Not a sheepdog, but a weaving show off! With Photo's!

So now that Jock doesn't have sheep to round up, he's become my 'insight' dog. I'm a full time dog trainer and behaviourist, and rather than have Jock sit around and get fat, I thought I'd put him to work for me.
I get a lot of "red zone" dogs in, and Jock tells me the dogs I should trust, and the ones to keep an eye on. So far, he hasn't steered me wrong. If he wont approach a dog, I'm wary. If he wants to be friends, then I'm happy to work with the dog.
We recently held a recall clinic, and Jock, obviously, was there for the 2 days. He's got an incredible recall, but he's also showing his paw at a few other things, like weaving off lead through the traffic cones.

20m Recall

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!

Oh My God, he did it! Jock did it!

So, Jock has always been fearful of pens, crates and kennels. He'd much rather sit out in a storm with torrential rains and terrifying winds than go into any small space.

I've been working with him these last few weeks, and today, he did it!

I have a collapsable crate that my young female sleeps in, and she loves it. I've been using that to train Jock about how nice pens can be. Once he's happy in a crate, he can come and live in the house permanently, so we've been working hard.

Before today, the only way to get him into a crate was to push him, physically, in, and close and lock the door quickly.
Today, after hiding treats in the bedding, I managed to get him into the crate. He'd gone in and out a few times, and I thought I'd lock him in there for a few minutes. Well, after we did this, he still looked absolutely petrified, but did it because I asked him to.

Eventually, I had him running into the crate, turning around and coming back out again. No pushing or shoving, no coaxing with food, nothing. He did it because it was fun. Twice I managed to get him to stay in the crate by giving the 'stay' command, and as soon as he stopped, I let  him come out again and made a big fuss of him.

My boy did it. He went into the crate all by himself! He's far from cured of his fear, but he's definitely making great progress!

We can't do any outside training today because it's raining again (which is lovely) so at the moment he's learning to sit still on his mat by my side.

Well done Jock!!!

Update on doggies, and me (With Photo's!)

Today is a day of wet weather (see photo), so the dogs aren't impressed. We've gone from sweltering heat to pouring rain in the space of 24 hours.

The dogs may not like it, but I'm loving it. More water for the rainwater tank means that everyone can shower, and I can get some washing done.
Well, given my back is still really bad, it means that I can get the kids to put the washing on lol

I managed to get some photo's over the last few days, and a printscreen shot of the weather coming our way!

Enjoy.

Why do I have to hold still? There's so much I wanna do!

Have you got food for me? That looks like food, is it mine?

You can faintly see the word Korumburra in the bottom right corner, about an inch from the bottom, that's where we are, and this rain is going to come straight over the top of us!

So, I've started on Norspan patches, and my nerve pain medication dosage has been doubled. I feel sick all the time, but the pain is getting less and less by the day. I'm able to spend more time with the dogs, training and playing, and when I can't, I get onto Victoria Stillwell's forum and chat to everyone in there, plus read some very informative posts. You guys should check it out. Just type Victoria Stillwell into any search engine and it'll show up!
Take care

Update on the dogs and the doctors.

Okay, let's start with the dogs.

Jock - He's fantastic. A little upset that we don't let him into the house permanently, and every time the door opens, but he is being rather philisophical about it.

Peppa - She's not behaving herself too well right now. Apparently someone 'gave her an inch' somewhere along the line, so I'm trying to take most of that 'mile' back. Not an easy thing when you're confined to an office chair!

Pippa - She's figured out the treat ball, but would rather you just feed her the treats rather than go through the whole exhausing process of rolling the ball around.  She's also gaining weight, and is looking really good. I'm hoping it's not the calm before the storm, but right now, she's happy.

Now for the doctors.

Today my doctor filled out all of the forms I handed to him, and also seemed a bit disgusted to hear that I'm on a waiting list for my back to be 'looked at' by a neurosurgeon that is over 12 months. I'm not sure I can stand another 12 months of this!
Also, after looking through the latest set of scans, it seems my back is deteriorating. It used to be just L4/L5/S1 that were the problem. Now we can include L2 and L3 in the mix, so no wonder I'm in more pain than I was 6 months ago.

The best part about all of this is that my dogs don't seem to care. Sure, they'll give me cuddles and lick my tears away, but all they really want is to be close to me, or better yet, throw the damn ball!

So, today we're all resting up for our trip to Melbourne tomorrow. It means an early start, a long drive in the car, and lots of poking, prodding and interrogation for me when I get there.

My son assures me that the dogs will be fine, he'll be home with them all day, and he'll keep me updated. (text messages at least every hour will do me fine) lol

I'll let you know how it goes, and also try and get some video footage of Peppa's new trick!

Found some more photo's

Jock in the early days.

Holding the sheep to me so I could take photo's of them for advertising.

A rest well needed after all that running around. A little sun on the belly goes a long way!

Why so many photo's?

Well, many years ago I hurt my back whilst fighting bushfires. Whilst putting a pump hose into a dam to fill the tanker, I got stuck on the way out and had to be pulled out by a fellow firefighter.  Unfortunately, rather than have him pull me out by both hands, he grabbed my right hand, causing me to twist. He got me free of the mud, but it wasn't until some hours later after going for a rest on the bed that I discovered what had happened. I couldn't move.

Jump forward about ten years, that same injury flared up and put me in the Alfred Hospital paralysed from the waist down for a week. Eventually the swelling in my lower back went down and I could walk again.
It's been on and off uncomfortable, painful and downright horrid to live with at times, since that last incident, until May of this year.

I finally landed the perfect job on a farm.  The hours were good, the money good, the people good and the work suited me well. About ten days into it, I hurt myself.
No, I didn't hurt myself at work, I hurt myself lifting my young daughter out of the bath.  Something I've done thousands of times with no problems, but this time, PROBLEM.

That was in May of this year (2014), and so far I've had CT Scans, Ultrasounds, X-rays and MRI's and they've discovered that I have 3 bulging disks. L4/L5/S1.  L4/L5 are pressing on the Sciatic nerve, causing excruciating pain down my left leg 24/7. There is also considerable swelling at the base of my spine that comes and goes as it pleases.
Some days I can walk a little, other days, not at all. I either cannot feel my left leg at all, or I can feel it, but it wont work.
I usually don't find out about it not working until I take a step and it collapses underneath me. Entertaining to watch, but damn painful.
My doctor is doing everything he can, and we're searching for a Neurosurgeon that'll do the surgery to take the pressure off the nerve, but it's a long, hard slog.

Until things are sorted though, I'm confined to either my bed, or my crutches. I can sit for short periods of time in the chair, which is when I update my blog, but that causes enough pain for me to have to get comfy on my bed for an hour or two, to recuperate.

Although not recommended, I often lay down on the floor with one of the dogs.  They are all cuddly, and none of them ever try to get above me.  They love the attention, and it does wonders for me to.

Now, don't get me wrong, the story above may sound like I'm whinging. I am not, I'm just stating why suddenly there are many more updates than there has been in the last twelve months, and why there are so many photo's. I'm one of the lucky ones, because although I'm on a lot of medication, and I live with pretty much constant pain that goes from a dull ache to screaming on the floor, at this stage I can still walk, I'm not in a wheelchair, and I still have both legs. I am not required to wear nappies as I still have control over those things, so I am one of the lucky ones.
Plus, it's my own damn fault for bending the way I did and lifting an 18kg girl out of water.

So, that's the story. Until we find a surgeon, or another option to get me back to normal, you'll see a lot more posts from me, complete with photo's if I have the camera handy!

Enjoy, stay safe, and look after your back! lol

A new breed of dog? (with Photo's)

I was at it again this evening, taking photos of anything and everything. Because hubby was using the camera, I used my phone. You'd think with the quality showing up to be so bad that I'd learn, but apparently not.

Anyway, I caught a few shots of Pippa looking rather happy and comfy, plus a new breed of dog. Part child, part Dalmatian maybe?

A NEW BREED OF DOG MAYBE?

YOU WANTED SOMETHING?

IT'S A HARD LIFE, I THINK I''LL JUST TAKE A NAP RIGHT HERE!

I know these aren't photo's of Jock, and they really should be, but Pippa has been a faithful companion now for 8 years, and sadly, I doubt we'll get many more years out of her.  Right now she's happy, eating and being mostly normal. If any or all of that changes, and we can't do anything about it, well, we'll make a decision then. Until then, she gets spoilt rotten!

I have a new toy! (With Photo's)

Okay, so we bought Jock a toy ball that drops treats. Apparently he doesn't care about the treats, but the ball is just the best! I ended up having to take it off him because he kept throwing it around and I was scared he was either going to knock me out with it, or break a window!

The photo's aren't great quality because they were taken with my phone, but there's a couple of other photo's in there too.

 Above - Peppa sleeping on the bed (not allowed in this house but she's just soooo cute!

 Above - Jock holding the ball. Yucky photo, but still. He seems to love it, just a little too much.

Above - Jock (Left) Peppa (Right), I'm not sure what she said to him, but he's definitely looking worried.

That blanket is his 'mat'. It's actually the mat that I use for all of the dogs, and can be placed in any room and they'll sit on it.

Pippa (the Boxer) is really good and will get on the mat properly, as will Jock most of the time. Peppa is of the belief that as long as one part of her is touching the mat (even if it's just her tail hairs) that's considered being on the mat.

She's also coming up with some interesting tricks.

Today we had to go out for a couple of hours, so I took her out to go to the toilet. All of our dogs have been taught to pee and pooh on command, so out the back we go, with me saying "Go Pee".

Whether she didn't want to, or need to, I don't know, but she actually faked peeing. She did her 'squat' or should I say 'hover' in a place she never goes to the toilet, and when I said "You done?" she jumps up looking all satisfied. I know she didn't pee, but I've only ever known one dog to do that, and that was a Basenji.

I didn't growl at her, but I did laugh a lot, and she scored a couple of points for effort from me.

They really are funny dogs, and I love them to bits!

I can't believe I forgot! (With Photo's)

I've been so wrapped up in my own misery with my back lately that I forgot it was Jock's birthday yesterday!

My boy has just turned 3 years old!!!!!! (well, yesterday 16th November 2014)

From this:

To this:

He turned into a fantastic farm sheep dog (maybe not a trial dog but that's my fault, not his), and is becoming an even better pet. He doesn't seem to mind not having sheep around any more, he just adores the time we spend together.
This afternoon, he'll come back inside for more training, pats and cuddles, and he might even get a treat or three!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOCK!  (for yesterday).

More photo's from days past

 Above - I'll get those bubbles!

 Above - Nothing like a bath to cool off!

 Above - Don't look at her, I'm much cuter, see?

 Above - If there's water, she'll find it!

 Above - Loki - full litter sister to Pippa, only 18 months younger - now a service dog.

Above - Yes, I have a cow in my mouth, what's the problem?

Some more photo's of our Pippa

Well, it was freezing here today, and because I haven't got anywhere set up for the boy inside, bringing him in for his regular pats/training/cuddles would have been cruel.

Explanation:

Take a dog that is used to the cold into a warm house for a few hours. He warms up, but then has to go back outside for the night. He has to go through the whole warming up process again. I'd hate it, so I don't do it to him.

Instead, I took him out for a run in the paddock. Out there, he peed on everything in sight, chased a couple of rats and birds, found the treat bones I'd scattered everywhere and then came up onto the chair for cuddles. I didn't do any training with him as my back is very touchy, and it was getting colder and sorer the longer I stayed out there, so after his run, he went happily back into his pen.

I found a few more photo's of Pippa today though, a couple that were supplied by my son. You'll notice in one of the photo's that she has ears.  This photo was taken pre May 2011, and she doesn't look impressed about being woken up.

The others are just of her kicking back doing what she does best......... relax!

 (Above) - inside on her chair

 (Above) - Pippa making herself at home.

(Above) - You woke me why?

Going through my photo's and found some old ones to share!

 (Above) - Jock in his basket - sadly the basket was no match for his ripping skills :(

 (Above) - Pippa more than a little comfy in my outside chair.

 (Above) - Jock taking his stick to hide if from Peppa (currently out of view).

(Above) - the Pied Piper of sheep maybe? Photo taken at least 12 months ago

No-longer a sheepdog (with Photo's!)

Hi all,

It's been forever since I posted on this blog, and I promise to do more of it.

In the last 18 months, so much has happened.

1. My training schedule turned flat out as I tried out for the Victoria Police. I almost passed the fitness test on the second attempt, but not quite.  A month later, I seriously upset an old injury in my back, and this has left me on crutches almost permanently as walking becomes more and more difficult.

2. I sold our sheep.  Not only was it becoming impossible for me to do any of the maintenance on them to keep them healthy, but this property became far too soggy and our poor sheep were constantly limping from having thrush.  They all got fantastic homes though, so that made me happy.

3. Jock became a dog without a job.

Although no-longer bed-ridden, I still can't get out much to exercise him the way I used to, so he is having to learn to do without the hours of tearing around the paddock.  He still goes out lots (other family members take him out for exhausting runs regularly), but he has started spending more and more time inside with me, near my computer.  He's beginning to settle into being a house pet, which is fantastic.

He doesn't seem to miss the sheep work, however if I was to take him near sheep again, I'm guessing he'd be itching to get out there and round em up!

Below is a photo of him making use of the cold spot on the floor on the hot day we had a few days ago.  He HATES slippery surfaces, and it took a lot to convince him to stay there, but in the end, I think he figured out the benefits of the cold floor.

Enjoy guys, and I promise to write again soon!

Let's run and splash! (with Photo's)

 So now that we are "sheepless", I have to find other ways to keep the dog/s amused.

My boy Jock is sheepdog through and through. He seemed somewhat mortified when a search of the property revealed that there was nothing for him to chase and round up!

I usually just take him for a run by himself, but this doesn't really burn off all the extra energy he seems to have, so occasionally I'll take him out with Peppa (my bitch puppy - I know she's over 12 months old, but I'll consider her a puppy until she's about 18 months old).

When together, these two run really hard and have a wow of a time. Peppa seems almost obsessed with the water in the dam, but Jock knows how cold it is, and no amount of tempting by Peppa will convince him to go more than ankle deep, unless he's really hot!

Anyway, whilst I was at work, my husband took the two of them for a run, and the photo's show the results. It's difficult to get photo's of Jock because he is almost constantly at your feet.

Peppa (L), Jock (R) sprinting around the wall of the dam.

Peppa trying to entice Jock into the dam. He's not buying it!

Peppa enjoying the feeling of mud between the toes. She's a sucker for the dam, and seems to find it difficult to understand why Jock isn't in there playing with her!

From this to this (With Photo's)

Looking through photographs, I found this of our little girl Peppa, followed by one taken about 6 months later!

 Those ears!

Peppa doing her "Gosh I'm Sweet" face!

Snakes, sunrises and sunsets (With Photo's)

Whilst searching through some old photo's on my computer, I found these couple.

The snake is either a Tiger or a Copperhead. We don't get much in the way of Brown Snakes, and in the last 5 and a half years, I've only ever seen 2 Red-Bellied Black Snakes.

Given it's size, I wasn't really interested in stopping it to ask for a species clarification!

The wall where the snake is, is our garage, and is less than 20 feet from the house!

The next is of a glorious sunset.

Sunrise, almost at 5:30AM. The fog was thick enough that I was reduced from doing 100kph down to 40kph for the majority of my 20 kilometre trip!

 

More photo's to come in the next few days!

Jock & Peppa at play (With Photo's)

This afternoon I decided to take Jock and Peppa for a run. I'm in the process of pulling fences down, so the dogs have almost the entire property to run in.

After a quick dash around the grassy paddock, I took them over to the dam for a drink. Just a drink.

This is what happened.

No cajolling by Peppa will convince Jock that the water is as lovely as she says it is.

This photo is probably the one and only time I will get a photo of these two remotely behaving themselves!

Jock is very switched on to me, and will pad along quietly beside or behind me. He's never far away, unless I cast him out on sheep. Peppa is a totally different story. She couldn't care less if I'm there or not, and will happily go wandering all by herself. She almost seems offended if I call her back!

That's the difference between Pack Raised, and Human Raised.

Jock is happy by my side, Peppa has exploring to do, and if I choose to tag along I should just stay out of her way whilst she's busy!

Don't forget to visit my Store! All proceeds to go to purchasing sheep for these two to work!
http://astore.amazon.com/geitenbeeksho-20