And the training goes on

In this post I will talk about one of our new pups, which by the way is for sale. Her name is Kate and she is an interesting dog. It is amazing to watch the change from day to day as she gains confidence. It is also very interesting to see her when she goes to the cows. You would think that she was a different dog.

I first took her to cattle at 3-1/2 months to see if she had any interest. At first she was a little hesitant but started to warm up and gave me a good indication.

Now at 5-1/2 months she is definitely showing great potential. Now the question is should she be subjected to a structured training program. If you have followed any of my previous post you will likely know that I will let her learn on her own under supervision. I also like to have her exposed to actual work. What does that mean. If I am moving cows with my dogs, I like to have her along and right in there. The key here is moving ie all noses pointing in the same direction. There is less chance she will get hurt this way.




Having said that sometimes the pup just wants to do what is in it's "jeans". Here Kate is after a stray. She was successful and got the cow back with the rest of the herd going in the opposite direction.








In this picture, if you look closely, you will see a dog by the gate. This is my main dog, Jim. He and the pup moved the herd to the gate. Jim went around and stopped them and held them there while the pup stayed at the back to hold them together. This allowed my to go to the gate and open it. Now I don't think you can get a better training situation then this. This is what my training is all about: real life situations. When the pup learns lessons like this she becomes very useful at an early age. The pup benefits and I benefit ... win win. Incidentely I did not tell her to do what she is doing. Breeding and breed make life a joy.