It was quite the road to get here, but above shows Rasta spinning in a circle on cue! Hip hip, HOORAY!

 

Here are some videos showing the training in between to get to that final end goal with Rasta:

 

 

I have to say, my favorite part about this training was when I calmed down, decided to be patient and slower with my sessions and waited for Rasta to catch on. As I got to see him catch on, it was soooo cute… it was like a light went on and as he munched his almond piece, he turned in a circle and then he’d spin even with a full mouth just because he finally realized that was what was getting him the treat! I literally laughed out loud at him doing this for me.

 

You can see from the above videos there were some mistakes, and that is when Rasta and I both learned the most. You can also see that even though he gets off balance sometimes, it never stopped him – he had the confidence to keep trying and keep going.

 

I also got to the point progressively through my training where I started off using whole almonds as rewards, and pieces of cheese. Now, I break one almond into a bunch of pieces and those are what I use. No more bargaining for huge rewards anymore:

 

1 almond = about 12 pieces (treats for training reps)

This was really important for me being able to show PROGRESS… and get anywhere with Rasta.

 

I would still LOVE to train Rasta to wave next, but I haven’t figured out what makes him lift his foot besides going to eat something yummy. So I’m really not sure which trick I will be training next.