), which worked just fine; then I gave them their dinner.

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