Dog Therapy

Today was great. I'm exhausted, but it was a good day. I slept till 8:45 (a whole 4hrs 15 mins) and got to Carol's about 11. Lots of dogs got worked and we had a good time gettin' all caught up. I took 5 dogs with me, and came home with 6. Jack (from my first Deal X Toss litter) was staying with Carol for awhile, and since she'll be out of town at a trial Thurs-late Sun, he came home with me. He's doing great and his owners just adore him. He's doing a wonderful job on their goat farm. Jack's owner just started coming to Carol (he lives just a few minutes from her) to get some "finesse" put on him. Right now he knows "get the goats" and "lie down" and that's about it for commands. The rest he just does. He's such a sweet young dog and quite handsome if I do say so myself. I'll take some photos of him while he's here.

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I worked hard on shed work today with all 4 dogs. I can do it, but I still feel fairly inept much of the time. I think shedding is what I need to do when I go to Carol's. I need some more instruction. I'm putting a lot of the pieces together, but it is far from second nature. Cruz and I did well both times we worked at it. We have each other figured out during the process and Cruz knows 100% what the job is. He is just waiting for his cue to come thru. Very different from just a few months ago when he was coming thru, but tentatively. Now he dives right thru and knows exactly what to do. Deal was not understanding today for some reason. Her drive work was stellar though. Carol had me take her to the fence line to do some shedding and that made it successful. Toss knows the task 100% also and is coming right thru, stopping quickly, and staying honest on his flanks- all the things he needs to do to hold up his end of the deal. We were working a large flock, so we could get 3-5 sheds per set. I worked on fetching without over flanking with Gwen, as well as assisted drivework. She did well.

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Ivy got a quick turn in the round pen, as did Keele. Both are lovely puppies. I hadn't planned on totting Ivy along on this trip, but she made sure she was not left behind. Once my truck door was open, she was in it. She'd jump when I walked by it, and jump out if I walked away. She was a very good girl today, she tied out just wonderfully, as well as laid by the golf cart on a line very nicely. She is such a love, is becoming a very special pup!