Last Wednesday, with full crate and dog-on-the-go regalia loaded into the Mini, Lilly and I trekked about 1 hour and 15 minutes east to Cathy Balliu’s Valdemar Farm in Fort Lupton, Colorado. That’s where Lilly’s history-making herding instinct test took place.
Dear Sam (and others who are longing for dog training news), I wish, wish, wish I had the time/energy to work on new things with Lilly, but I just don’t with all the family medical dramas that have been brewing non-stop since summer 2009. We have high hopes for spring 2011, though. So, don’t give up on us yet. While I called it an update, it’s more like a wish list.
In week 5 of the 2010 Never Shock a Puppy dog blog campaign, we offer a few ideas on how to get your dog to COME when you call. The main post started to get REALLY long, so I’m continuing one idea here. And, it is this: Playing FETCH is a great way to practice recalls every single day. We even made a little how-to video (see below).
Just a quick post. Time very limited today. I believe we’ve found Lilly’s new sport. It’s called Treibball, and it’s essentially a form of herding that uses big balls instead of sheep. Looks like I’ll be combing garage sales and begging neighbors for their old exercise balls this spring. Check it out.
Rather than our usual weekly training update, we’re instead sharing a video we made this week showing (as best we can) the “whiplash” recall. Trying to train and film at the same time affects Lilly’s overall performance (slows her down), but I think you’ll get the idea. The goal is to get her to turn on a dime and return when called.
