Dog Training Fridays

Did you ever wonder what a Glass Gal does in her spare time?

What spare time this Glass Gal has, is often spent in the company of dogs.

Some of my Stained Glass students convinced me to begin holding an informal Dog Training session on Friday mornings. We work with our dogs on obedience and manners, and try to address any problem behaviors they (the dogs and/or the owners!) may have. Sometimes we work hard, other times not so much! Deborah was kind enough to photograph one of our recent sessions.

Here is my pack:
WTCH True Grit Hombre

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Nitestar's True Blue Moore, CGC, TT
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Nitestar's Peggy Lee, CGC
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In this session, we worked on an orderly and controlled method of feeding. In this method, the dogs all sit and wait to be released before they eat. This is an excellent way to establish leadership within your pack, as the leader always controls the food.


It is tough being a "demo dog"!

Now Carol's dog, Dibley, will join us.


Dibley came to our first session as a very timid, fearful soul. He would panic and vocalize (snarl, growl, scream, show every tooth in his head in a very scary way!) if any dog or human got too close.
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Here you can see that Dibley isn't really happy with the situation, but he's working through it. That's all we are asking him to do.

It is interesting to note the difference in appearance between a sassy, confident dog like Callie . . .
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and a timid, fearful dog like Dibley.

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We are also letting the children get in on the training. It is good for the dogs, as well as the children. Keep in mind in the following photos, Peggy Lee has been frightened of children in the past. I'd say she is well on her way to loving kids now!!


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Here is Mary Beth's little guy, Sparky. He is all puppy, and is learning some manners!
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This last photo captures the essence of working with dogs to me. Peggy Lee is thoroughly enjoying our time together.
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That's what it's all about!!

Stockdog Clinic - April 12th

We attended a Stockdog Clinic at True Grit Farm the weekend of April 12th. It was the most fun I've had in a while!! Thanks to Devona and Bob Myrick for their graciousness and hospitality. . . and for the excellent SANGRIA!! I think everyone, human and canine alike, had a blast.

Kay, Peggy Lee, Hombre & Callie are head out across the pasture to the arena.
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Following are some links to the videos that were taken over the weekend . . .

Kay and Hombre: http://www.supastream.com/video/play.php?id=3180&u=560
Kay and Peggy Lee: http://www.supastream.com/video/play.php?id=3184&u=560
Devona and Monty: http://www.supastream.com/video/play.php?id=3165&u=560
Devona and Jackie: http://www.supastream.com/video/play.php?id=3169&u=560
Devona and Rich: http://www.supastream.com/video/play.php?id=3170&u=560

Here are a few (well actually, there are quite a bit more than a few!!) photos of the fun . . .

Kay and Peggy Lee:




The first thing I mastered this weekend was to control the movement of my stick. A super long bamboo pole is used to put pressure on the dog, when it needs to kick out further away from the stock. The stick is also used to indicate to a trained dog which direction you DON'T want the dog to go. That's tough to remember!!
The hardest part of all this is that you must learn to keep the stick in a neutral position, and keep it still when you aren't intending to put pressure on the dog. A stick that waves around wildly is terribly confusing to the poor dog!!
In the following photo, note the excellent concentration and neutral stick position!!
By the way, the object at the end of the stick is an empty water bottle filled with pea gravel. That makes noise, so the dog will pay more attention to it.

A horizontal stick position calls for a STOP or a DOWN from the dog.












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Peggy Lee has really turned on to stock since Hombre came along. Here she is very happy with the praise she's getting and jumps straight up in the air!!
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A huge part of the fun of these clinics is sitting and watching everyone else run. Here, Bob and Devona discuss a cattle run.
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Now it is time for Hombre to teach me a thing or two!!



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All of the dogs wait along the fenceline for their turn to run.
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Here's Callie . . .

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And Duke (Hombre's nephew) . . .
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And Hombre . . .
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It is all in all a good place to hang out and bond with your dog! And to forge friendships that will last forever.



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In a moment of temporary insanity, Devona decided to take Callie into the small arena to work sheep. What was she thinking?!?

Whenever you see sheep going in a million different directions, followed by a whirling dervish, you can be sure it is CALLIE!























Bob and BreAnn work sheep:














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Mary Dee and Nikki:















There were six people at the clinic, with about 16 dogs. It was amazing to see every one of the dogs turned out into the yard together. They all played together and had a grand time.
















After all, it is all about the dogs!