Two Weeks into Training

I feel like I am finally starting to get Poster Boy’s trust and respect and I trust him more and more every day. His self-preservation has been really evident to me. At first every time I put too much pressure on him he was turning his hip to me and threatening to kick me or stick at me with his two front feet. That is really kind of scary. He’s fine when I’m just brushing him or loving on him but gets into preservation mode when I’m asking for something more. I can’t help thinking about him being a wild animal. He’s only been able to survive in the wild by either running from the danger or fighting. So when I’m working with him I can’t help but think about the trainer that was killed by a Killer Whale. Are we pushing these animals too much? I think sometimes we might be, but I think once they understand that we are not out to eat them they can have really rewarding, meaningful lives. Poster Boy knows my car now when I show up at the ranch. He meets me when I crawl through the fence and wants to know what kind of toys I’m going to be introducing into the corral each day; cones, tarps, flags, plastic bottles, Cavalleti poles to jump. Every day is a new day with something new and different. I really think he’s enjoying my company and looks forward to having his toys changed up daily.