02/09/2026
Since Cailín had her operation last week I need to give her an injection every couple of days at home.
I could just grab and hold her, and get the job done, but I know that after doing that once or twice, she wouldn't make it easy on me the third time, and she'd try to run away.
In the past I've done a lot of work with her on permissive handling. I ask her to rest her chin on a stool, and while she stays still, I can do what I need to do. I use a calm, quiet "goooood" as a keep-going marker, and I use "yes!" to say I'm done, and she'll get a food reward.
She knows that if she steps away or lifts her head at any stage, that I'll pause and wait. In the video you can see that after a few repetitions, she starts resting her chin on the stool again before I even give her the cue.
I like to make the game easy at first, then I build up to touching her with a random item (in this case, a spoon) to mimic what's about to happen, without it being uncomfortable. By the time the syringe comes out, she's happy to stand and let me inject her even if it's not the most pleasant sensation, because she knows something good is coming.
While we were doing this, the kitchen door was open so she chose to opt in to train, and she could have walked away at any moment. We've been doing injections and suture checks every two days, so she knows what's coming, but still chooses to work with me. If I tried restraining and forcing her, I know she'd make it a lot more difficult.
This is one of the things I'm so glad I trained so much in the past, so when I've actually needed it, it's really paid off 💓