more ledge sitting and target training

this morning she hopped up on the ledge in pursuit of the target (currently a cork stuck on the handle of a paintbrush, originally started with just a pen, but she sometimes found that threatening, so the cork was added, pen was lost, paintbrush found, and all is good), c/r with regular food and she hopped right down in anticipation of breakfast. back up on the ledge with target prompting (a tap on the surface gets her attention) and a little hesitation before jumping up again, c/r. waited a few seconds and she almost jumped off then stopped herself! c/r, count to 5, c/r with brekkies on the floor. yum!

after breakfast she showed interest in going out on the balcony so i offered the target so she had to reach up at the patio door. paw to target, c/r with an open door. she wasn't sure if that was the reward and followed me back to the kitchen to see if there was more. there wasn't. eventually returned to stick her head out the door. i am unsure what to do when she seems unsatisfied with reward, especially as she is expecting food above all else.

as far as aggression goes, she did threaten my hand while on my lap last night. i was typing, of course. it started with little kisses, then graduated to rubbing the front of her teeth on my hand, then a gently test nip, at which point i removed her from my lap, preventing further damage! she accepted this boot and wandered off. hopped back on my lap a bit later and behaved herself, for the most part. dirty looks got another eviction, without argument.

dinner time tonight i started a bit earlier than usual and did some more target training. reaching up a wall, following up the cat tree, reaching out with a paw from the top of a cat tree (a bit hesitant, like she wasn't sure if she wasn't going to fall off!), follow into the bedroom, onto a chair, onto window ledge. preliminary introduction to ringing bells (i have a string of little bells hanging in the window, i think this would be a cute way to get attention). we only got as far as her brushing against them a couple of times, enough to produce sound for c/r, then she lost interest. which meant when we went in the kitchen she was not keen on hopping up on her ledge. got her to touch nose to target once, then tapped target on ledge a few times until she agreed to follow. c/r with greenie cat treat (special!) then a few counts, some with my back to her, and c/r (mix of regular food and greenies) before the final reward of dinner on the floor. bravo!