Kody is really starting to like our tennis court work. He's learning that when bikes or people or even other dogs walk by it's okay. Today a dog walked right by the tennis court, and although he did walk that way and bark, it wasn't very intense. Then he came over to me when I asked to get a treat and was calm.
He's also a little more comfortable being away from me, which is great. I can really see his confidence growing by leaps and bounds.
I think I need to change my command for when Kody barks at something, though. Right now it's "Go get 'em". It was kinda funny and such a natural thing to say at first, but more and more often it's becoming embarrassing because people, of course, think I'm encouraging him. It works so well, I hate to try to change it. It's something I'm going to have to think about.
Today Kody seemed to want me to leave the house. It was very strange because at my slightest movement he would run into his crate like I was going to leave. I said, "Do you want me to leave or something?" Then I realized we used up the last of his dry food last night and I did need to go to the store and buy some more. While I was paying, it occurred to me that maybe he knew we needed dry food? Then when I got home, he ran over to it. Now it could have been a lot of things, of course, and I'll never know. But the way he was behaving was just sort of uncanny and to tell you the truth, I'm not so sure he didn't know exactly what he was doing.
Furthermore, he has started knowing when to trade his bully sticks for a small treat. When he gets down to a little less than two inches, he will stop chewing on them. Then today, he went over to the kitchen area and was asking for something. I finally got it, he wanted to trade for the remaining bully stick. When I went to the kitchen and said, "Are you ready to trade?", he ran back to lay by his bully stick on the couch and looked at me expectantly. He traded happily.
He's actually done this a few times now, but I didn't totally realize he was trying to communicate with me until tonight. I'm amazed, and it's a bit humbling to realize how smart he is. I'm a little afraid knowing that he's probably even smarter than I realize and trying to communicate with me often but I just don't understand.
There is still debate about whether dogs think or have emotions. At this point I can say with almost certainty that Kody thinks and has emotions. I wish I understood them better, but that's what's great about observation. Only by observing your dog do you even stand a chance at understanding them. Along with positive training, observation of Kody's behavior and really trying to pay attention to him is a new passion of mine. He is amazing.