I was forced to fasttrack cooperative care training when Willow's ear wound opened up. Blood ended up everywhere including her chest, neck and other ear. I had to clean her first and then apply a dressing. My aims were:
1. To go at her pace.
2. To give her choices to continue or pause the process. Putting her head in my hand or lap, or standing still when touched are signals I can continue. Moving, walking away or raising her head is when I pause (except the one time where I had to adhere the dressing before it stuck to anything else).
3. To see signs of enjoyment in Willow: returning continually, gently wagging tail, eye contact, quick responses indicating I could continue.
Despite being impromptu, this ended up fun for both of us thanks to our history of positive reinforcement. No training is ever wasted. Every interaction matters.
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