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He mentally cut himself off. This was not the time to be mooning over the sexy thorn in his side. August was a distraction. A redheaded, ample-bottomed, bighearted, quick-witted distraction. Theexacttype of distraction that would disarm him, if he wasn’t careful.
Last night had been heaven. Now, working together and watching her in her element—despite Molly being a pain in both their asses—was actually kind of...fun.
“Okay, so she’ll go up the ramp.” August ticked the to-do list items off her fingers. “She’ll jump off the ramp when the pool is removedandshe’ll knock the ball with her nose when it’s not in water. We’re, like, sixty percent of the way there.”
He glanced at the clock. “So we’re on track...mostly.”
“Rubber duck?” August suggested.
“Let’s do it.”
They led Molly to where the big rubber duck was seated at the end of the course. The duck came up to the middle of Keaton’s calf, so it was decently sized, and it stared unblinkingly with its beak open. Molly eyed the duck with caution.
“Don’t tell me she has a problem with ducks, too,” he said. Thankfully, this time there was no reaction to his choice of words.Bathwas a no-go, butduckwas fine. “How do we get her to touch the duck?”
“Let’s try this.” August crouched in front of Molly and put her hand out. “Shake.”
Molly raised her paw. But instead of shaking, August guided her paw to the duck head and tapped it on the beak.
“Good girl!” she praised, and provided a treat. “Shake.”
They tried that a few more times, with success.
Keaton had come to realize that much of dog training was simple repetitive actions and positive reinforcement. Doing the same action, over and over and over, while providing treats and praise and then eventually weaning the dog off those things so they would perform the action when commanded.
August was very good at it. She was patient and kind, but firm when she needed to be. More fool anyone that took her freckled cheeks and friendly smile and positive, upbeat demeanor to mean she was a pushover. She absolutely wasnot.
“Shake.” She did it again, and this time August didn’t put her own hand out. Molly touched the top of the duck by herself. “Good girl!”
“She really is a smart dog,” Keaton said, nodding. The last few days had given him newfound respect for the husky and her abilities. “She’d be amazing if she weren’t so stubborn.”
“True of us all,” August replied with a wink.
He chuckled. “Good point.”
Keaton tried the trick with her and it worked again. “Now all we have to do is figure out how to get her in the water.”
Molly swung her head toward him, eyes narrowed, as if to say,I don’t know what you’re up to, human. But I don’t like it.
“What if you get her to go up the ramp and I push the pool underneath at the last minute?” he suggested.
August scratched her head. “I don’t like the idea of shocking her.”
“But maybe if she sees that the water level is so low, it’s nothing like a ba—body of water in which to bathe, then she’ll be okay? I’ve seen her run through puddles like it’s nothing, so I know it’s not the water itself that’s the issue.”
Molly continued to glare like she knew they were plotting something.
Dogs didn’t hold grudges...did they? But if any dog were to hold a grudge, it would be Molly.
But time was ticking down and Keaton could tell they were starting to get behind the others. He watched a terrier mix jump off the ramp and into the pool with surprising grace, then it splashed around, jumping over the ball and looking adorable. Shit.
“Why can’t you do that?” he asked Molly, gesturing to the other dog. Molly snorted, not even bothering to glance in their direction.
Because I’m not your puppet, human. I do what I want!
“We have to dosomething,” Keaton said, sighing. “Or we’re as good as done in this competition.”
“Think, think, think,” August muttered to herself. “The ticking clock is driving me nuts! I don’t want to shock her by sliding the pool in at the last minute. So put the pool in place and we’ll have her do the trick while being able to see the pool is there. She knows there’s water in it, so she might back out. We’ll just have to see.”
