Hiatus

In repose

I didn't like what I saw today, so I've made the executive decision to give Tam a month off. It's easiest to keep track if I start now. He'll go back to work March 1. I'm laying him off, because I saw a behavior that I attribute to training pressure, and if there's any dog who doesn't need to be pressured, it's a 10 month old pup.

What did I see? Tam turned away from me, and from his sheep when I walked towards him to call him off. It was an "uh oh" moment if I ever had one. Keen youngsters with lots of enthusiasm should never do that, no matter what, and I didn't like it.

When I started Tam, I had the happiest little worker you could ever imagine. He started happy, he stayed happy, and he was happy afterward. I even strive for this with the big dogs, but I definitely want to see it in the young ones. What's the hurry? He's a baby!

This is a good stopping place any way. Tam knows his flanks, both whistles and voice, he has a pretty good lie down on stock, and a fair recall, but that's where we got in to trouble. I would lie him down, then walk towards him saying "that'll do, here." But sometimes he would get up and beat me around the sheep, too quick for me to stop. I started voicing a correction for this, and it was too much for him. It chilled him. The last thing I want!

So, what will we do to fill the white space while Tammie gets a break? Well, I have another youngster named Nell in training, and I have Spot, an 8 week old puppy. I figure between those two, we can find something to write about.

Nell - 2 years old

Spot - 8 Weeks

Check back for more on these two...