and I guess today I resolved that the best opportunities would arise if I used both. It's waiting for that teachable moment that's key. I can partially create it, by getting them into a routine of having a private lesson, but I can also make use of the synergistic energy they have when together by taking advantage of high energy times, to seize them as teaching moments.
Today we worked on bringing the nose to the target stick. WHen the rabbits awoke from their beauty rest in the pen in the front yard, one-by-one I brought them indoors, back to the Purple Room where they live when they aren't outside, for an individualized, "private" instruction. Each rabbit did pretty well. Jemimah went first, but I think she had already had pretty much enough treats for the day. She was not to be enticed into moving very far forward in order to "play ball", the command line I decided to use for this fundamental trick. But she did three times touch her nose to the stick, and each time I clicked and gave her her treat. Still, she seemed to suffer from the heat in the room (it was by now cooler out in the yard), and she had little energy. SHe eventually just lay down again.
Maddie was next, my two-year-old Himalayan who is usually game for just about anything. For some reason, she followed the same pattern as Jemimah, immediately on returning to the room she got into the larger rectangular bedding pan and didn't want to move very far from it. She could be enticed to touch her nose to the stick, but only it if meant not jumping out of the bedding pan. That was a little discouraging to me.
Dorcas was last, and she outdid the other two in the distance that she was willing to move to "play ball". She seemed more inclined to please than Jemimah had been. I got the feeling that Jemimah knew exactly what I wanted, but wasn't inclined to give it to me. Maddie had less of an understanding than that, but was still pretty willing. Dorcas was the most willing of all.
I look forward to later this evening when all three are a little more energetic. I will get in the pen with them, with the target stick, and see if I can't entice them to get up on top of the little cat house cover. That will be a real triumph, I feel. If they are able to do that, they will reach a new plane of understanding about what "playing ball" can be like.
I have had my own frustrations with feeling caged, so I include this picture of a 14-week-old Flemish Giant to express that:
