Clare was more keen again today. She went around nicely and this time when I told her "that'll do Clare" she came
to me instead of hightailin' it off to the stock tank or her kennel. The second time I called her off to set her up for a mini-outrun (really just a real big flank), she
thought about leaving me, but she stopped, sat there a few seconds, then changed her original plan and came trotting to me. Good for her- she remembered our last "session" about a month ago when we quickly went from playing with sheep to working on recalls via a line! If there is one thing that a dog can do to get my blood boiling it's to hear his/her name, stop and look at me, then turn tail and head off... I-don't-think-so!! Although it gets me spun up, I am typically very fair about it. I may be fuming, but I do my best to not be at angry at them, just go get a line and do 2,000 recalls in a matter of 3 minutes! Seriously. I guess the recall blow off gets to me because it's something I do with my pups from the word go, and I do it right, so when they go through those testing stages (and they
all do), I just have to keep my head and go back to the line and re-enforce that a recall is not a request. Right now the little Walker female, Hattie is pushing her luck with me on recalls. The male has it down, but 3 times in the last 2 days I've called Hattie only to have look
right at me and beeline the other way.... Twice I've gotten leash, this morning I have to admit I took the easy way out and just went and carried her to the kennel. (I'm fast learning that Hound dogs to NOT like to be contained). Anyway, Clare was a good girl today. She seems to cover both sides equally well. She still gives me the impression that she's not yet ready for me to start putting any huge demands on her, although is a pretty natural young dog, so she should be able to learn the basic stuff by simply putting the word/whistle to the action she's doing. She certainly has her puppy moments with the sheep, but generally is she is very, very quiet and correct. She's going to be a very deliberate working dog who does not waste any energy on working harder than she needs to. She has to be quite a distance off my sheep, so she apparently has her parents' presence- which I guess allows her to be very quiet and easy. She is not going to be a "flash in the pan" kind of worker, but instead one that is always right on the money with amount of power needed to get the job at hand done. I've had both, and yeah, the flashy dog is fun to watch, but when you just need to get something done, and done without all kinds of extra hoop-la, the steady dog is where it's at! Off sheep Clare is complete sap and would be just thrilled if there was a lap she could be in all day long. She has about out-grown her troublesome puppy behaviors (she liked wrecking stuff- she wasn't picky, simply anything she could find). Next time I take her out I won't take the camera and I'll start putting some verbal flanks on her. I think she's going to be a pup that comes along pretty quick once she's mature enough to handle several sessions a week. She should be ready for that once the weather starts cooling off a bit. I think I'll have a busy and fun fall with my girls.
Clare was more keen again today. She went around nicely and this time when I told her "that'll do Clare" she came to me instead of hightailin' it off to the stock tank or her kennel. The second time I called her off to set her up for a mini-outrun (really just a real big flank), she thought about leaving me, but she stopped, sat there a few seconds, then changed her original plan and came trotting to me. Good for her- she remembered our last "session" about a month ago when we quickly went from playing with sheep to working on recalls via a line! If there is one thing that a dog can do to get my blood boiling it's to hear his/her name, stop and look at me, then turn tail and head off... I-don't-think-so!! Although it gets me spun up, I am typically very fair about it. I may be fuming, but I do my best to not be at angry at them, just go get a line and do 2,000 recalls in a matter of 3 minutes! Seriously. I guess the recall blow off gets to me because it's something I do with my pups from the word go, and I do it right, so when they go through those testing stages (and they all do), I just have to keep my head and go back to the line and re-enforce that a recall is not a request. Right now the little Walker female, Hattie is pushing her luck with me on recalls. The male has it down, but 3 times in the last 2 days I've called Hattie only to have look right at me and beeline the other way.... Twice I've gotten leash, this morning I have to admit I took the easy way out and just went and carried her to the kennel. (I'm fast learning that Hound dogs to NOT like to be contained). Anyway, Clare was a good girl today. She seems to cover both sides equally well. She still gives me the impression that she's not yet ready for me to start putting any huge demands on her, although is a pretty natural young dog, so she should be able to learn the basic stuff by simply putting the word/whistle to the action she's doing. She certainly has her puppy moments with the sheep, but generally is she is very, very quiet and correct. She's going to be a very deliberate working dog who does not waste any energy on working harder than she needs to. She has to be quite a distance off my sheep, so she apparently has her parents' presence- which I guess allows her to be very quiet and easy. She is not going to be a "flash in the pan" kind of worker, but instead one that is always right on the money with amount of power needed to get the job at hand done. I've had both, and yeah, the flashy dog is fun to watch, but when you just need to get something done, and done without all kinds of extra hoop-la, the steady dog is where it's at! Off sheep Clare is complete sap and would be just thrilled if there was a lap she could be in all day long. She has about out-grown her troublesome puppy behaviors (she liked wrecking stuff- she wasn't picky, simply anything she could find). Next time I take her out I won't take the camera and I'll start putting some verbal flanks on her. I think she's going to be a pup that comes along pretty quick once she's mature enough to handle several sessions a week. She should be ready for that once the weather starts cooling off a bit. I think I'll have a busy and fun fall with my girls.
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