It's got *something* to do with my left hand...

I'm pretty sure Gitchi is right-pawed. Why I think this doesn't have anything to do with training observations, nor even that at the end of a jump grid she always turns in the same direction to come back toward me. (Honestly, until I wrote that I hadn't even thought of looking - now I'll have to go watch her videos to see which way she turns.) It's just that I've noticed that she's more 'expressive' with her right paw - flops it over bones to hold them, waves it at me when I squeak toys at her, 'holds' my arm with it when I scrumple her ears, pawing with it to get under the sheet to play Tug Monster.

A couple days ago I was just sitting on the bed messing with her, too lazy to get up and go get treats and a clicker, and spontaneously decided to see if I could increase how much she used her left hand. (Sorry about the use of "hand" instead of "paw", but many many years ago a vet xrayed the family dog's "arm", and so my dogs have had arms and by extension hands, ever since - although adopting this terminology does open the door to some possible angst on their part, and guilt on mine, about the whole "disposable thumb" issue. But I digress.)  So anyway I just sat there watching TV and waited for her to move her left hand independent of her right. When she did, I said "yes" softly and started a game of tug. Really no big deal, definitely no forethought or plan to it, and except for me watching for something specific and saying "yes", it was the same thing we were doing before this notion/observation/reaction occurred to me. And it was subtle, but within just a few minutes, probably less than a dozen left hand "yes" markers, she was definitely favoring leading with her left. I was impressed but pretty soon I wandered off and forgot about it.

20-30 minutes later Gitchi walked over and made eye contact with me and pawed the air, a kind of low wave, not an unusual action for her. But I did notice that she did it with her left "hand", so I said "yes" and gave her some loving.

Hours later I told Steve I was encouraging her to use her left "hand" so she would be ambidextrous, and he's been pointing out to me ever since how she is using left hand much more often now. He asked me what I was teaching her to do with her left hand, and I had to admit to myself I hadn't a clue. "Just stuff" seemed an inadequate answer, so I made up something about balancing her neural pathways and cerebral hemispheres to shut him up, and he seemed duly impressed.

But Gitchi might perhaps not be so easily impressed. It's been about two days now since that thoughtless little experiment, and she seems to be trying to get me to clarify just WHAT is earning these spontaneous bouts of attention. She knows it's got something to do with her left hand. She just isn't sure what, and so she keeps experimenting. And since I'm not sure what it is either, I keep reinforcing. I'm wondering if she'll go ON experimenting, and for how long? Will she eventually do something so clever with her left hand that I'll want to mark it, but by then will she'll have decided that what I'm after is for her to NOT do the same thing again next time?

I also wonder how many things like this I reinforce unconsciously by giving attention. Like we both know that when she walks by carrying a sock, it gets my attention. But does picking up the toy that's right next to my sock get my attention? She's got me at "woof", but does sitting nicely at the french door without barking at the squirrels get my attention? Or lying quietly while I eat? Going into her kennel on her own at night without being told? Napping at my feet right now while I type, even though it's beautiful out and she'd rather be out there DOING something?

Hmm....

Suse'n Gitchi