Here's Viva showing what she loves to do!
Watching...
And I say "Go get it!"
The squirrels at Volunteer Park are very savvy and they often taunt the dog. They won't go all the way up the tree. Just high enough so that the dog can't reach them. Some of them also tell the dogs off with their chatter and tail flicking.
"Come down here!"
Here's Viva getting after two squirrels
Figuring out where to go next
We are on the move!
I love seeing Viva this carefree and having lots of fun.
There are some massive trees at Volunteer Park
Hunt, hunt, hunt
So much fun and nothing around her matters. By now we are seeing a lot of people (walking and jogging) and bike riders. Viva knows they are around us and we just move on looking for squirrels.
Great photo of her in critter stance
We pass by a park worker in their cart and a biker zooms by us. Viva says "No problem".
As we move on she thinks there might be some squirrels near this massive cedar tree.
As we move closer we see a dog off leash in the distance. It's person is playing ball with the dog and the dog could care less about Viva. Viva has to make a choice of what to do next and I'm ready to assist her with whatever choice she makes. In the past, she would be lunging and barking to get at that off leash dog. Her behavior in the past was extremely obsessive and she could not focus on anything other than the dog she was seeing or smelling.
She makes a good choice of what is more reinforcing for her - checking the tree for a squirrel.
She checks in to see where that off leash dog is...
Then back to critter checking.
Great choice Viva and I tell her what a good girls she is.
After checking the tree we move away from the dog with our "lets go" cue followed by lots of verbal praise and a high value food treat. I'm clearly using a variety of reinforcers with Viva.
Viva makes foster mom very proud with her behavioral choices.
Stay tuned as there more of this park to see!
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