We learn to ring a bell

After much clicker training, Mollydog has learned to shake paws, and to prod her ball with the bell in it to make it ring. I am *so* proud! I had a really crap week last week, and this one is a rather frantic one, but somehow this has cheered me up totally (so much so that I stopped working to post this, apparently...)

The theory is that the bell-ringing is the first step towards picking up the ball, which is a step towards fetching it when thrown. Somehow a dog just seems to be designed for learning things, and clicker training her really is fun. I'm sure the cats could do this sort of stuff (specially Kjetil who often seems like a dog trapped inside a large shambling sort of cat), but it just doesn't seem the same.

Mind you, Kjetil has started coming on walks with us, so perhaps he thinks he should be a dog. It makes me laugh like a drain when he bounces out of the hedge and boings along next to the dog. That cat moves like a Slinky going down stairs...

Next stop: jumping over things. I don't suppose Molly will ever do agility, but it would be handy if she could jump over a stile, as she is too big to fit through the little dog-doors you get.