Ryder: A Story of Contrasts

It's funny.  As a kid I hated puzzles.  Any and all puzzles.  Now, as an adult I can't stand not having all the pieces fit.  Having odds or ends that seem incongruent make me nuts.  I have no qualms researching to the point of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Ryder is a puzzle I haven't been able to put together.  He is, in so many ways, a story of contrasts.

He was the 6th pup out of an expected 4...

Born August 15, 2010

When he was born he was adorable.  While lower on the fight for food spectrum than his brothers he would have been middle of the pack.  As a baby he was higher energy but more reserved than some of his really outgoing siblings.

He drove me nuts running out to the corrals with Diva.  Rattling the wire along the bottom of the gate and barking madly at anything that moved.  It was an epic feat to keep him in the yard for "free play."

I was actually relieved to sell him.  Thinking to myself there goes the toughest pup out of the litter.  At this point in time he wasn't interested in interactive play with a toy and human.

When he came back, I took a deep breathe and prepared to work my arse off training.  What I got was a dog prone to accidents in the house.  A dog who flipped out when I hollered at his mom.  He leapt over the baby gate, ran up the stairs and jumped into my mother's lap.  A dog who lost his everliving marbles if you held a stock stick in your hand near him.  A dog who was supposed to be crate trained but who woke me crying each night.  I eventually caved and let him sleep with me.  He would push his body against mine.  If I moved, he'd shift so he was once again touching me.  For months he would only sleep if he was touching me.

Because he was having accidents from being left at home I looked into Doggy Daycare.  Found a new one and tried it out.  It was a failure in the sense that I think they let him down.  I think they allowed other dogs to beat him up and destroyed his confidence around other canines.

I had quite a few offers from people interested in purchasing him.  I couldn't sell him in good conscience.

I began coaxing him to work.  He struggled with any amounts of pressure.  Progress was slow.  But progress was made.

I put him into agility classes.  This bolstered his confidence and he demonstrated a keen enjoyment of the activities.

Between the sheep work and agility exercises he had plenty to keep his brain working.

Yet things were not always perfect.  In fact, at times they were downright awful.  And this is where I began to gnaw on the puzzle that is this dog.

In the beginning he was horribly reactive to men.  He was good with other dogs but that changed.  I neutered him thinking this would help reduce his reactivity.

Here is the puzzle.

1) Sometimes he is beyond awesome with other dogs.  He used to clean Tessa's bum and ears as she neared the twilight of her life.

Walking in the grazing reserve, Tessa is behind him.

He happily and wonderfully played with the Boston Terrier I was dog sitting.  He did not have a prior relationship with this dog.

Other times, he reacts and freaks out at any and all dogs.  It does not matter the size, breed or sex.  He does tend to do this more than anything at all.  We've been working very, very hard on this and have definitely made progress.  But he is most definitely not "cured".  

2) He is the biggest wimp out there.  He is scared of grocery bags, blankets flapping, noises, thunder, doesn't travel well anymore, and so on, so on.  He is so bad that when Honey fart's, Ryder runs out of the room!  True story!  It leaves me baffled because his mother wasn't like that.  His sister isn't like that.  It has taken forever to get him to accept the 12 year old child that's now part of our lives.  He still doesn't like him and mostly tolerates or avoids him.  This is not good.  He really is a horribly anxious dog.  

In his ThunderShirt.

It's funny, as a pup he showed no interest in playing fetch.  He would watch me play with Tessa until one day he joined in.  Now he is inseparable with the ball.  

He even sleeps with a ball.  We jokingly call it his soother.

Even though he no longer sleeps with me, he will always be my sensitive cuddle buddy.  

If dogs could talk, I wonder what he would say?

My question for him: why are you so good in so many ways and such a challenge in others? 

Working Dogs

Ok.  So this is like, the third time I've tried this post.  Piss on it.  Here's some pictures.

How The Mighty Fall

All week I've been working the dogs twice a day.  I drive out in the morning and give them a hefty work while the grass is still wet with dew and the temperatures are cooler.  Then I drive back out in the evening and give them a lighter work.  While I was babysitting the farm I noticed an ewe with pink eye.  When my parents came back dad and I sorted her out.  In addition we vaccinated and sheared some of the woolies.  Ryder helped us pen.  My dad was astounded.  He kept saying what a nice dog he was.  The only road block was when dad grabbed the paddle.  Ryder heard it and buggered off of context.  It was really hard to get him to work when dad put any pressure on the sheep.  It was quite clear the dog was scared.  No paddle equaled a wonderful working partner.  I think my strategy will be to have dad rattle the paddle and feed Ryder Treats until he sees he won't be hurt.

Yesterday both dogs gave me a smoking awesome work in the morning.  Such a good work that when I got home I began looking to see if there were any trials nearby that would be around end of July.  I pondered driving to New Dayton (about a 5.5 hour drive).  Then my evening work stank.  Ryder stank up the house.  He was so determined that he knew what he was doing he turned deaf.  I became pissed off - which is never good.  Ryder realized I was ticked at him and began to slow down and worked way  out of context.  I had to take a deep breath.  Called him to me.  We stood there for a few minutes while I stroked his head and ears.  I need to leave my thoughts off the field and focus on what is.  He's a young dog with limited training.  One day at a time. is my new moto.

Right now he's about 50-60% on his flanks, doing a controlled drive, an outrun of about 2 power pole lengths (sorry distance is NOT my thing).  My goal is to get him 110% on his flanks.  Stretching everything else out won't be hard because he's quite an honest dog with a natural outrun.  I need to work on an easy command because he moves the sheep down the field at a pretty good trot.

Diva has been a superstar.  She's outrunning as cleanly and as far as Ryder now.  She has a lot of eye so I'm working on keeping her on her feet and moving.  She's showing me she wants to work for me which is so wonderful.  I'm able to walk off the field with her off leash.  This is a huge growth.

Dogs are funny.  The moment you start thinking you know what to expect, they change things up on you.  Keeps a girl humble.

Recipe for Doggy Happiness

Insert perfect weather.  Imagine sunshine, light breeze, 21 C (about 70 F).  Next create a pastoral scene with a flock of sheep grazing peacefully in the field.  Add in a dog and a girl.  Perfection.

I had gone out to the farm with intentions of walking the dogs in the grazing reserve with mom, but my mom's got a more active social life than I do and she was going dancing.  My father, who's busy trying to kill off my dog sheep wanted me to go look at one.  Off to the barn yard I go.  This is one of the sheep that had an unfortunate run in with a round bale last winter/spring.  He had broke his leg, dad splinted but he's still not using it.  It looks like the hoof is dead.  It's all shriveled up.  I'll call Ken but if the sheep isn't going to heal right then it's time for him to be put down.

Seeing the flock of lambs grazing a bad thought entered my head.  While I know I'm supposed to be taking it easy I've been feeling some intense cabin fever.  Ryder spotting the sheep pretty much sealed the deal.  He stood still.  A paw in the air.  Ears perked up.

Intent. On. Sheep.

I couldn't deny him....  so we went to work....  and it felt awesome to be doing something!

We had a bit of a rocky start.  I'll admit I really missed Tessa.  The sheep were quite flighty (they're lambs), and Ryder got chasey and didn't want to get around and cover.  After I got him settled, the sheep settled and I pretty much stood still and let him work at keeping the flock (around 30 sheep) together.  It was great for him to think and work.  You can see he lacks confidence still and I'll need to work on that but he is such a gentle and quiet worker.  I *heart* Ryder.

I was a bit concerned about my ability to control Diva but felt she deserved a work as well.  I walked her out on her leash.  Got in nice and close before releasing her.  She was fast and tight but quickly settled into working the sheep.  She has so much power.  It's amazing to watch how easy it was to move this flock.  The sheep once they settled became quite heavy and would challenge or ignore the dogs.  This meant the dogs had to work to drive them towards me.  She listened quite well, amazingly well given the lack of body pressure I was able to put on her.  She had the biggest doggy grin when I pulled her off the sheep.  I *heart* Diva.

I had so much fun.  I'm still smiling even though we really didn't do much from a training perspective.

Tomorrow we may have to repeat the activity and I'll bring a camera...

Can We Do It?

Can I have my dogs ready to compete at the Canadian Border Collie Association Championship?  They're behind in their training.  Particularly Diva.  But here's the kicker.  For the first time ever, this trial is happening when I'd be able to attend it (normally it falls when I'm back at work and can't take time off) and it's a mere 10 ish hours away.  These two factors are making me wonder if the dogs and I shouldn't make a run at it.  It would mean being really focussed with their training on stock.  It would mean putting a lot of miles on the truck driving and getting in the practice time.  It would mean committing to attending and competing at trials.  It would mean I'd need to be able to get my dogs through a course.

Can I do it?

My Happy Place

With the weather warmer, I made the two hour trek to Ken's to work dogs and play with ponies.  It did my soul good.  I walked off his property with a smile on my face and peace in my heart.  Both dogs worked surprisingly well given the fact that they've had at least two months off.  Diva *be still my beating heart* actually is beginning to listen.  She's becoming so much easier to work with and is starting to work with me not against me all the time.  So wonderful.  Ken says she's starting to bond with me.  And Ryder is just so freak'n talented his lack of confidence makes it hard to take.  (Ken thought he was a beautiful worker - so it's not just me!)  Because there's so much snow here and my parents don't have large enough clear space to work dogs, I'll travel to Ken's throughout the winter to get the dogs worked.  

Sorry the pictures aren't the best.  I need a much fancier camera to get good shots as they move so fast and it was a dull overcast day.

Diva walking onto the sheep.

 Diva working on driving the sheep.

Ryder working on his flanks.  One of his weak areas.  

Love this shot of Ryder!

Ryder

Ken working Ryder (this is how I managed to get pictures...)

I had to laugh when I saw this next picture.  While I was working Diva, huffing and puffing, I pulled up.  Ken talked to me a little bit and told me to get going.  Looking at him I suggested he work her for a few minutes.  Giving me a steely look he told me to get my arse in gear.  Keep in mind I had on long underwear and the heavy duty Sorel winter boots ~ and I do mean heavy!  Also keep in mind that I was tromping through snow.  Giving him a prune face look I said "What is this Andrea Fat Camp??"  He laughed and said "Apparently."  So when you look at the next picture you see Ken in action.  It's an excellent highlight about how when you're training stock dogs (particularly young ones) you don't stand around.

Tandem

This has been a rather busy week.  I began it with a case of the flu.  This was followed by two nights of Parent Teacher Conferences, one night and one day of University.  By the time Saturday rolled around I was a wee bit tired.  Tired enough that I needed a nap when I got home from school.  (Sarge hurt his back and was waiting for his snow tires - so no visit this weekend. ~And yes, things are going well...)  Sarge called me an hour after I fell asleep as my wake up call.

Eyeballing the fading daylight I decided to run out to the farm and work the dogs.  My poor babies had been cooped up with minimal interactions and stimulation over the past four days.  I began with working Diva.  She's coming along.  Her listening is improving and she's starting to view me as her "team".  Quickly loosing light I decided to kill two birds with one stone.  I wanted to work on Diva's drive and still needed to work Ryder.  Taking a leash I hooked one end around Diva's neck, and snapped the other end onto Ryder.  Asking to walk up he led his sister behind the sheep.  Diva is at the drive stage where she wants to stay right by my feet, she'll only go if I'm walking right beside her.  Ryder however will drive an easy 100m away from me.  It was pretty funny watching them figure out how to work together.  Ryder helped Diva learn to walk up to the sheep, and Diva shared her enthusiasm with Ryder.

Today when I worked them, I was also chasing a fading daylight and thought I'd once again work them together.  I began by working Ryder.  I was surprised at how confidently he went out down the field and gathered the sheep.  It was an epiphany.  Ryder is getting broke.  He's starting to know his job.  The sheep have had a dog holiday all summer and are rather zesty.  They have no problems breaking for the corral to go hide in the shelter.  Ryder was even able to go after them, and bring them back from the corral.  This meant he was working out of my sight.  I waited and sure enough the sheep appeared over the hill, heading back out into the field.  Unleashing Diva, I worked both Ryder and Diva.  Sending them on outruns, and having them do short drives.

The one thing I found interesting was how even if I set them up to go one direction, one of the dogs would want to go the other direction.  They consistently wanted to do this.  I'll have to ask someone who knows more about working multiple dogs to find out if this is a natural "team" instinct.

The dogs and I had a lot of fun either way.

Oh Dear

I've been in a blogging slump.  A boring blogger if you will.  The problem is life has just been clicking along.  And I keep forgetting to get the camera out to update pics of the fur family.  I've been busy with work and university.  Busy with Sarge.  Busy getting the yard ready for winter.  Busy working with the dogs.

This past weekend was the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend.  I spent Saturday at the farm.  I worked Diva twice, Ryder and Tessa once each.  Diva is making outstanding progress.  She's beginning to understand the "walk up" and drive concepts.  That little dog is crazy smart.  Man she picks up on stuff quickly.  Ryder ran into some sheep trouble.  I wanted to put him into a stock pressure situation.  The sheep did not want to go off the grass and onto the plowed pasture.  This is where I asked Ryder to push them into the dirt.  What happened was a face off with stomping feet sheep.  Eventually my lead sheep took a few runs at Ryder.  Poor Ryder has NO bite.  This was not good.  I had to eventually help him (which did end up with a sheep knocking me arse over tea kettle).  His confidence was a bit shaken so we worked on making him feel spunky again.  I decided to work Diva in the exact same situation because I wanted to know if it's the sheep or the dog.  Diva had no opposition from the sheep.  Which generally means it's the dog...  Tessa was a rotten little freak.  I guess it doesn't matter as long as she has fun.

That evening I went with my parents to our favorite Italian restaurant.  I followed it up with a viewing of Snow White and the Huntsman.  Fantastic day.

Sunday brought a major yard work binge.  I began early in the day and ended up taking my garden out, taking down dead vegetation, removing some branches/brush that had been interfering with my fence, and cut my grass.  In addition I moved all my pots and deck stuff into the barn for winter storage.  Then the dogs and I headed to the farm for more sheep works.  Once back in my cozy house, I settled down to read.  In July I had requested a book.  A book I was curious about.  Let's just say I was 50 shades of something...  and yep - finished the book in one sitting.

Monday brought digging out my perennial beds.  They are now officially cleaned out.  Sigh of sheer happiness.

And today, today brought work and nasty weather.

Doggy Decisions

I had six hours of drive time this weekend to reflect on my animals.  After weighing everything I've decided to leave things as status quo.  It's not that I think no one else can do justice to my dogs, it's that I'm not ready to let one of them go.  I've decide to really focus on stock work and obedience with them for the next little while - or until snow flies and it gets to hard to herd.  Diva was a very good girl for Sarge.  She had one "episode" while with him.  Otherwise she was happy and well behaved.

Ryder is clearly very, very attached to me.  This discovery when we tried to leave him at Sarge's house Saturday morning.  He lost his stink.  Even crated he freaked out.  We drove off and circled around - giving him a 10 minute window to calm down.  He didn't.  So he ended up in the truck with us.  The next time we left him outside in the yard with Diva and he was better.  But he was Mr. Clingy.  Where I went he followed, even shoving his body in the tiny bathroom.  The first night he even had an "accident" in the house.  Very unlike him.  He's quite the nervy little fellow.

Today I worked them both.  Ryder is really starting to understand his flanks and has gained a lot of confidence while driving.  I had been toying with the idea of entering him in the Northlands trial in November but it turns out this year it falls while I'm still working so he'll wait for spring to compete.  Divan and I began the attempt at driving.  She's so headstrong it's a bit challenging to redirect her.  I'll take her to Ken's and get some help with that.  It was a fun way to end the weekend.

An Experiment

I am undergoing an experiment, if you will.  Diva has gone off to live with Sarge for the week.  This leaves me Ryder here at home.  The mission?  To see how the dogs behave separately.  Ryder has never lived alone so this is a bit of a rude shift for him.  I want to see how he behaves out in public without his sister backing him up.  We were also curious to see how Diva behaved without her pack.  Diva, it seems, has been a rock star.  She walked through his downtown community passed dogs and people and didn't bat an eyelash.  Absolutely appropriate.  I was also curious if she'd play away from me and she's been a fetching fool.

What does this mean?  Well, for one thing it means my dogs read me and my stress.  For another, they're much better behaved separately.

Decisions to be made.  Keep them both?  Sell/rehome one?  I must admit it's been freakishly easy only having one dog...  sigh...

Each dog has pros and cons.

Diva - will she be trustworthy around children?  She is becoming an eager player and wanting to spend more time with me - but she'll be work still at being able to leave her loose in the yard.  She has lots of talent on stock and will be bold and confident to travel to competitions.  She's harder to train on stock.  Very, very athletic and smart little dog.

Ryder - is showing that he'd most likely be trustworthy around kids.  He has a sick and twisted amount of play drive and is very bonded.  He's soft and sensitive.  This could be a con in the competition world as he'll have to adapt to many different fields and handle strange sheep.  He's easy to train on stock and easy going around the house.  Trustworthy in the yard.  He's very athletic but takes longer to learn new commands.  Would be relatively easy to find him a high quality agility home with his traits.

Ah, hard to say.  We'll keep plugging through our week and eventually I know the answer will come to me.

Deebs

Diva, or Deebs as I've been calling her is growing into quite the little character.  I've been babysitting Sarge's dog Braden and she's been flirting with him.  So funny to watch my little Border bounce around with this gangly Lab.  One of the things that makes me so happy is her play drive.  She's been fetching enthusiastically and consistently in the house.  Now, she's fetching outside as well.  She goes after the toy like her tail is on fire.  Comes back a bit tentative but is still "fetching"!  Woot!  Ryder has also been doing awesome with his "stay" while I play with her.

This past week I had been toying with the idea of trying to find her an agility home.  Simply because she's crazy athletic and I think her abilities are a bit wasted hanging with me.  Plus I wonder sometimes if it wouldn't be better for her to live in a single dog home where she'd get more time and attention.  She's really beginning to bloom.  It makes me wonder if I've done her a disservice.  I also wonder if her and Ryder would be better off separated.  The issues I have with them are very rarely evident when I do things separate.  The pack mentality if you will.

Then we have nights like tonight where she's adorable and fun.  Where she's so keen to engage with me.  It would break my heart to let her go.

So I wonder - do I keep her for my sake?  For Ryder's sake?  For her sake?  And I wonder what is the right thing to do?

My Ryder Man

Ryder, Diva and I went on a jaunt up north today.  We went to Lisa Wright's place.  I had decided to take a lesson from her.  She's been relatively successful on the trial field and has trained dogs for many years.  I was able to get some insight and ideas for Ryder as well as link it back to things I'm doing.  He worked not too bad.  In fact, he was a pretty good boy.  We chatted in general about dogs, Border Collies and training.

I had been pondering neutering Ryder for a good portion of the summer.  Today I made a decision.  I've decided I'm going to do it.  Simply because it will make both his and my life easier.  I have very little interest in breeding dogs.  There are many, many very nice and well bred Border's out there to pick from.  I'll aim for a late August date.

Entered Up

It was time to man up.  Time to take the Ryder boy to his first trial.  He's not really ready.  He's a bit unsure (make that quite a bit) on his commands.  He doesn't cross drive yet.  But I have 11 days to fine tune him before he debuts in his first trial.  He'll be competing in the Lloydminister Stock Dog Trial on August 12th.  It's a relaxed arena trial that I think will be a good first experience for him.   I certainly don't expect him to do anything.  In fact, I'm fully prepared to walk off the post to help him out.

Because I was feeling nostalgic, I've also entered Tessa.  She's been quite sane, and it's only an arena trial.  I'll do a few little tune up works with her prior to but will work her very little.  I don't want to risk hurting her.

A little bit of old and new for a fun weekend.

Like a Tug Toy

On Sunday I went and picked up a new dog.  Charlie is his name.  Charlie is a 10 month old unregistered Border Collie.  Based on his coat (curly) he looks like he probably has some Gonnet's Moss or Elvin Kopp breeding in him somewhere.  I've discovered he really doesn't know anything.  Not his name.  Not to come, sit or stay.  He had what I'm pretty sure was his first off leash walk on Monday.  He got lost.  After that he was much more inclined to stick with the pack.  He's friendly with people and he's friendly with dogs.  He is also not afraid of much.  He does however have some of those neurotic Border Collie traits - you know the one's a dog develops when they've not had the stimulation they need.

The biggest thing Charlie and I will be working on are manners.  He has none.  He has no travel manners.  He has no around people manners.  He is entering doggy bootcamp.  He needs to listen and learn to try and catch him up.  This is important because he's Blaine's dog.  He needs to have a firm understand of who is the top dog or parent in the relationship.  

 I put him on sheep today.  It would be his second time seeing stock.  (The first would have been when I tried him to ensure he had instinct prior to purchasing him.)  I was happy that he didn't bark.  I was happy to see him kind of be excited and want to chase the sheep around.  All normal development.  My goal was to get him circling both directions and stopping.  That's it.  Short and sweet.

What really happened is one of the sheep broke from the flock.  He went after it in mad pursuit.  The sheep turned and faced him up, started to make bunting motions at him.  He kind of bounced a couple times and then launched himself at the nose.  He then tugged and tugged.  He used this sheep like a tug toy.  Rushing in, I had Tessa push the flock of sheep towards the lone sheep to try to encourage it to join it's buddies.  Tossing my cane, I got Charlie to release the sheep.  The blooming sheep did not take off towards the flock but in the opposite direction.  Charlie launched himself at the sheep, the sheep giving up went down.  Running, I had to physically pry Charlie's mouth off the bloody (quite literally) sheep.  This is a first for me.  I've never had a pup try to chow down on mutton.  Pulling Charlie away from the sheep.  Who remained down (eeek), I had Tessa push it's flock up close.  Calling Tess off I stood off to watch.  The sheep got back up on it's feet and other than a bloody nose seemed to be okay. (Phew!)

Baaaaaaddddd Charlie!  Ate my nose!

How such an innocent and happy little dog could be such a shit disturber?  He really was very happy go lucky about the whole process.  He has no respect for body pressure or people.  This is also something we'll be working on.  I did manage to get him to successfully circle both ways.  He's very, very tight but went around the little flock I had out.  He needs more exposure and I need to work him with someone more experienced to ensure everything is safe.  I'll be calling Ken for some advice.

Straight From The Horse's Mouth

Today I met up with Lynn and Stacy.  They have Ryder and Diva's littermates Luke and Zoey.  We went for a walk along the Sturgeon River.  It was fabulous.  I love hiking.  I love the how it works my body and I love how the dogs run free and explore.  It makes me happy and relaxed.

This morning while I was getting myself organized.  Grabbing leashes and treats, all three dogs were roaming about in the garage.  One of the neatest things occurred.  Diva and Charlie were dog-speaking the language of play.  Diva was so happy.  This blows me away that my little socially stunted dog was actively inviting play from a (more or less) unfamiliar dog.  I smiled.

I did not smile when Ryder got all fluffed up and tried to boss Charlie.  Giving Ryder a sharp command I walked over to him.  It was then that I noticed my bossy boy was shaking.  Full body quivers.  Uncontrolled.  Crap.  Clearly his issue isn't that he's aggressive or a bully but something else.  Now to figure out what and get him sorted out.  When we met up with the other dogs (there were four other dogs plus my three) he was fine.  He happily greeted them and off we went.

Towards the end of the walk a dog ran out of a yard and began barking at us.  Ryder and Diva and Charlie (and some of the others) took off in hot pursuit.  I called, used my whistle and Ryder and Diva slowly returned.  (They did recall off of a high stress situation.)  Even in that situation he didn't try to fight the dog.  It was mostly all the dogs running and barking.  And the tone of the bark was an "on alert" bark.  (I have been reading up and learning.)

When I got home I called the vet.  I wanted accurate and correct information on what neutering will and will not accomplish.  If the dog is "aggressive" neutering will not help the behavior.  If the dog is "dominant" then neutering will help.  This has put me in a bit of a quandary.  Ryder is not "aggressive" I've researched it and he doesn't fit the mold.  I'm not even convinced he's dominant because he's never made any moves to dominate the dogs around him.  With Diva he's rough (through the human lens) but he never dominates her or Tessa or Bella.  He made no move to try to be the dominant dog on our walk.  Ryder is a very soft and sensitive dog.  My mom summed it up nicely when she said, "You know those little kids who cry if you even look at them funny.  Well, that's Ryder.  He's a sensitive little crybaby of a dog."

I wonder if I spend my time introducing him to dogs in one-one controlled situation if this would help.  He was doing very well until Kobe tried to eat him.  Now not so much.  Link?  Who knows.  Testosterone?  Who knows.  With this in mind I think I'll give him the summer as a reprieve.  I want to work with him and see if it helps.  Otherwise it'll be snip time.

Thoughts?

A Different Philosophy

Blaine settled on a dog.  An unregistered "farm" Border Collie named Charlie.  He is 10 months old and has been a pet.  The most interesting thing I found was when I went to pick him up.  I have the sketchiest feeling about these people.  It certainly isn't how I do things (not that I'm perfect).  

When I pulled up a deluge had just started.  I decided to sit and wait it out.  The heavy rain wouldn't last that long.  To my surprise the son runs out with the dog on his leash.  He loads him up in the truck, grabs the money and goes.  I had to ask for some dog food so I could mix it with mine.  I had this sinking feeling.  This feeling that this dog hadn't been loved on and trained on, the way I'd love on and train on my dogs.  

I've put him in the X-Pen in the living room for now.  I don't trust him, and my two are singularly unimpressed with this whiny interloper.  I figure they'll need some supervised and care during the transition process.  The big thing I noticed that didn't make me happy is it's clear this dog has become used to entertaining himself.  In the run he ran and barked and ran and barked.  For that reason he won't get any dog run time until I get more training and excercise into him.  Until he's less stressed and has a better understanding of the expectations placed on him, he'll be in lock down.  

Fair Practice??

In my search for a dog for Blaine I've contacted many of the people I know who have dogs.  Looking for the right fit.  One of my dog/horse acquaintances has a young dog with minimal training.  When I told Blaine to contact her she told him she'd only deal with me.  Then I check my email and discover she wants me to put time into this dog and we'd split the profit.  This seems so dirty to me.  It makes my moral compass stand up and scream.  Basically I found a potential buyer (Blaine), yet I'd bump the dog's training and therefore the value up, prior to him purchasing the animal.  In my mind this is wrong.    I'm more than happy to find Blaine a dog with minimal training, and finish it for him - simply because Blaine and I have the understanding prior to that this is how it would work.  And quite simply, because Blaine is a friend I wouldn't expect financial gain from this understanding.

So am I right to think this is questionable practices?  Or should I get off my soapbox?

The Hardest Thing

Blaine and I have been on a mission.  We've been looking for a dog for him.  Last Saturday I tried a "town" dog for him.  It was a 10 month old, unregistered male.  "Charlie" had never seen stock so I asked his owners if they'd mind letting me see him on the sheep.  They agreed, and brought him out.  As thanks, I gave them some gas money (it wasn't very far from their place to mine).  Charlie was pretty good.  I got him to circle both directions and he was pretty keen.  So keen, it was hard to pull him off the stock.  Unfortunately he hadn't had much in the way of basic obedience (no recall, sit, stay, etc.) which I don't like to see in a dog by that point in time.  The other thing I didn't really like, but could understand, was he barked at the sheep.  He barked and barked.  Not sure if that's something he'd stop with time.  Telling them we'd talk it over and get back to them, Blaine and I made arrangements to go look at another dog he found.

Yesterday we went and looked at the second batch of dogs.  It was one of the hardest things for me to walk away from.  There were about five dogs and one pup with an older couple.  The man, well, he was one of those types that thinks he knows everything but really knows nothing.  The "meet" began with him rapping one of the young (6 months) dogs on the snout repeatedly while hollering to get down.  Finally he smacked it with his cane.  The dog rolled over and gave his belly.  Next he untangled a plethora of chains from his quad.  He went and collected up another young dog (around 1 year) and chained it to his quad.  He then took off towards the pasture.  Cringing, I climbed back into Blaine's truck and went followed.  He then made me (for whatever reason he decided I was the person he was talking to) go and tie up one of the loose dogs.  The dogs wouldn't come to him so I had to catch them, (All very submissive.)  and tie it up to the fence.  They had no collars so I had to use a hunk of chain (also cringe worthy).  When I asked if that one worked he said no, that she was just his "brood" dog.  That comment just left me horrified.

Watching the young dog work it was clear this was not a started dog.  He knew nothing and barked all the way down the field, and the entire time he was by the cattle.  The man kept changing his story.  By the end of the time with him I was half convinced he had Alzheimer's.  (He misplaced his large yellow quad and knew no names for the dogs.)

The icing on the cake? He took us to see the puppy (9 weeks).  Of course, I was the one he sent into the run to collect it.  This poor baby was cowering in the far end of the dog house.  I ended up crawling into the house (and tore my jacket on an exposed nail)  the poor darling was terrified.  He shook and shook.  Cuddling him up I brought him to the truck.  Everybody had a look and I returned the pup.  By this point in time I was edging on really irritated.  When I put the baby down he flipped over and gave me his belly.  I bent down and gave him some love.  It was the hardest thing I've ever done - walking away from that baby.

I had to do a lot of self talk.  Tell myself that taking this poor darling away would not solve the problem.  That the man would just keep breeding more.  I just felt awful.  I wanted to take each of those dogs and rehome them with someone else.  This is the same reason I don't go to the local horse auction.  It scars my soul and I can't deal with it.  I ended up feeling depressed the remainder of the day and had to do some baking therapy.  Those dogs will haunt my dreams.

Hope

Hope is an amazing thing.  It can fill a person's bucket.  Without hope, life is a wasteland of disappointment and depression.  Today, Ken filled my bucket.  I was up with the birds and the bees and on the road by 6:30a to reach his farm before the heat of the day hit.  (Yes, our heat is puny compared to you southern folks...)  We had a big day planned filled with horses and dogs.  Two of my ultimate favorite things.

We began by working Ryder.  He was a superstar.  We stretched out his outrun (where he goes and collects the sheep) and his confidence just grew by leaps and bounds.  I love working this dog.  Next, we moved horses in closer, took a lunch break in which I delighted in teasing his daughter, and followed up with Diva.

My mouth turned down I looked at him when he asked if I wanted to work her.  I kept telling him not really (we'd just had a phone conversation about how naughty she is and how frustrated I was), he kept pushing me.  Finally I told him to work her.  He did.  She was soft and smooth as butter.  The biggest shocker for me was how she kept looking for me.  Diablo Diva wanted her mommy.  (Yes, I know that's icky and bad form but I don't care.)  It got so bad that Ken told me I'd have to work her.  In short order she pulled some of her standard "Piss On You" tricks.  Pulling me to the side, Ken gave me a stern talking to.  Taking a deep breath I walked back out armed with some strategies.  And they worked!!!  I was able to maintain calm and focus.  Ken said it was the best he's ever seen me work Diva.  The best part was I was able to get Diva to a workable, trainable, and team minded stated.

For the first time in a very long time I felt hopeful about this dog.  That I was capable of managing her and working with her through her issues.  And she showed me she wanted to try.  That she wanted to be trained.  I felt really, really good when we walked away from the sheep.

This was followed by riding horses.  What more could a girl ask for?

Well... Ken invited me to come out and spend a week working dogs and riding horses.  Yes please!!

Pride and Epiphany

I had told a friend's family that I would loan them some sheep for the summer to graze down their little acreage.  Today was delivery day.  I hitched up the trailer, put Diva and Ryder in the run, and enlisted my mom and Tessa for some help.  Dad had bought around 20 weanling lambs to graze down the "sheep" pasture.  I needed to pull my six out of the flock.  Using Tessa to push on them and get them shifting around the younger sheep slid into a shed.  Smooth as butter.  Well, until Tessa went deaf.  Then not so smooth.  Plan B was to encourage my three woolies to leave the shed.  I brought Tessa in when they wouldn't respond to my pressure.  She shot them out.  I managed to cleanly pull five of my sheep out.  Deciding I could leave the one hair behind, we drove them out into the field.

Next, I pulled the trailer into the field and parked it at the gate.  I had grabbed Ryder.  Now, mom had Tessa on a leash and I had Ryder loose.  (He listens better.)  I stationed mom and Tessa in a high pressure spot to help create a bit of a human wall.  Ryder gathered and pushed the sheep to the edge of the trailer.  He kept counter balancing them to the trailer, taking off in hot pursuit if something made a break for it.  I was in awe with his manner.  He is so quiet and kind to his stock.  He does not dive in and grip under pressure.  Watching him, my chest puffed out with pride.  He is a young dog and he took his flanks relatively well, and he tried.  He tried and tried to do the right thing.

Taking our time to not put too much pressure on the sheep and create a wreck or bolting situation I managed to get the Blat one of the hair sheep in.  Mom ran off to grab the halter and I tied him in the trailer.  While I was doing this Ryder kept the sheep at the mouth of the trailer.  A lot of time had passed so I felt we should try for more pressure.  I asked Ryder to put some heat on.  Using my cane I began to encourage the sheep to move forward into the trailer.  It was here that I encountered a major problem.  Every time I lifted my arm, or took my foot into the buttocks of the sheep (relax - no beating occurred - just some good shoves) Ryder moved out of contact, creating a window for the sheep to move into.  My poor gorgeous boy was afraid of the cane.  Broke my heart.  This is something we'll need to work through.  Moving mom and Tessa to the high pressure spot - with Tessa leaning hard on her leash - my lead sheep finally hopped in.  And then just like water the sheep flowed into the trailer.  Closing the door, I went in and untied Blat.  Ryder sat there peeking in, pleased as anything.  I was so proud of him.

He hasn't done any functional work yet he handled the high pressure situation like a champion.  I also enjoyed myself immensely even though I spent a good portion getting rained on.  Why?  I think because there was purpose to it.  I sat back and thought about why I procrastinate and in some ways resist my trial training.  Why I'm not motivated.  I think it leaves me emotionally numb, whereas this had a reason to it.  I think I may need to add in more functional activities to our training regime.

There it was pride overfloweth and an epiphany all in one damp package.