Goat Diaries Blog by Alexandra Kurland
#20
That's a good idea. We'll have to see how to include a little bit of grain in a separate compartment so we don't mix it with the other treats but still have access.

I didn't think we'd be able to play today because it's so windy outside, but it calmed down enough that I was able to a little with both Finn and Sputnik in turn. After chasing the rolling ball for a while, Sputnik moved on to going back and forth between two different targets placed 15-20 feet apart. He started off confused by my finger-pointing and I had to walk him back and forth between the two targets, but soon he started to go back and forth on his own. At first he was only going back and forth from one target to the next in turn, but by the end he was in the beginning stages of watching which target I was pointing at and was starting to get it right even if I pointed at the same target 2-3 times in a row. Sometimes the wind blew the ball away where he couldn't see it so it wasn't the most straightforward lesson. Nevertheless he really rose to the challenge and didn't get confused or frustrated when I had to fetch the ball out from under or behind something.

Finn and I had a quiet but good session. He spent all of Sputnik's lesson watching intently from across the gate. One thing Finn is very good at is jealousy. He likes to be the center of attention and he doesn't understand why anyone would spend time with any goat but him. Sometimes I think jealousy is the biggest reason why he takes treats. Today after watching Sputnik he was very eager for both peanuts and animal crackers. We had a slow start with the targets, but after a few simple repetitions we built up to where he would take a step or two in either direction to touch it. Soon I was able to get him to touch it on the ground or stand on his hind legs to reach it. He did well and we quit after a short lesson because I could see his attention wandering. He was tired of treats and he wanted to be scratched and petted.
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RE: Goat Diaries Blog by Alexandra Kurland - by Nanno - 03-23-2018, 11:37 AM

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