• Closed • The Goat Experience

[Shl'Drei]

When Devin confirmed that she knew her name, Shl'drei nodded. He handed him the bottle and moved closer to kneel next to the uninterested goat. He couldn't think of a reason a goat would attack anyone, but he maintained his belief that all animals could be unpredictable and should be respected. That said, even then... Her blank stare was kind of creepy. He mentally shook himself free of his thoughts- he supposed if anything the goat matched her owner in a sense of oddity.

Her gaze shifted and before he came to his own realization Devin was back, scolding the goat and snatching up a book - perhaps notes - to place on the table away from Heidi. He smiled awkwardly at the scene. On one hand it was amusing- imagine explaining eaten homework to a professor! That wouldn't end well either way. On the other hand, Heidi's behavior and need for training became a bit clearer and the trainer was a little more lost.

"She's food motivated..?" He murmured, more to himself. It occurred to him that positive reinforcement worked for dogs, but treat training was hard to do without a punishment. That said, looking back on his experience with spray bottling it only worked when the bottle was present... Could he really keep asking clients to carry around a spray bottle at all times?

It was flawed, but most people were willing because it meant improved behavior! Devin was a doctor, he couldn't take Heidi with him to work. As it was Heidi spent a lot of time at home- or, he assumed she did. "Heidi seems to not see you as authority, which means we probably can't make too much of a difference right away."

He stood up and sighed, but it was more him realizing this was a larger job than he expected. "I'm starting to think spraying her with water when she misbehaves won't have much of an affect. If it did I'd be giving you this perfume bottle to keep on hand, but I don't see it helping unless you're home for a while and consistently watching Heidi."

What then could he do? Well, he didn't know that himself yet. Still he wanted to try, get the experience. Though it was looking more and more like a failed attempt. "For now all I can do is have you use the perfume bottle. Whenever Heidi does something she shouldn't, spray her and follow up with a firm 'no'. It'll take a bit- she needs to recognize that what she's doing is wrong. You have to spray her while the behavior is going on. Doing it after will only confuse her. Heidi is a goat, I haven't worked with one before," he admitted, a bit embarrassed. "That's part of my struggle for answers in her training, I think. But if this doesn't work I'll just come back and try something else, if you're okay with that? I'll do everything I can to help."

[Devin]

“Well, yes, Heidi is definitely food-motivated. She really likes to eat, as I have told you before”, Devin confirmed and nodded emphatically when Shl’Drei wondered if his little goat was food-motivated before he furrowed his brow slightly as something had suddenly occurred to him. “That is a good thing, right?” he asked in order to be sure and looked at the animal trainer questioningly. He didn’t know much about training animals – otherwise he would never have asked Shl’Drei for help – but if your pet liked something, it meant that there was something that you would be able to work with, right?

“Authority?” he repeated and scrunched up his face a bit because he wasn’t sure if he liked the word very much. Authority reminded him of school, and he had really hated school. Some of his teachers had been quite unpleasant. But then again, he liked a goat that ate his homework, never did what he said unless it was time for her next meal, or she happened to feel like it even less. “I can try to be more of an authority figure, if you think that will help”, he thus said – only to pout a little a moment later when Shl’Drei told him that they probably wouldn’t be able to make too much of a difference right away.

He had thought that training Heidi would be faster!

“I can do that”, he replied when Shl’Drei told him how he was supposed to use the spray bottle. It made sense to spray her while she was misbehaving in order not to confuse her. He really loved his Heidi, but her long-term memory wasn’t great, to be honest. “I’d like for you to come back. I can let you know if I’ve made any progress in regard to Heidi”, he offered. He was a bit disappointed that Shl’Drei was struggling, but he appreciated his honestly and his willingness to help. A trainer that promised to do everything?!

Yes, please!

“Thank you. Thank you very much!” he told Shl’Drei once it was finally time for the animal trainer to leave and shook his hand vigorously before he returned to the living room where Heidi was standing and eyeing the carpet hungrily. He looked at Heidi sternly for a moment. Heidi pretty much ignored him and kept on staring at the carpet instead though.

He grabbed the spray bottle and sprayed her in the face which caused her to bleat in annoyance and subsequently shake herself a bit. She did seem to stop thinking about eating the carpet though, at least temporarily. Happy about his success, Devin finally plopped down on his couch, lit a cigar and leaned back, a thoroughly content expression on his face – only to be interrupted by Heidi’s bleating once more.

Apparently, the little goat wanted something else now!

[Jackalope]

]

Thread Comments:

I had kinda hoped there’d be more training antics with the goat itself, but this was definitely an amusing thread. One thing I like about this thread is the awkwardness of Devin and Shl’drei meeting for the first time, under less than ideal circumstances. The poor communication between them feels quite believable, and is amusing besides!

Shl’drei

Experience: +15 xp

Magic xp: None

Knowledge:
Skill:

Appraisal: Judging Wealth by outward appearances
Detection: Paying attention to things people try to hide
Deception: Hiding unease by staying silent
Investigation: Gathering information about a target to better understand them
Socialization: Using Please and Thank you
Etiquette: Presenting yourself properly with an eager introduction
Animal Training: Using A Punishment system for bad behavior
Animal Training: Training needs to be reinforced between sessions so the animal will recognize the commands
Animal Training: Establishing respect and trust with the animal you train to make sessions in the future easier

Non-skill:
Devin: A Quirky Doctor

Injuries/Overstepping: None.

Skillplay: Appropriate to level

Comments: Shl’drei’s got wealthy family someplace else? I did not know that until I read this thread!

You mentioned that all your skills are novice, but don’t actually list the skills you used in the thread. Please do that in the future.

You didn’t separate out skill knowledges from non-skill, although it was fairly easy to figure out.

Courtesy nitpicks aside: I enjoyed this thread. I think it’s hilarious that Shl’drei didn’t realize that the pet he was being asked to train wasn’t a dog until he actually saw Heidi. His nervousness and preoccupation with the weird, yet intimidatingly upscale setting he finds himself in is endearing. And how you realized that the problem isn’t really with Heidi but with how Devin has been interacting with her. I’ve heard a saying that pets don’t go through obedience school; their owners do. Hopefully the good doctor will take what Shl’drei tells him to heart and becomes a decent and responsible pet owner!

Devin

Experience: +15 x.p.

Skillplay: Appropriate to level.

Knowledges:

Skill:
Animal Husbandry: Feeding a goat a lot of paper is not good for its health
Animal Training: Don’t give your pet food when it misbehaves!
Animal Training: If you say “no” too often, your pet might think its name is “no”!
Animal Training: Just telling your pet to stop doesn’t always work!
Animal Training: Using a spray bottle to punish your pet for bad behavior
Animal Training: Being seen as an authoritative figure can help
Detection: A knock on the door
Discipline: Trying to suppress a shudder
Etiquette: Offering a visitor something to drink
Etiquette: Don’t let your visitor stand outside in the cold!
Storytelling: How I got Heidi

Non Skill:
Shl’Drei: Animal trainer


Loot: None.

Comments: I’ll repeat something here that I said in my comments to Shl’drei: pets don’t go through obedience school; their owners do. We need less Devin Thorn, more Cesar Milan!

Actually, no, what am I saying? We always could use more Devin Thorn. And more Heidi. But papers everywhere will continue to cower in terror.

At the beginning of this thread, Devin is clearly desparate about his Heidi situation, to the point that he fervently hopes the person at the door is a the trainer and not a patient! As always, Devin is quirky, vain, eccentric, and not always super-responsible or mature in his attitudes. That said, he is also kind, intelligent, and a gracious enough host, always generous with his green wine. I hope he figures out how to make wine purple and blue and any other color he might think of!

Let me know if either of you have any questions/feedback. Enjoy your rewards!