Progress with Speck the goat....

OK - I keep forgetting to bring the iPad out with me for milking time.  No video for you.  Sad face. 

I had been a little sporadic in trying anything with Speck because of the failures I had incurred and I was thinking (ruminating - ha ha!) about how to move forward...

I can approach her in the pen, she follows me in the pen, I can take her collar in the pen... it's just ALL that changes once she is OUT of the pen.  So I feel it's not doing me any good to keep practicing in the pen.  Tho' now when I take her collar I do take a second to scritchy scratch her neck so there is some "pleasure" associated with me reaching for her collar/neck.... and I am not clicking or treating... just giving her some extra scratching. 

I let her out of the pen the other day and had my clicker and some saltines.  She ran just past the milk room... looked at the door way ... looked at me.  I held out a saltine.  She actually came to me.  That was a complete suprise!  Click and saltine. 

I took her collar just a wee bit to guide her to the door, in she went all on her own... click and saltines and me making happy praising sounds.  (Which I'm not sure if goats are motivated to please humans exactly and if she cares about any happy sounds I make but it can't hurt.)

Last night, I let her out of the pen and she went IN the milk room without going past the door and very little hesitation.... click and saltines.... I didn't have to guide her to take her collar at all. 

I don't know if this is just coinkydink or what.  I'm taking it however...

And the second I decide to iPad it, she will go running amok and act like she doesn't know a thing about the milk room ... ani-mules are so good at making liars of us all!