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| Practising the L-shaped poles |
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| Ready to load |
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| A quick exit |
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| Slowly slowly |
Time to visit Amador again this evening. He had forgotten nothing of his last session and backed out of the trailer step by step very carefully. It was then time to try to have some influence on the way he unloads when taken out through the front door.At present his owners have had to let him go first as he always rushes and leaps off the ramp. By using the panels in a right hand curve and having a handler on the inside as well as the outside, it was possible to ask him to take a step to the left before he exits and then a gentle turn to the right as he negotiates the doorway so that doesn't bang his right hip as he goes out. This means he is less likely to reinforce his need to leap. By very gradually reducing the space he has available when he has left the trailer it is also possible to slow his exit down; whilst not being that close that they provide a physical barrier, the panels provide a mental barrier.
By the end of the session he was walking off much more slowly AND putting all four feet on the front ramp. We need to repeat this once more and make sure that it all still works when the panels are taken away altogether and that he handler can actually walk out just ahead of him without fear of injury.
