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A Park It, Mat Work Triumph

By katie, on October 29th, 2010

It’s late and I’m tired. . . but triumphant!

Mat work with Magnus has really barely started, but tonight he made his first real life application. Let me lay the stage.

It has been a long, but good day. It’s time for bed and mehusandy is snoozing away.

But not my mutts! They, of course, have their typical night time zoomies. And the zoomies in this house are not quiet.

I have two choices: put them to bed and hope they settle in quick and quiet, or whip out their mats and see if they can settle.

I love their mats. Cute and square, Maizeys’ orange with pink squares and Magnus’ green with blue squares. I have visions of them parked on their cute mats, ears flowing and tails softly wagging while the breeze ruffles their hair and sends the scent of new grass through the air. . .

Okay, that’s taking it a little far, but seriously mat work is invaluable.

So as I set out to do my dishes I put one mat behind me to the left and one behind me to the right. Maizey immediately parks it, she loves this game. Magnus’ version of mat work up till now has been to get on Maizeys’ mat with her.

But not tonight! Tonight he CHOSE his mat! Well okay, it did take one lure the first time to get him there, but after that he CHOSE wisely! Repeatedly! While I loaded the dish washer, walked around the kitchen and changed the laundry, he CHOSE his mat! By the end he also CHOSE to lay down and stay on his mat for an estimated two whole minutes!

Imagine! What a smart boy!

And my Maizeymaymay? She stayed in her park it for the whole time! Well, she broke twice when my treat throwing aim was off and the treats landed just out of reach, but each time she CHOSE to immediately return to her perfect park it.

Imagine! What a smart girl!

So the 4legged lesson? I love it when my pups make good choices, I love training and there really is nothing small about small triumphs!

. . . Tomorrow, puppy class. Sigh. I’m glad Magnus isn’t nervous, cause I sure am!

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  • sara,oreo&misty

    Wow! That’s impressive! What a wonderful accomplishment.

    Mats are the best. I wish I started Oreo on his when he was a puppy.

    • http://www.lessonsfrom4legs.com Katie

      Thanks Sarah, and yes mats are the best! Today at puppy class I didn’t take his mat, but when sat down he was so excited and distracted that I asked if next week I could bring his mat. The instructor said of course, and then went and got him a mat to lay on. He ran right over to it and laid down. It was a great help. After that I saw two others, a little Chihuahua and a Shih Tzu, mom’s ask for mats too. It was pretty cool!

  • Ricky

    Awesome mat work! Good job Magnus and Maizey!

    Good luck at puppy class – don’t be nervous – Magnus will pick up on that. Just have fun! It’s time spent with your puppy !

    • http://www.lessonsfrom4legs.com Katie

      Thanks for the encouragement Ricky! It went great!

  • Priscilla

    Wonderful! Good job Maizey and Magnus!

    The mat work always sounds amazing to me but I never did it with Eva. I’m thinking of doing it with Eva lately but not really sure how to start it right. I’ve found some info from the web and hope it works for me.

    Good luck for your puppy class. You and Magnus will enjoy it!

  • http://embeecav.blogspot.com Embee Cavaliers

    Good work Magnus and Maizey! This is something i’d love to train my two to do. Have a wonderful puppy class tomorrow.

  • http://www.lessonsfrom4legs.com Katie

    Thanks for commenting Mary Beth! I always love to get new fellow Cavalier lover readers! How did you find us? Your pups are gorgeous!

  • http://woodworking-books.org Woodworking Project Plans

    Great work! Good luck for your puppy class.

  • Deb at emptynest

    Thanks for coming to my blog – I’m always on the look out for Cavalier blogs too. Good luck at puppy class. Rylie really struggled with playtime at puppy class because he just wanted to sit on my knee. We had a awesome instructor though, that made all of us stand up so Rylie didn’t have a knee to get to and she made sure the other dogs didn’t bother him – now he’s too social – oops!

  • Pingback: Puppy Class #1: Lessons Learned « Lessons From and For 4 Legs

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