Herding Lesson

Herding two weekends in a row! We thought it would be good for Iris and Bug to have a few lessons close together (Bug had a great lesson too). I think a couple of things are really starting to come together in Iris' mind, so I'm really glad we were able to get two lessons so close together.

When we got there, Colleen was finishing up another lesson, so Iris had to wait in the car. Oh god there was a tractor! Someone thought it would be even more fun to chase tractors than sheep. Looney dog.

We started out by walking (on leash) around the pen with me asking Iris to down periodically. When we do this exercise, Iris gets excited and lunges when we get close to the sheep. Whenever she starts to lunge, I switch directions. We turn back toward the sheep once she settles. During the last lesson, I could really see Iris working it out in her head. "When I act like a crazy dog, mom turns and walks away from the sheep. When I calm down, we get to go back to the sheep!" I really like the turning-around method. There's no fuss. It's just "Fine, you can act like a crazy dog if you want, but if you do that, you don't get any sheep." By then end, I could see her thinking about lunging but then checking herself. Cool!

After that, we continued working on "walk up" and "out." I know Iris hasn't made any connection between the words and the motion yet. At this point, I think it's probably more important for her to get used to what it feels like to put pressure on the sheep and then take pressure off.

Iris says weird faces are one of the best ways to intimidate sheep.

After that, Iris worked on "get around." It's her favorite part. Julie too some really cool video of Iris working.



During the first couple of lessons, Iris would sort of "buzz by" the sheep, and then she'd check out to go sniff grass. She was definitely a little intimidated by them. She'd dart in with a lot of flourish and then back right out before the sheep had a chance to get her. If you watch her close, you can still see that she sort of darts in and out, but she was staying engaged for a much longer time. I think she's starting to figure out just how much control she can have over the sheep.



At then end, Iris was trying to act like she was too tired to work any longer. Then she saw her opening, darted in and scattered the sheep. Brat dog. Too tired to do it right but not too tired to cause trouble?


See that? That's the butt puff of a trouble maker. She may look like she's relaxing, but don't be fooled.

After the lesson, we helped Colleen put in some fence posts and then let the dogs run around the field. Both Iris and Bug ran right over to the pen where the sheep had been. Iris came bounding back, "Mom! Where did they go???" Instead, she found some really stinky sheep poop and had a great time rolling all over it. Lovely. Poor smelly Aussie got a bath when we got home. All that work rolling around went right down the drain. She was not impressed. I mentioned to Colleen that I've only had Iris for about a year now, and she said that explains a lot about our relationship. She's settled in so much at home, I forget that we're still building a relationship!

My poor girl started limping on Sat night. All that running around, I think she pulled something. She was a lot better on Sun and better today too.

Agility and Reactive Dog

Iris and Makin were the only dogs at Tues night agility class, so we got lots of practice! Julie set up a course that was mostly jumps with just one tunnel and had us work out how we were going to handle it initially.


The first time we tried it, I planned on doing a front cross after the fourth jump (that little circle-thing. Front crosses don't translate well to diagrams) and another one after the tunnel. Ok, the very first time we tried it, my dog was much faster than I anticipated and beat me to the front cross. After that we did much better! I'm getting better at front crosses. Iris was really goofy, taking jumps while Julie was still setting up the bars, demonstrated her ability to jump 20" vertically from a stand still, and just generally happy and silly.

After we started get the hang of it, Julie told us to run the same course but change one thing. Oh no! Actually, it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. This time we did a switch after the fifth jump and front cross after the tunnel.


The dreaded switch! But we managed to do it without any weird spinning around or me tripping over my dog. Horray! Last time we did a sequence in class that included a switch, I was never able to get Iris to do it without a weird spin. I think we might be getting the hang out it. I even think I liked doing it with a switch better than with the front cross. My front crosses are still a little choppy.

Iris was getting tired at the end of class. It was a lot of jumping especially since it was just Iris and Makin, but I know a certain Aussie who's put on a little extra weight recently. I'm going to start calling her "Pudge," which maybe isn't a bad thing if you're a Red Sox fan. Regardless, my poor starving Aussie is going to have her food intake monitored more closely. She tired herself out faster than I expected her to in herding and agility, and I think the weight gain is a factor. We've also been doing walking instead of jogging more often than not lately. We both need to start running again.

The last thing we did, I had Iris wait while I led out all the way to the fourth jump. It was almost the length of the barn. Iris held her stay! For whatever reason, she did skip the first jump, but did the other three. That's definitely the furthest lead out I've ever done with her. Lead outs are harder for me than Iris. I worry about her breaking her stay to go harass other dogs even through that's something she's never done. Good girl proving me wrong!

Thurs night was the second Reactive Dog class. We worked on hand targeting and leave it with only one dog coming into class at a time. Iris loves hand targeting, but she does need a better leave it. The first two classes were slow, but Emma said they'd be the only slow classes. Regardless, Emma had some really good observations about the different dogs which just don't quite translate to text. I am looking forward to next week.

Herding

Iris had her second herding lesson last weekend. It gets it's own post so it's easier for me to look up later. Iris was great! Colleen said she was really "hot." Yeah, she was definitely pulling to get to the sheepies. I asked her to down outside of the pen.


Even in the photo she looks intense. I think our focus right now is getting Iris used to taking pressure on and off the sheep. Initially, I just walked Iris around the pen and had her down periodically. We still need to work on "down" in various locations. The distraction of the farm and the sheep was too much for her. I had Iris on a leash, and whenever she started to run toward the sheep, I switched directions. Iris needs to learn that too much pressure means back off a little, not run around like a crazy dog. But I think she really likes being a crazy dog.

We also started working on "walk up" and "out." Julie brought up a really interesting point that those commands, especially "out"are used in agility but mean different things. I use "walk it" in agility for the contact obstacles, and "walk up" in herding is move in a straight line toward the sheep. I don't really foresee that as being much of an issue for Iris because sheep don't really look much like a dog walk. I think "out" could be a little more tricky. In agility, "out" means increase lateral distance between yourself (the dog) and me. In herding, it means turn and walk away from the sheep in a straight line, which takes pressure off the sheep. Colleen does agility, and she said her Tervs don't usually have a problem with out. She had more trouble with "come" and "come bye" (circle the sheep, I forget whether is clockwise or counter clockwise), so she uses "go bye" instead. Just something interesting to think about.

For "walk up," we moved toward the sheep until they started to fidget and then I asked Iris to down. She was so focused on the sheep! After a few seconds of pressure, we walked back to fence. It was a good chance for Iris to feel what it's like to put pressure on the sheep without causing them to run.


After that, we had Iris drag the lead, and worked on "get around." Iris was doing "fly-bys" where where she'd run around the sheep real fast and then go sniff. Colleen said Iris still isn't quite sure about the sheep, so she sort of rushes in and makes a big show about it but then backs off right away.


Iris looks like she was totally zoning out in that photo. Actually, I think she's about to go sulk because I toughed her with the rake. Right now, Iris does herding very much so on her own terms. That seems to be how my crazy red dog does just about everything! Is it a girl thing? I'm hoping the more I work with her in herding, agility, and whatever else we're doing, she'll get the idea that working together isn't such a bad thing.


By the end of the lesson, Iris was exhausted. I started walking her around the pen again and having her down periodically. The brat dog had perfect down in the shade and did not feel like downing in the sun. See what I mean about "on her own terms?" Silly dog.

After Iris' lesson, it was Julie and Bug's turn. Bug completely turned on to sheep! It was so cool to see. Everyone had a great lesson and we're going again tomorrow. I think it will be really good for both Iris and Bug to have two lessons so close together.

What a Week

Does it make me a bad dog mom if I laughed when I read that note? Admittedly, I am glad I heard about this after the fact. We have had quite the time the past couple of weeks. Iris' misadventures include jumping the fence, busting open the front door to harass the mailman, fighting with Zeus (and she's got the puncture wounds to show for it), and just generally tearing at the windows and everything around the windows in her quest to bark at cars.There's a tear in the screen door, and I'm afraid she'll go through that door next. So in short, Iris will be staying in the basement while I'm at work (she has 2 x-pens worth of space). She's got a nice bed, a bowl of water, and a kong. She gets walked before I leave. It's not really the ideal situation, but it is better than her getting hit by a car. Plus, I really don't want her spending all day barking and lunging at cars through the windows. My biggest issue with that is that every time she barks and lunges at a car diving past, she learns that barking and lunging is effective at making things she doesn't like go away.

In more fun news, agility class a week ago went well. We worked on different entrances and exits for weave poles. I'm starting to get the hang of front crosses. Iris still needs cages to do weaves. I think my next big purchase will be a set of weave poles. We need more practice! At the end of class, the barn's owner came in to check the lights (we had some weird buzzing sounds going on during class). Iris was up in arms as soon as she heard the tractor. She's been really good lately about not barking at the other dogs in class, but a strange man entering the barn pushed her over the edge. At least we were done for the night and I brought Iris out to relax in the car. Last night agility was also lots of fun, but more on that in a separate post.

Lately, Iris has been really good about not "checking out" or getting really flighty during class. I've been trying to build up some toy drive at home partly just to convince her that playing with me can be just as much fun as playing with Henry. She's not quite convinced... I have figured out that she likes stuffed animal squeaky toys the best. The problem is that they only hold up for a couple of minutes. Iris thinks tearing them up is pretty cool. I can't afford to to replace a toy after every 2 min of play. If anyone knows of any stuffed animal toys that are also durable, Iris will thank you!

Last Thurs we started a Reactive Dogs class at Masterpeace. The first class was no dogs and really basic. We just went over teaching eye contact and sit with a clicker. So maybe a little too basic for Iris, but it's definitely something that every dog should start with. I think we're going to get a whole lot more out of it once we get into the "meat" of the class. Another interesting note, Emma is teaching a Control Unleashed class right now too, which I hope she runs again at some point.

It seems that my crazy red dog is keeping me too busy for blogging so sheep herding and this week's agility class (both complete with pictures) will follow later.

Agility Class

Last class, we worked on handling skills just with jumps. I think Katrin called it double box jumps? Something like that. I know there were jumps arranged in squares.

The first sequence had a switch in there. Switch is still the hardest thing for me to get. Direction changes, lead changes, treats, hands, dogs, my own two feet...


I'm pretty sure there was a front cross in there somewhere after the switch, but Iris and I never got that far. Iris had no problem taking the first three jumps but after the third jump, she was spinning around to the right instead of turning toward the left. Actually, I think she should have started turning left before the third jump, which was part of the problem. She had to turn right after the second jump and just continued that motion over the third. Sandy and Sadie went after us, and I tried to really watch what she was doing with her hands. I know that's where I was losing Iris. She just didn't know what I wanted. I think I have a better idea of what I should be doing (so much easier to say than do!) I keep meaning to set up Iris' jumps to practice, but I've been a lazy trainer this week.

Next we worked on front crosses. A front cross is when the handler's path crosses the dog's path in front of the dog (until recently, I thought it was when the dog crosses in front of the handler, so there's my clarification). It wasn't pretty, but we did pull it off. The handler's path in these diagrams is really generalized, but you get the idea.


The last sequence was almost the same as the second, but the hander had to stay on the outside while the dog did the jumps in the middle. Katrin held Iris at the start line not because Iris has been breaking her stays, but because I worry too much about her breaking her stays. And I was not cooler than dirt that night.


So we started. Iris did all three of the first jumps perfectly. And then I stopped. And Iris stopped. Katrin says, "You have no idea where you're going because you didn't think she'd do it." Nope! I didn't bother to plan ahead because I really thought that Iris would come in towards me, and we'd end up working on that. Serves me right! My good girlie.

I did, however, manage to go the entire class without being told to deliver the treat with my other hand.

Herding Lesson

Sat was Iris' first herding lesson! We went with Julie and Honor-Bug, who also had a great lesson. Bug went first, and I had Iris lay down and watch him. I don't think she took her eyes off the sheep the entire time.

When it was Iris' turn, Colleen had me walk her around the outside of the pen and asked her to stay in each of the corners. Iris was pretty interested in the smells, but didn't seem to notice the sheep yet.


Then I asked Iris to down-stay, and I walked up and touched a sheep. She held her stay next to Colleen (which was awesome for Iris! I've never asked her to stay with a stranger and walked away).

Now to see if Iris was actually interested in sheep. Colleen came in the pen and we walked up toward the sheep.


The sheep moved away and Iris really tuned on. It was so cool. She does herding at full speed, but she does circle to the outside instead of running straight toward the sheep.



See how she's making a wider arc than the sheep are? Good girl!

Herding for Iris was done in short bouts of full speed interspersed with sniffing. I think the sniffing was a combination of interesting smells and stress sniffing. Even though she thought the sheep were cool, she wasn't quite sure what I expected of her.


Then it was my turn with the rake. The rake is a kid's garden rake, and it's used to guide the dog and get the dog to change directions. It really just acts as an extension of your arm. Sort of the same way I'm supposed to use my arm to guide Iris around the agility course. Colleen commented that Iris is pretty pressure sensitive, which doesn't surprise me given how sensitive she is to my body language in general.


Figuring out the rake is hard! The idea is to keep it near the dog's girth to get the dog to move forward and to move it in front of the dog to get her to change directions. I had a tendency to keep it too far forward which was confusing Iris.

Look at that stay while Colleen was explaining to me how to use the rake. Such a good girlie.


Iris and Bug both got to rest in their crates, andJulie and I got to practice our handling skills with Colleen's Belgian Tervuren, Hannah. Hannah quickly figured out that Julie and I are softies! I was lucky and Julie had already tired her out a bit before I worked with her.

I think Iris had a good time, and I definitely enjoyed it. Iris was a completely different dog than she the first time I introduced her to livestock. I think it was a combination of a less stressful environment and me being in the pen with her. Colleen noticed that Iris was more relaxed when it was just me in there with her. She certainly doesn't look like a dog who's afraid of sheep, does she?


We have another lesson at the beginning of Sept, and I'm really excited about it. I can see how herding could be addicting! In the mean time, we're going to be practicing down in various locations. I realized that while Iris will down very reliably at home and at agility class, those are the only places I've really practiced it with her.

Tues Night Agility

We switched to the Tues night agility class for this session, and it was a night of "firsts" for Iris. There are three other dogs in class - Makin the Vizsla who's been in class with us from the beginning, Sadie the Aussie who we've had a couple of classes with (and that means her Aussie puppy "brother" is there too!), and also someone we haven't met before with her two dogs (the dogs will be alternating weeks, this week we met Misty the Aussie). Me and Iris, and Neil and Lael with Makin are all new to agility. I'm so glad I'm not the only new kid! Sandy with Sadie and Misty's owner (I learn dog names so much faster than human names) have been doing agility for longer. I think we've got a pretty good mix in our Aussie dominated class.

Katrin set up a 19 obstacle course. When I went to walk the course, Iris stayed in her crate and she was so quiet. Ok, she did get in a couple of woofs, but no crazy barkbarkbarkbarkbark like she sometimes does.

Iris jumped 20" for the first time in class. She did more obstacles in a row that she has in a long time (ever?). She did contact obstacles for the first time since March. She did weave poles for the first time in 6 weeks because I don't have my own to practice with. When I got home from work on Wed, my sister said Iris is so much quieter during the day after agility. No wonder!

Iris was awesome. The weave poles had cages only on one side. She missed the entrance on the first try and got it right on the second. She was so proud of herself when she got it right. I was proud too! When we got to the dog walk, Iris remembered how to run up and across, but she completely forgot that she's supposed to slow down on the way down. Slow down? Crazy Aussies don't slow down! Then she started being really goofy, which made me laugh, which made her more goofy. We decided not to try the teeter with Iris right then since I'm sure she had every intention of flying off. Plus, Iris was starting to tire herself out. I think I need to start running again with Iris during the week. Both of us need better endurance, and I don't think it would hurt Iris any to lose a little bit of weight.

Later, we decided to just work on the dog walk and teeter. We kept Iris on a leash initially and after she did "wait" a couple of times, she figured it out. She says, "Oh, that's what you want!" Then she was happy to do both the dog walk and the teeter without a leash. I also learned that I don't really have to yell "wait." I can just say it and Iris will still hear me, even if sometimes she does try to convince me that her little witch-hat ears are too full of fluff to hear a word I'm saying.

I also realized that Katrin hasn't been asking the other dogs to leave the barn while Iris is off-leash, and Iris has been really good. It only took me weeks to notice. I think my crazy red dog is really starting to enjoy this agility stuff.