Had a fun incident again:
my 6 months old pup is housetrained.
We take her out after meals, sleep and play, but sometimes she needs to go out on "odd" times. She will tell us by pawing the door to the garden a few times. I admit - sometimes we miss that, in the hurly burly of life with five dogs and two toddlers. So I decided to teach her to make a clearer signal. Yesterday I made a noisebox from a plastic box and some pearls to rattle around in side. Attached a line to hang it from and hung it on the radiator next to the door.
Then I pointed at it and said target. She knew that game, and we did a few c/t for more and more vigorous rattling. Then I started click/open door instead. After a few reps. we called it a day, before she got tired of it. Later that evening, as we were eating dinner, I heard her rattling the box. I hurried over to praise her and open the door. She went out, urinated, was praised appropriately, came back in, sat down on the mat to have her paws wiped off. When I had finished that, she looked up at me with that "hmm" look, where one can almost see the gears grinding. Then she gave the rattlebox a good shove. "good girl" - door open. She went out, turned around, came back in and sat down to get her paws wiped. Again. When I had finished that, she looked up at me again "hhmm" turned around and bashed the darn box. Again. "good girl" Door open. Go out. come back in. wipe paws. And then she just up and left.
Note to self. Teach this game a day when it isn't raining cats and dogs. (We only wipe paws when it rains. The dogs seem to understand the difference)
Today she rattled the box a single time and was let out, only to come back in again. I think she got the idea that she can make us open the door ...
