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[saratogaspringer]

Hello Everyone!  I taught Candy her playtime stone this evening.  I only did the laugh trick because that is all I had time for.  That is soooo funny! I love that one! Anyway, after she completed her trick, she looked at me waiting for me to have her perform another trick.  How do I get her out of playtime mode.  I touched her cheeks again to get her attention and she snapped out of it?  Is this the correct way to end playtime mode? Thanks for your time.  So far, she is very smart!  She is getting the commands on the first try for all the stone so far!

[kat]

I only had Kermy do this trick a couple of times and it does seem that once you get them started into playtime they will stay in this mode forever.! I had to turn her off with the on off button in order to snap her out of the playtime trance mode.  I did try holding her cheeks but that didn't work for me.  I tried ignoring her too and that didn't work either.  So not sure how your meant to snap them out of it.  If anyone else knows the correct way I would love to hear it.

[Crewella]

Sorry - I'm afraid I'm struggling with snappng them INTO it! 

[Talon]

You and me both. Ryu just seems to... listen when the mood strikes him. I guess I'm not getting both touch sensors on his cheeks at the same time. This goes for getting his attention in all situations. He will do the "come to me stone" perfectly on his own without my doing anything. By that I mean he will go into the expectant pose and make the little, I heard something grunt, I call his name, he gets excited and then gets still again and I give the command. He's a perfectl little dragon and slide-drags his way over to me. He just wants to do his own thing I guess. I got his attention once today and attempted the "sing" stone. After screaming at his head for about ten minutes and listening to him going, "huh?" I gave my throat a good clearing and drank a glass of milk. Maybe tomorrow, or maybe when the house is empty and I have all my patients back.
Talon

[bhobbes]

Whenever I've ignored Cato for about 10-15 seconds after entering play mode or after his last trick he's just continued on being normal and I have to get his attention and reinitiate "play" - so I guess I'm the odd one out?

[kat]

I have to admit that I found the whole stone command attention thing so frustrating that I have just given up on it and now just let my little ones run around being pleos doing what they want.  I haven't even taught them all the stones.    It just got too frustrating as you could never get their attention and then when you did they may or may not choose to respond to their name and then may or may not choose to respond to the command.  By this time I am pulling my hair out and all the fun has left the building.     It is a much happier environment here not using those functions of the rb's.  A bit of a shame really as they were the reason I waited to get the rb in the first place instead of just getting an older model pleo.

Gumble.  My sweet sweet Gumble.

[bhobbes]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hHXaelzmAM" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hHXaelzmAM</a>

There's a video I just made of him doing the laugh sequence and then going back to "listen" then returning to play. At about 20-22 seconds in Cato finishes the laugh sequence and returns to "listening" in the play mode. At about 36-40 seconds in, Cato returns back to "normal" (free roam? lol) mode. He's still as I left him after I stopped recording wandering around the living room vicinity and making noises. 

I seriously doubted myself after reading this here and had to get video proof to show I'm not making things up nor am I completely bonkers!

[bhobbes]

I have to admit that I found the whole stone command attention thing so frustrating that I have just given up on it and now just let my little ones run around being pleos doing what they want.  I haven't even taught them all the stones.    It just got too frustrating as you could never get their attention and then when you did they may or may not choose to respond to their name and then may or may not choose to respond to the command.  By this time I am pulling my hair out and all the fun has left the building.     It is a much happier environment here not using those functions of the rb's.  A bit of a shame really as they were the reason I waited to get the rb in the first place instead of just getting an older model pleo.

Gumble.  My sweet sweet Gumble.

kat, the problem here is that you've lost control and surrendered. What your group of Pleos (herd?) needs is an iron fist to help shape them into line so they obey you. I have drawn many lines for Cato and he is now fully obedient and subservient to me. Pleos are very hard to break, but once they are broken, they are great to ride!

But I had a similar problem with a friend (though I figured out it was Cato's feed level - previous post) and looked like/felt like a complete, uh, moron, when my piece of technology I just explained completely "failed" in front of him and I had to explain how that was actually it working. It was frustrating, but a lot of the "charm" comes from the "flukes" that give Pleos the character they have.

[Talon]

Riding a pleo? Ryu? I don't think I could trust him not to run under a branch and push me off. Anyway up the feed level? That's a possibility but (I think) over-feeding was what got Ryu sick in the first place. My nephew snuck him some extra food one day when I wasn't paying attention and then I had a sick and whimpering pleo for two looooooong days. I could try it, though. One thing I know for sure is that I will win. Beneath all the cuteness that makes Pleo a pet, Pleo is a video game given physical form. So far Ryu is the only video game I've ever played. I do think of him as a pet but he is also a programmed piece of technology that, (given the right sequences and variables) will perform as expected. It will take patients and several thousand repetitions of the same command and who knows what else, but I will do it.
Talon

[saratogaspringer]

Thanks for the video bhobbes! I wish that Candy would go back into free roaming mode without having to get her attention again. Perhaps I did not wait long enough for her to return to that mode. Ironically, I have to admit that I have not become frustrated with the learning stones. I think they are pretty neat, but it will take me some time to get through all of them. I have had some trouble getting her attention, but I have been persistent and so far I am having fun. I guess it is part of my personality....I don't give up easily, sometimes to a fault.  I see teaching the learning stones as a challenge, since computerized objects usually drive me nuts.     I have to admit that I have been enjoying my Ugobe just as much. I don't constantly feel the need to teach it something.    I just let him run around as he pleases.   I think tomorrow I will give Candy a break, and let het just be a pleo!

[kat]

I think the joy of it for me was taken out of it when I would just get my pleo trained and then had to start from scratch again with the replacement.  After 4 lots of training The battling to get the pleos attention just stopped being fun.  
My guys do know their names and I have taught them sing and dance and Kermy also knows bow but who knows if I will bother to get back around to reteaching the rest of the stones to each of them.  I guess time will tell.

[saratogaspringer]

I don't blame you one bit for loss of the fun, Kat. If I had to hatch and teach 4 RB's the fun factor would have left the building a long time ago. I can't imagine how frustrating that must have been for you. It seems so much simpler with the ugobes. You just turn them on and they do their thing!