I got him to fight with a pad yesterday, and he was able to stay on it, and stay diagonal. Not that he needs to be diagonal. The Scout is not that small, and he can actually fit sideways! Once he seemed to have it sorted, I told him I thought he was ready, and I think it made his day!

Now I've got to plan a weekend with him. I live on the edge of town (if I look out the back door I see cows kind of edge of town), so with at most a couple of hours walking we can be "over the hills and far away." I think we might do that, since we'll still be within mobile coverage, close by, and I know there's no pig shooting that happens in those hills, or else I'd hear it from home. I'm very good at leave no trace, and I think we can both enjoy the experience without the need for a campfire, so nobody would even notice!