Pet Shop Projects

[Speckle]

Speckle's training thread for any pets she plans to sell in her shop once it's built!

Currently training:

To be trained:
[] Come
[] Sit
[] Stay

Equipment:

[Speckle]

Speckle entered the park with an adolescent vulticus by her side. He was a relatively unremarkable specimen, just your average grey savage, being led around by a red leash with a matching red collar. It being a slightly warmer than average day for winter, Speckle was dressed in a green sweatshirt and jeans with plain black sneakers. She was thankful she could get away without wearing a jacket as she hated the bulky feeling of too many layers.

The vulticus being of the untrained sort was all over the place. He would bounce from one end of the lead to the other, running circles around Speckle to the point where she would have to stop every few feet to untangle the leash from her legs. She didn't bother reprimanding the pup for it, as he simply didn't know any better. As nice as it would be if creatures popped out knowing how to behave, Speckle knew that simply wasn't the case.

Reaching a spot a good distance away from other people and pets to avoid distractions as best as possible, Speckle pulled a clicker and a treat pouch from her pocket. The treat pouch was packed with liver, C.O.D. meat, and some dehydrated fish. Clipping the treat pouch to her side, she took a tidbit at random from it and held it to the vulticus's nose while making a kissy sound to get his attention. The vulticus immediately locked on to the treat, licking at the girl's hand. Speckle slowly brought the hand with the treat up and over the vulticus's head, causing him to ever so slowly fall into a sitting position.

Click!

Speckle clicked her clicker as the vulticus's butt hit the ground and immediately relinquished the treat. The vulticus gobbled it up and looked to the girl for more, jumping up out of his sit and up onto Speckle.

//Speckle 1
//Vulticus 1 - Sit 1
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[Speckle]

Speckle turned her back to the vulticus, trying to show him that jumping didn't get him the attention he wanted but actually did the opposite. He slid off her legs as she turned and started whining. Speckle waited for the whining to stop before turning around. "Good boy," she rewarded the vulticus with a head pat and some praise before switching back to sit training.

Like before she put a treat to his nose and slowly moved her hand over his head. The vulticus was completely focused on the food in her hand and raised his head to follow it

Click!

As soon as his butt hit the ground she marked it with the clicker. "Good boy!" she praised him, handing over the treat which was gone in an instant. The vulticus pup popped up from the sit immediately after receiving the treat, mugging Speckle's hands for more. When more treats didn't magically appear he got bored and began sniffing at the grass.

Speckle made a kissy sound to get his attention back on her. It worked, up popped the vulticus's head as he eagerly awaited more treats! Speckle held her empty hand as if it had a treat in it and placed it right to his nose, the same as before. Fooled by this, the vulticus licked at her hand, nose glued in place to where the treat should be. Speckle raised her hand up and over his head and just as the last two times he fell into a sit.

Click! "Good boy!"

Speckle opened her hand to show it had no treats then quickly reached into her treat pouch and gave him 3 pieces. She wanted to make sure the pup learned that having no treats visible was actually a good thing, as it meant he got more in the end.

//Speckle 2
//Vulticus 2 - Sit 2
299

[Skye Flyer]

Start of training here
Personality: Playful, submissive to larger vulticus, alert to surrounding sounds, eager to prove worthy, fails often at proving worthy

There are a number of unpleasant ways to wake up in the morning. For Skye, it included a moist nose burrowing its way under the sheet and licking her bare feet. No other being knew presently in New Pethia that if something bothered the elf when she was sleeping, they were in for a very painful surprise.
In this case, Runt had woken up earlier then his sibling. Stretching and yawning, the young pup trotted towards the four poster bed where his mistress slept soundly. The windrunner could see glimmers of the big bright ball in the sky peeping over the trees in the horizon from the open window. Big bright ball in the sky meant it time to eat, play, play some more, and play until you couldn't play anymore. Sticking his head beneath the heavy cod down comforter, the windrunner licked his human's feet. They tasted kind of sweet, like... that brown mushy stuff she sometimes gave him when trying to get him to do something.
He startled back a bit when a muffled cry came from the bed, obliviously kicking out at the offending licker. Luckily, Runt ducked before the foot connected with the side of his head. He whined a bit, lowered to the floor. A bedraggled head poked out of the covers, more along the lines of a long-tailed shiku nest and matted feathers. "Runt." she peered down alongside the bed. "Runt..." The pup whined again, crawling on his belly towards her. She didn't sound happy.
"Easy boy. Easy Runt..." her tone changed. Runt turned his ears towards her a bit, still acting the submissive. She rolled over, glancing at the window. "Guess I overslept, huh Runt?" she kept saying it off and on, but Runt wasn't quite sure what she was getting at.
A short run around the kennel property, being fed and a few other knick knacks later, Skye and Runt finally made it to the park again. Last time hadn't been so successful. Runt had panicked when another pup growled at him and it took Skye half a day to locate the lost windrunner.
"Runt." she muttered to him as he strained at the leash. "Easy."
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Name 3

[Skye Flyer]

By the way he kept straining at the leash, the windrunner risked damage to his windpipe. Skye knew that this issue would need to be dealt with quickly because if not... Runt would be in trouble. She traveled light today, with a few squares of leather, a bag of meat scraps, a small bag of carrots, a bag of blueberries and a few other assorted items in her pockets. As they meandered through the park at the elf's dictated pace, Runt attempting to surge ahead and being yanked back abet sharply, Skye kept a wary eye out for that aggressive vulticus. Last thing she needed was to have Runt scared of his own species. Well... all but Luna and Taiko, his 'father' and his 'sister'.
She noticed a few other people out today on this warmer then normal winter morning, training their creatures. They ventured out more when it was warmer out, but not summer's desert heat wave. Nodding at a... mammalian she guessed who had a grey vulticus pup over yonder, Skye chose to stake her claim here today for training. Hopefully that gray pup wasn't too aggressive. Taking a seat, Skye allowed a bit more length for the leash to wander before tugging the windrunner back to her. "Runt." she said simply. Presently, he had his muzzle to the ground, investigating a urine spot left by another species, judging by what he smelled. He smelled Taiko's spots before. They were totally different. "Runt..." The smell of meat caught the pup's attention enough to make him look up and back at her. "Good boy Runt." Skye tossed him the scrap. Eagerly bounding forward, Runt gobbled up his treat, oblivious to why he was being treated.
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name 4

[Speckle]

The vulticus was a bit taken aback when the girl opened her hands to show there was nothing there. Speckle was quick to quell his fear though as she made treats rain from the sky. Hmm, maybe not seeing treats right away wasn't such a bad thing?

Speckle made sure to continue on quickly, not wanting to give the vulticus too long to dwell on the fact that there had been no treats in her hand at first. In an attempt to fool the vulticus again, she held her hand like she had treats and placed it to his nose, moving it quickly up and over his head. Unfortunately she went a little too quickly. The vulticus lost interest as the hand went about his head and instead tried to stick his nose in the treat bag.

"No!' Speckle spoke firmly, taking a step back from the vulticus to dislodge his nose from the bag. The vulticus paused for a moment at the sharp sounding word before jumping up again. "No!" Speckle repeated in the same tone, unclipping the treat bag from her pocket and holding it behind her back. She was trying to show the vulticus that his actions had consequences. In this case, jumping up made the treats go away.

The vulticus jumped down and whined, confused as to where the treats had gone. "Thank you," Speckle smiled at the canine, bringing the treats back out and tossing him one, "Let's get back to learning sit now, shall we?" The vulticus snarfed down the treat and looked back up at the girl, head cocked to one side as she spoke.

Before they actually could get back to training though, Speckle heard a voice coming closer. Glancing up she noticed a red headed girl with a rather unruly vulticus of her own. A windrunner vulticus at that! She gave the other girl a wave, wondering briefly if she would be willing to sell the canine before remembering the 3 vulticus limit per household. Drat. The creature would have made a great addition to her soon to be opened pet store!

// Speckle 3
// Vulticus 3 - Sit 3 - No 1
347

[Skye Flyer]

Now that she thought of it... why had she called the windrunner Runt? He wasn't runtier then the rest of the windrunners... perhaps a new name would be in order once he answered to being called "Runt." Without the elf's attention on him, Runt went back to investigating the urine spot left relatively recently. His ears perked at her voice briefly but his nose remained to the ground. A tug on the leash... "Runt." A slight gag later, Runt turned to look at her, confused. "Good Runt." She tossed him a piece of meat. The windrunner ate his treat without fuss, then turned his attention back to the spot. Hm... savage... male... same age as he was, within a week or so... no aligned pack. Well, neither did he, really. Sister Luna and Papa Taiko were his packmates, but there wasn't any real... culture. Runt didn't make much of the 'pack' stuff, standing over the spot and urinating on it to claim his temporary territory. Male stuff. He wouldn't let his sister hear him think that though. She kept tackling him for thinking it.
"RUNT! RUNT... RUNT!" he shook out of the reverie with the tug against his throat. He looked back, ears flat against his skull, being submissive. She was yelling at him. Whining, Runt dipped his head sadly. Her oddly flat muzzle turned up, her oddly large paw caressing his head. "Good boy Runt." She tilted his muzzle up towards her muzzle where she nudged his nose with her nose. "I'm sorry for yelling Runt." He whined, and got rewarded. Why was she yelling at him.
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name 5
LEVEL UP

[Skye Flyer]

Even though his tall thin furred mother showered him with verbal sound and pettings, Runt could not help still feeling mildly depressed. He didn't feel like he was pleasing Mother. He WANTED to please her. "Runt." She said. He looked up at her, tongue lolling out of his open mouth. "Good boy." Tail thumping against her leg, Runt's butt hit the ground when she praised him. "Ruff." Looking up at her eagerly again, he expected praise. Instead she wasn't facing him anymore. Nosing at her empty paw, he whined, expecting praise. Wasn't she paying attention? She continued to ignore him.
After a few minutes, she spoke again. "Runt." The windrunner nosed her hand, seeking attention and treats. "Good boy." she turned around, rubbing his head gently around his ears. "Runt is your name. Aren't you a good boy Runt. Runty Runt. Yes..." she gushed, her mentality feeling like she was rotting on the inside. He was beginning to get the idea though. He got attention and praise and treats when she made a certain "rrr" sound. "Runt." He woofed at her, tail thumping happily. "Good boy Runt. Good boy." she didn't give him a treat though. But he had pleased her?
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name 6

[Skye Flyer]

Skye tried out a few more times of getting the vulticus' attention with his name, which he began to understand more. However, he kept getting confused with being called other things and paying attention to those. Poor pup, he wanted so hard to please her. She ignored him when he messed up though. He liked his attention, so it made him want to not be ignored and please her, so so badly. Hopefully when she got around to training Luna or Taiko, she'd have an easier time. Runt would give her a run for her money with testing patience more likely then not.
"Ront." Tilting his head some, Runt tried to process the word. It didn't make sense like her other "Rrr" word. "Runt." he yipped, and got head scratches. "Ruffles." On the verge of barking, Runt paused, thinking about the word. He was simplistic in thinking. "Runk." He woofed, but she turned away. Ears flattening, Runt whined unhappily. He had failed. "Rump." Looking down, Runt examined his paws. "Good boy Runt. Good boy." she praised, saying the 'right' sounding word. "Runt." He looked up at her, large eyes looking sad. She blinked at him. Was she going nuts or did Runt have heterochromatic eyes? One blue, one brown? She quizzed him a few more times between his name "Runt" and a number of other similar sounding R words. "Roof. Rump. Rift. Runt. Ripped. Root. Runt. Runt." More often then not now, he seemed to understand, which pleased her.
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name 7

[Speckle]

Focusing back on her own vulticus, Speckle got back to training. Holding her hand as if it contained a treat, she placed it to the vulticus's nose and moved it over his head, making sure to do so slowly this time. The vultcius fell back into a sit easily, licking away at the hand the whole time.

Click!

As soon as his rump connected with the grass Speckle clicked the clicker and handed over a couple treats from the pouch. "Good boy!" she praised him, spending a moment to love on him, stroking his side. The vulticus leaned into her touch, tongue happily lolling out of his mouth. When she stopped he jumped to his feet and nudged her hand, wanting more. Speckle grinned at him, obliging by giving his head one final pat.

She then moved her hand in front of his nose and over his head in a fluid movement, just like before but a little quicker this time. He sat with speed and grace, staring back up at her with a confident look on his face.

"Sit!" Speckle was quick to speak, saying the word just seconds before the vulticus actually performed the trick. Click! went the clicker a moment later. Crunch! went the vulticus's mouth as he snarfed down the treats tossed at him.

"Good boy!" spoke the girl with pride in her voice. He was learning so quickly! Either he was really smart or she was just that good of a trainer. It was probably a bit of both! She patted his head with a look of a proud mom.

// Speckle 4
// Vulticus 4 - Sit 4
260

[Speckle]

Hearing a bit of a commotion, Speckle glanced up at the other girl and her vulticus. She appeared to be yelling at him and then yanked hard on his leash. Speckle flinched at the sight. She was not a fan of force based training methods, much preferring the positive reinforcement route. She watched the girl a moment longer and it seemed that might have been a one off thing. She appeared to be mostly using praise with a few treats here and there. Perhaps she had just been frustrated? Either way, Speckle decided she should at least offer a few pointers. Plus she could then casually drop word of her store to start to get the word out before it opened!

Holding a treat by the vulticus's nose she began to walk towards the girl. The vulticus was completely focused on the treat and happily followed by her side, licking and nibbling at the treat in her hand. Once they were a few feet away she stopped and did the hand signal for sit. The savage eagerly plopped his butt down, eyes still locked on to the food. "Sit!" Speckle spoke just a moment before his butt hit the ground.

Click!

She tossed the treat right into the vulticus's waiting mouth. "Good boy," she praised him, giving his head an affectionate rub between the ears

"Hey there!" she called out the the other girl once the vulticus was fully seated. She didn't want to sneak up on her and wanted to make sure the windrunner had decent canine social skills before getting any closer.

// Speckle 5
// Vulticus 5 - Sit 5
261

[Skye Flyer]

With Runt responding to his 'name' now, Skye felt a bit better. For as long as she could remember, the repetitiveness of basic training irked her. Simple word repetition drove her crazy, especially in the right vocal tones. Especially teaching a creature its spoken name, made this whole 'training monsters' thing very dull. Runt would not grow very large when he hit his teens, but the rumor was that vulticus would be large enough for an average human to ride.
As she stood considering her next plan of attack on training the distracted windrunner, the mammalian who she briefly acknowledged called out to her. Out of the corner of her eye, it appeared they were teaching their grey pup to sit. From the sound of it... using a clicker. Clever... very clever. Perhaps she would use her native language again.... Mmm, no. For Luna Akira, maybe. Then again... Skye raised a hand to the mammalian in greeting. Once they were close enough, the elf guessed this person (a girl on closer sight) had a much larger pup then Runt. "Hello there." she replied, keeping eye contact with a small smile. Runt strained on his leash, wanting to investigate the new vulticus. "Is your pup friendly?" The grey pup appeared to be friendly enough to the owner, but Skye knew appearances were deceiving. "Easy Runt..." she told him, tugging back on the leash. Either he chose to ignore, or was simply too excited to care about being called. Tail wagging, he strained forward again, his paws leaving the ground briefly as he tried to go forward with the tug-of-war that happened with the red thing around his neck.
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[Speckle]

The vulticus in question had gotten up from his sit now that he was aware there was another of his kind so close by. He charged forward to the end of his leash, half choking himself in the process. With an anxious whine he struggled to pull the girl towards the other creature.

"He's been friendly with every vulticus he's met so far. How about yours, is he friendly?" From the body language the other vulticus was displaying, Speckle was pretty sure he would be okay for her vulticus to meet. He seemed a little overaroused but generally friendly. Much like her own vulticus at the moment.

"Hey you," Speckle sighed at her own vulticus, tapping him on the butt lightly to get his attention, "Where do you think you're going?" With an excited yelp the vulticus turned back to look at the girl, continuing his incessant nose whining.

"Sit!" Speckle spoke clearly, performing the hand signal at the same time. Surprisingly the vulticus listened! He plopped his butt down and stared expectantly at Speckle, awaiting his treat.

Click!

"Good boy!" Speckle praised him,wondering if he actually listened to the command word or if he had just responded to the hand signal. Either way he had certainly earned the noms being thrown in his direction at this moment.

// Speckle 6
// Vulticus 6 - Sit 6
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