Maine Millers

We also put Scout on sheep for the first time today. He really didn’t do what I expected, I thought that it would be a barking pulling frenzy but he was very well mannered. He was on a long line and stayed with me and we walked the fence line and moved the sheep around the pen. Nothing exciting, but none the less it was a big first step! I don’t know if we will pursue herding but at least we know that he isn’t afraid of the sheep and did show some interest. As with everything we try I am sure that I will need more training just to understand what I would want him to do. We’ll see what the future brings…

Right now he is so tuckered out I kind of feel sorry for him

Our agility training is coming along fine. Last week we started to learn the weave poles. One of the hardest obstacles to learn, so our teacher recommended setting up a set at home. I chose to work with the slanted poles, also know as weave-a-matic poles. Idea being that the poles start laying on the ground and you gradually raise the angles until the poles are straight up. Here is a video of Scout working on the poles about half way up.

The other methods are channel poles that are always vertical but spaced apart to make a channel and then start to close the channel over time, and the poles set up with the standard straight line. Hopefully he will get this all figured out over the next few weeks.

We just completed class #4 which was called “A Cure for the Winter Doldrums” and it was a lot of fun. We had a mix of things from Freestyle and Rally-O to Agility. Scout did well in most areas with the exception of needing more focused attention on me during down time between exercises. We now have a couple of weeks off and we’ll see if we can learn anything on our own during this time.

I guess it’s a good sign when you take obedience classes and the last instructor you had is in your current class and comments on the improvements over the last few weeks.  Three people told us that last night.  Persistence pays off.

How do you know when an Aussie is fully recovered from surgery?  He acts worse than he did before surgery.  Scout is in need of some serious exercise, mental and physical.  He is getting into everything everywhere in the house.  He stole a 10″ bread knife yesterday and started to chew the wooden handle, he is getting on the counters, begging for food, stealing socks, general mis-behaving.  Yesterday was his first day playing at Bowdoin College fields after 3 weeks and he had a great time running and wrestling with all the other dogs.  He had a good wrestling match with a golden, Katie, that was almost his age and also just recovered from spaying, the match lasted a good 10 minutes.

Starting our next obedience classess tomorrow night (after a 4 week break) and these are different, billed as a way to beat the winter doldrums, we will be  learning tricks, rally-o, freestyle, and some other things.

Ok, day one went pretty well. I had some success with the basics. Sit and come are going pretty well. Down is a 50%-50% deal at best right now. I really want a quick down. Kind of a drop where you are. Patch used to do that, but Scout will only do it if there is food involved right now. I need to ween him off the food and have more success with the verbal/hand signals.

It’s the start of Doggie Boot Camp on Monday. I am off work until Jan. 8th and it’s getting time to get really serious with the training. Some days Scout can be so good and other days he will drive us up the wall. My goal is to try to do at least three 10-15 minute sessions a day. Starting over from the beginning. Tomorrow is come, sit, & down. I am thinking that if I can get his mind really working instead of being in the kennel when we are at work he will learn faster. I am going to try to take him when ever I go out on short trips and hang out downtown so he can see people and other dogs in a setting that isn’t class or playing out in the fields at Bowdoin.

In a perfect world this will make the perfect puppy, we don’t live in the perfect world so hopefully my goal of a livable companion will pay off. He is smart enough to take anything we throw at him, it seems as if his problem is the lack of focus. Pam, my obedience teacher called him a ADD dog, is there such a thing? I think Casco Bay Dog Training is offering a CGC, Canine Good Citizen, class in January and I want to take it and pass.

Wish us luck!