Dream Drop Distance Fling-Flang-Flippant Dream Eaters

Ok, so you guys know that when you mess with the dream eaters enough, their characteristics might change between four things, and that can lead to a few extra boosts on that board right? Well, I'm trying to figure out if you have to do those specific actions to get them to change characteristics at a certain length, or if it's a type of accuracy thing. The reason is because right now I'm messing with a Frootz Cat and I made it go to Pretty Kitty from Mixed Bag, and I'm trying to get it to go back to Mixed Bag, and you're supposed to be able to do that by poking its feet, but I've been going at it for a while now, and I haven't gotten anything yet. So is it a time thing, or am I just not hitting the feet accurately enough? It's annoying, but these also affect the way they help in battle, which could give you something useful or bad.