Tag: rewards

Day 16

'A Poetic Potter & A Potting Poet'Leave a comment

Writing into Life, more

Up, showered and dressed before 9am, I had a couple of cups of tea before heading out with Lydia. 

Seeing a horse and rider coming towards us at one point during our walk, I headed down into a dip, slipping on to my arse and scrambling up the other side, Lydia following on the way down and leading on the way up.

We had cover behind some trees but she was still aware of the horse and rider as they passed. I was so proud of her, as I encouraged her to “sit” – with a treat-reward, of course – and then “wait”, repeating this a few times so that she didn’t have to wait too long between treat-rewards. She didn’t bark or lunge at all, and we waited a few moments before doing the dip and up again back to where we were before – again with me on my bum for the ‘down’ bit.

Later in the morning I did another tip run, clearing stuff out of the garage.  There’s more to do but it was a good load off my mind.

After a short rest I changed my, by now, muddy trousers, put on some make-up, made sure my hair was OK, then went out to see my friend M. We went out for coffee and scones, to a Morrisons café which offers great value, lovely scones and refillable mugs of coffee. The company and conversation were the best bit though. M. has a heart of gold.

After doing some shopping on the way home, giving Lydia her tea and putting the dinner in the oven – a chicken with vegetables, all roasted together in a dish – I did the final preparations for taking some pots to a small gallery tomorrow – the Dovecot Gallery in Styrrup near Doncaster. They are to be featured in their Christmas show/sale, so it’s good to be prepared well in advance.

They are small pots, and not perfectly formed by any means, but hopefully that is all part of their appeal. We shall see.

Day 20 – learning

'A Poetic Potter & A Potting Poet'Leave a comment

Writing into Life

Lydia and I seem to have had a bit of a breakthrough in terms of how we manage encounters with dogs and moving vehicles while out walking.

While I’ve been using positive reinforcement with her for over three and a half years, I’ve most recently been practising this with a “sit” and “wait” command combination. I’ve also been asking her to “sit” and “wait” before we go out of the back door and again before we go out of the back gate. She’s been getting really used to this and will now often do an impromptu sit before we go through the door.

Using the same “sit” and “wait” combination is now starting to work with her when we see a dog – from a distance – and also when we’re on a road and have cars passing by.  I hold her on a short lead, reward her immediately for the “sit” and reward the “wait” providing she doesn’t bark or lunge.  I also add a lot of reassurance and extra treats and praise afterwards, as I know her fears are still triggered by these experiences, but it does feel like a big step forward. We’re both doing our best to learn and I hope that we can continue to build on this.

I’ve had to do a lot of learning in my life, including a lot of hard life lessons. Learning can be a good way of avoiding being taught (self-management rule no. 35).

It was also good to see a field of still-flowering sunflowers when we were out today. It may be September, but there are still signs of summer.