Oh my little man! This morning on our walk we walked right by a yard that had not one, not two, not three, but FOUR squirrels in it all cavorting and playing and jumping around like they were the most delicious delectable prey animals ever. It was like they were all auditioning for the part of The Most Tempting Prey of All Time. And what did my special little man do? Looked at them, was intrigued briefly, kept walking past them on a 4 foot loosh leash, and looked up at me when I said his name. Oh man, I almost had a party right there in the middle of the street! That was such wonderful proof that he really has learned what I was trying to teach him about appropriate and inappropriate times to hunt.
Also, I've been working on a whistle emergency recall. Still in the early stages of just the dogs standing right in front of me and whiste-liver-whistle-liver etc.... But yesterday Marlowe was being pokey down in the yard doing his business. He wasn't totally focused on something else, just playing around with the ice that formed on their outside water dish so I thought, eh, this might be a good time to see how he's coming with the association. Conrad was already standing right next to me, but I went and got a couple liver treats from the freezer, blew the whistle and immediately I heard Marlowe drop the ice and come bounding up the ramp to me. YAY!
Conrad is such a good dog, it's hard for me to find stuff to brag about with him other than just his general awesomeness. But he is awesome.