Catty says "I am a rock star with chin rest & The Bucket Game!"

Catty is amazing and it's now time to incorporate the Bucket Game and the chin rest.     As I mentioned, her canine tooth has split. While it doesn't seem to be causing her pain, it needs to be looked at by the vet.  So, it's time for us to change up our training plan to focus on her feeling comfortable at the vet while having her tooth looked at. This will be a challenge for us as all of her previous vet visits occurred with Catty wearing a muzzle.  Obviously she can't wear the muzzle while the vet checks our her tooth.

Catty says "Hurry up and lets get this game going!"

D'light is curious about the bucket and the yummy treats inside. I am thrilled about his curiosity! At this point my sole focus is on Catty.   But, in the coming future I plan on playing The Bucket Game with D'light and Viva.

We often warm up with playing the bucket game on the table.  The Bucket Game works like a dream with Catty.

We have fun with chin rest

D'light is getting really interested in what Catty and I are doing

By this point we've been playing The Bucket Game and practicing a chin rest for about 2 weeks.  We never play/train from more than 5 minutes at a time.  I keep that time limit because of my schedule and 5 minute training sessions is something I can commit to ongoing.  Also by keeping the sessions short it builds the excitement and anticipation of the games for Catty.  In Catty's world any training we do is FUN so being able to do it every night is amazing for her and for our relationship. 

Given how great we were doing, it was time to move on with me using my fingers to gently touch her muzzle and mouth.  You can see throughout the video that Catty choses to stop what we are doing. This is what's so great about the The Bucket Game - clear communication and choice!  We stop and I offer the choice to start again.  We stop and start as indicated by Catty staring at the bucket.  In watching the video I need to slow down how I touch her mouth as the movement is too much and Catty is letting me know that. 

Training time is over and Catty says "I'm not done yet!'.

"I can't wait for our next training session!"

Stay tuned for our next "vet prep" post - it will be lots of fun!