Thursday, April 2, 2009

Wait, driving means I need to HANDLE my dog!

We're trucking along with driving and Soda did really well today. :) She's really "getting" it, I think. I want to get a "there" on her because if I down her, she gets super sticky and it's hard to get her up again but if she doesn't actually lay down but stands, then she's much easier to get moving.

I think it would be helpful. I've been trying--I say ThereLieDownWalkUp. Usually the she doesn't lie down because the walk-up comes right on the heels of it (I say it just like it's written) but she does pause and that's all I need. Probably not the right way to do it but... it's working for us.

I realized today, fully, what a terrible handler I am! I know it comes with time and practice but whew... I can't help but get frustrated with myself. I realized when I'm driving that I have to really do a lot of handling and there's a lot more finesse. I am not known for finesse. I hope that I get better and don't stay terrible. I tend to be good at reading animal body language so I hope I'm able to pick it more as I go along and start feeling what finesse is all about. I mean, I'm not even driving that far-- just little bits here and there.

We had another run in with the Corner of Death(tm). I do not know what it is that makes her think that she cannot work there but I'll be danged if she can't! So, after I found her and got her out of the pasture I took her by her collar and tossed her on her away side, just beyond the worst part of the Corner of Death(tm). I gave her encouragement the whooole way and just had her go in circles on the away. On the CoD(tm) side she started to drift off and go off contact (and into the grass and ditch) so I grabbed the sheep and said "GET YOUR SHEEP!" (which gets her riled up no matter what). She tried to flip to the go by, so I blocked her and gave her the away cue again and trilled her along and ... IT WORKED!! We did that a couple of times and she was more okay taking the away flank in the CoD(tm). She didn't love it, but I was able to send her out on the away and she was a little too wide but it's better than running off.

Anyway, it was a good lesson and fun times were had by all.

And now, for some Lambios!

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Very Sleepy Babeh Lambio.
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The Rare Oreo Lambio
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Does this tail make my butt look big?
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Hello. I'm Captain Adorable.
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Go. Away.
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