Breakfast in the car, engine not running. No distress yapping, which is an improvement. Some shivering, stiff body/legs, moderate whining. We have a good long cuddle, petting until she’s loose and relaxed, then it takes a minute to decide to eat off the console, but eating off the seat is fine. When she’s on the seat and I pet her, she trusts that I’m not going to grab her and drag her anywhere. When I DO pick her up to deposit her on the floor, she’s stiff and can’t find the food that’s right underneath her, but she does remember how to get back up on the seat. She’s very happy when I open the door and invite her onto the driver’s seat to get out.
Lunch: I’m glad I’m not using this session to demonstrate “scared puppy”. She runs with me into the front hall, sits on cue to get her collar on, trots cheerfully out to the car and puts her paws up on the running board so I can boost her in. She runs enthusiastically all over the front floor, up onto the seats, over the console, back down onto the floor where, having cleaned up all the food, she starts hauling garbage out from under the front seats. When I get out, she can’t remember how to get across the console, but eventually decides she can walk over the hump to the pedals so I can get her out – a trip she took 6 times when there was a single kibble hiding under the gas pedal. I lift her down and we come back in the house.
Isn’t clicker training great? How many jobs let you take a day and a half off, sit in your car for 20 minutes three times a day playing video games, and call it work? Well, come to think of it, that pretty much describes my life as a soccer mom…
She has supper in the car, she’s totally comfortable on the floor, cleans up everything, cleans all the food off the passenger seat – but can’t jump up on seat by herself. Up on the couch, yes, up on the contact trainer, yes, up on the car seat, nope, that’s too hard. When I boost her up, she sits on the seat she just cleaned wondering whether she can turn around or not. Finally she turns around and eats the food on the console, then jumps back down on the floor where she’s more comfortable. Once she’s there again, I replenish the food on the console and she still can’t get up on the seat to eat it. Strange and mysterious are ways of the puppy brain! When I get out she comes over the hump with no trouble at all.