The terrible two at play (with Photo's)

Hi guys,

Well, I've been flat out lately training other peoples dogs and haven't had a great deal of time to put into my two. They haven't seemed to mind though, and have been enjoying the sunshine.

Jock is on a break from being assistant trainer at the moment, although he did get to "show his stuff" this evening when I had to show a client the "return to heel", and how to teach it. Fortunately for me, Jock did this beautifully, but also managed to show what can go wrong when teaching it. I wasn't really wanting that part of the lesson, but thanks for taking the initiative Jock! lol

Anyway, yesterday I took some photo's of Jock and Peppa playing, or should I say Jock teasing the hell out of Peppa with the rope toy.

Enjoy!

Jock will rest for a couple of days before being put to work again with another client dog coming in. He's such a sweet boy that he's brilliant for this job, so long as the other dog doesn't try to eat him! lol

Working? Where's the sheep?

Hi Guys,

Well, Jock may no-longer enjoy running on the farm and having sheep to boss around, but he does have another job to do.

Ever since I started up dog training again, I've had the need for a non-reactive dog. Peppa, the little darling, is NOT that dog. Not only does she react to anything and everything, she over-reacts. Not suitable for my needs.

Jock, however, is happy to get along with just about anyone, especially if he can con a pat out of them.

Well, tonight, he was put to the test.
I have a client that has an interesting dog. She is a 3 part dog.
1 part Shar Pei
1 part Bull Terrier
1 part Siberian Husky.

How's that for an interesting combination?!
She has the brown coat colour of the husky, and the head shape and ears. Her ear set, coat and tail are pure Shar Pei, and her temperament is Bull Terrier. The best of all worlds!

This little gorgeous little girl LOVES other dogs, and often lunges at them to greet them. This puts many dogs on the defensive and she doesn't get a very warm welcome.
Today we not only had her walking calmly by our leg (something she only learned last week) but we were side by side with Jock. He was desperate to go and say hello, but he stayed by my side. We were in front, then behind, then beside, and all went really well. I did have to stop Jock from goosing her up the bum (something he seems to love doing just for the reaction of the other dog), and remind him to stay close at times but he did really well. He was also under pressure because he doesn't usually get led by complete strangers. He tried to con pats but once I told him to behave, he settled down and did the job.

So Jock has been promoted from ex sheepdog to assistant dog trainer! He doesn't get a badge though, that'd go to his head!

Updates on life for Jock & Peppa

Well guys, it's been forever since I've done a new blog post, and boy is there lots of news!

1. We've moved house. Not entirely by choice, but you get that. It's turned out for the better, even though it's really taking some getting used to.
We've moved from a 6 bedroom, 7 acre property into a 3 bedroom and approximately 1/8th of an acre property. I'd guess the block is around 650 - 700 square metres. I call it a postage stamp!

There are pros and cons with this place. Two of the biggest pro's are that a) it's warm. Gone are the days of wind whistling through the holes in the walls, floor, gaps around windows and chasms around doors. Pro b) is that we are within spitting distance of the schools where our two girls spend their weekdays. Well, you'd have to be a damn good spitter, but it takes approximately a minute and a half to walk to their classrooms.
One major con about the place is that due to having too much stuff, we've had to hire not one, but two storage lockers of a reasonable size to put all of our excess furniture, clothes, etc. It's costly, but at least we know it's safe.
The other major con is the lack of space for the dogs, and my youngest to run around. That being said, there aren't any snakes here, so that stress has gone from our life.

2. Jock is now an almost inside dog! I say 'almost' because he is now in a crate in the laundry instead of outside, and he's doing surprisingly well. Not only has he decided that crates are the best thing since red meat was invented, but he gets an unlimited supply of pats, is out of the wind, and occasionally gets let into the lounge room to mooch pats off every unsuspecting family member.

3. Peppa, the little darling (dripping sarcasm there), was booked in to be desexed (as was Jock) about two weeks ago. Three days before this, she decided to come into season 2 months early. Why? Because I've been bringing strange dogs into the house. I've started dog training again, mainly working with Red Zone dogs, or those with behavioural issues that are causing their owners to consider re-homing their dog/s. This didn't sit too well with Peppa and she decided to throw a spanner in the works. Her coming into season has caused Jock to stop eating, to whinge and whine almost constantly, and generally just make a pain in the bum of himself. I'm not entirely sure that if I gave him Peppa he'd know what to do, but I'm sure he'd figure it out, which is why they are separated, and staying that way until she is most definitely finished with her season!

4. Sadly, Miss Pippa, our beautiful white Boxer bitch had to be put down. At age 5, she had her ear flaps removed due to mast cell tumors, and although the vets gave her around 8 - 10 months to live, she stayed with us for another 4 years. In the end, she must have had a brain tumor of something, and her quality of life plummetted. She was such a loving, beautiful dog that we made the decision to put her out of her misery and give her peace. It broke our hearts, but we had to do what was best for her.

5. Jock is LOVING having all of these new dogs coming over for training because he gets to show off what he knows. He has now learned to walk beautifully on lead, and is so well mannered and behaved that I can get my clients to walk him. This teaches them what they need from their dog, what is acceptible, and what is not. I train their dogs to walk properly on lead, and then swap with them so that they can do it too, under my instruction.
The training has taken off to such an extent that I now have people on a waiting list, and I'm yet to advertise my services publicly!

So guys, apart from all that, life is ticking along as normal. I'm no-longer in a wheelchair, but I still rely on my crutches to get around, and have to take painkillers still so that I can help people with their dogs. If I overdo things, or spend one minute too long on my feet, it's back to bed for a couple of hours until the pain settles enough. As I write this, my back is swelling up due to me sitting at the computer, so I'll pay for it later, but it's worth it.

Take care, and in coming days, I'll put some photo's up of Jock in his new bedroom, and maybe a few of Peppa!