Well, I can't tell you that last night went smoothly, but my Willie boy tried his best and ended up learning a lot about working sheep last night. (We went to a good friends, Peg, who has a lot more sheep and a lot more land than I do and is extremely generous with her time.) First, Will and I drove a flock of about 35 sheep into a pen at the end of a long field, and then turned and walked 40 yards in the other direction, where Peg had brought out a group of 5 or 6 ewes about 250 yards away. I waited until I was sure Willie had seen them, and then sent him "Come Bye" (clockwise). He began correctly, but then stopped part way there and looked back at the flock he had just worked (who were behind him and me both). I said Come Bye again, and he started right but again slowed and looked back. Read More
Willie Rocks, Lassie Gives Me a Scare
I took Will to a friend's to work him on different sheep in a new environment. I'm getting to the point where he and I don't have too much more we can do at home. My small flock is so tame that Will has to be within a few feet of them to move them, unless I split out a few and force them away from the main flock. Then they are flightier (and more challenging), and I'll do that more and more, but don't like to stress the ewes and lambs too much when the lambs are young. Either way, it's still the same sheep in the same place, and Will needs to learn how to work lots of different types of sheep in different places. (So do I!) We are used to working in first gear, when most sheep work in done in 4th. I wish I could show you a video of how he did. We were at a gorgeous farm where Will has Read More
Words Fail, The Dog-O-Matic
I wondered if you have seen this --- an automatic 'dog washing machine,' in which you put your dog into a metal box, streams of water and soap engulf him or her, then presumably the dog is dried with blasts of hot air. Here's a link to the Dog-O-Matic (sent to me by an alert UW student). I'm relieved to say it's only in France so far, but honestly, keep your eyes peeled for it to show up in your area (and be ready to stop it!). Poor poor dogs! Speaking of animal welfare, thanks to everyone who wrote interesting and informed comments about my last blog, basically a rant on the problems associated with horse racing. If you are interested in the topic you might want to read the comments, there are some very good ones. Thanks to everyone who wrote in, and keep up the Read More
Karen Pryor’s New Book; Valentine’s Day
I just finished reading a review copy of Karen Pryor's new book, Reaching the Animal Mind (Scribner). I don't know when it's coming out, I'll let you know as soon as I hear (but you can pre-order it on Amazon now). It's an inspiring book, especially for those that haven't yet used clicker training on any of their animals. I don't use clickers for everything I have to admit, I tend to use them most for tricks, or any behavior that is not in a dog's normal repertoire. One of the interesting parts of her book is a report of research by Lindsay Wood that found clicker training significantly faster than a verbal marker at training new behaviors. This makes a lot of sense, given what we know about sound and the way it is received. I did my dissertation work on sound, and learned that sounds Read More
Willie versus Redford, Round Two; “Power” in Herding Dogs
This morning I tried to get a good photo of Redford confronting Will, but failed miserably. That's great news... I couldn't get the photo because every time Will walked within twenty feet of Redford, the ram turned and walked away. I did take a few photos, but my battery died so I can't upload them for you. I'll send some before the end of the week, of Will and sheep, and hopefully, of Snickers new lambs, if she ever, finally, gives birth. (We are calling her Explodo-Ewe at the moment.) Truffle's little white lamb is filling out like a champ. He's got all the milk to himself and is growing like crazy. He has started what I call "popcorn" play, which is pretty much like it sounds. First there is a lamb standing still, then there's a lamb leaping straight up into the air. Except in Read More