Indications are that Maddie may not be entirely enthused about the new training regimen. Yesterday, when I had her out training with the target stick, she got annoyed with the target stick and actually grabbed it in her teeth and started gnawing it. That was rather amusing, and I could understand it as a childish response to the sudden onset of all this training. (I have rather started up suddenly with this.)
Another indication came from Jemimah. When presented with the new PE cones for agility, Jemimah knocked one over and started gnawing it away at its base.
Strangely, Dorcas seems to make the most progress at this. She repeatedly goes through the tunnel for her dried papaya treats. She really likes those treats. She has even started going through the hoop. But she still doesn't follow the target stick very well. I don't know how to improve their training at this. Maybe it gets reinforced as I do these other stunts, so that finally it will make sense to them. I hope so. I have no idea how I am going to lead them through an agility or jump course at this point. I just don't have that much cooperation or communication with them.
I so want to succeed at this, and i want the rabbits to have fun at it. I try to give them treats in the form of postiive attention, too, and certainly when they are in harness, that's the best kind of feedback for them (they won't eat when they are in harness, with the exception of Maddie).
I am learning what each rabbit's favorite treat is. Maddie and Jemimah still like the Vitakraft treats above all. Dorcas, however, likes the dried papaya. I am surprised that no one seems to have gone "ape" over the dried banana they love fresh banana so much.
