Herding Lesson - Off Balance Work

Today Bug and I had a herding lesson with Diane. While the weather holds we are going every Sunday.

Diane asked what we had talked about working on next. Now that I begin to understand what is going on, I can tell her. We wanted to work on our flank commands, "Away" because Bug is more resistant to that direction (although he wasn't today!), "that'll do" and off-balance work.

We started by working on flank commands. I put Bug in a down walk to my sheep, face him, and ask him to go "Away to Me" or "Go By." Bug makes one and a half rotations - I ask for a "down" in the corner. The first few times I didn't understand exactly what Diane wanted and I stopped Bug WAY too late. Then I stopped him early. Finally I got some really nice downs in the right spot!

We did some "that'll do's" and lets just say my rake throwing leaves much to be desired. I can be so black and white. Diane says "say That'll do" - I say "That'll do." I don't try to tell Bug "Here" or "Come" when he tries to dive for sheep. I am doing exactly what Diane says. Today she said, why don't you use "That'll do - Come?" I said, "I can do that?" D'oh. Master of the obvious I am not. "That'll do - come" did seem a bit more effective.

The big thing we worked on today was the off-balance work. In this exercise Bug is driving the sheep with me from behind and I am holding my rake over the sheep, on its side. I did not have a very clear picture in my head initially and we had a VERY tough time of it. Add to that Bug aggravated one of the sheep into trying to butt at him. This happened because Bug kept trying to get to the heads of the sheep because that is how he prefers to work, and I kept asking him to go to their rear.

Next time in the pen we switched the sheep that didn't like Bug out for another sheep and it was a much better dynamic. Bug was really successful at walking-up and driving the sheep. I could feel how much better it was than the previous attempt (which sucked, basically).

Bug got tired much quicker today, even though we broke the training up quite a bit. I think it was because the off-balance work was so mentally difficulty for him. He isn't clear what his job is yet and so his brain is in overtime trying to figure it out. The difference between our first attempt and our second was pretty huge. Now I know what it feels like and I think we'll have a lot more success with this next week.

The best news is that when we got home, I did Bug's massage and stretches and .... no stiffness!

Technique Critique

Yesterday Bug and I visited Sterling Impressions Animal Rehab to see if I was doing the friction massage on his bicipital tendon correctly. As I suspected, I was NOT. I was not "rolling off the shoulder head" correctly.

Fabulous PT Cathy shared her gross anatomy book with me and I *think* I've got it now. Cathy went over Bug with a fine tooth comb and felt like his muscles were soft and supple, except for his left iliopsoas - that had a little knot. So I will be sure to give that area a little extra attention going forward.

Animal Communication Seminar: Part 1

Tuesday night I attended part one of a two part seminar on Animal Communication. I am not speaking about communication between the species but telepathically between animals and humans. :-) The “woo-woo” stuff. I have been really interested in this for some time – especially because Ike speaks to me and I do not always listen. Once in a while I hear Bug.

I have used Animal Communicators in the past with Ike and recently used one with Bug when he was recovering from Lyme. That reminds me that I should e-mail the Jessica and let her know something she mentioned in the communication has come to fruition. She did a body scan to let me know if there was anything I should be aware of. She mentioned Bug’s liver seemed tender (at the time he had just finished the doxy for Lyme and I had just taken him off milk thistle), so I did another 30 days of milk thistle. She also mentioned that his front and forearms felt stilted to her. At the time it just worried me, however since then he has been stiff after herding and come to find out his bicipital tendons are tender!

I cannot do a blow-by-blow of the animal communicator seminar and do it justice. Prior to attempting to connect with any animals Carolyn, the instructor, had us do an exercise. She handed everyone a handful of cotton balls, which are supposedly excellent energy conductors. While she read a meditation we were to breathe deeply and visualize something. Then we passed our cotton balls to a neighbor and did a similar meditation with their cotton balls – to see if we could pick anything up. When I was handed my neighbor’s cotton balls I immediately thought/saw blue; while I was holding them my palms tingled.

We then went around the room and talked about what came to us. Carolyn said when you get a color like that it can often be related to the chakra – in this case blue is the throat chakra. My neighbor definitely was not a believer and I think was there to humor her sister. It was pretty obvious the entire thing was making her uncomfortable.

Then we swapped pictures and did another meditation. My picture was a 10 month old cat named Mittens. At first I did not think I was getting anything, but I wrote down everything that came into my head.

Beautiful
Salmon – crunchy
A window looking out on a moderately busy street
One of those toys that is a stick with feathers or strings attached
Playing
Non-confrontational
Skittish

When it was my turn to speak I said I didn’t think I got much, but when I went through my list – everything I said resonated with Mittens’ owner. I said, “She thinks she is very beautiful.” And her owner said “I tell her she is all the time.”

Salmon-crunchy – she likes seafood but actually prefers the crunchy kibble

I described her street correctly and Mittens does like to watch the traffic and leaves
I described Mittens’ favorite toy and she does enjoy playing.

I thought Mittens was saying that she is not skittish, but her owner said she is very skittish – so there was a miscommunication there – or perhaps Mittens does NOT think she is skittish.

One of the things Carolyn said is that even if the owner says ‘no, that doesn’t make sense,’ often times it will eventually make sense, the owners don’t know about it yet, or it is the animal’s perspective.

I spoke to Cheryl our chiropractor, who has taken this seminar, and she said I could talk to her male PRT Spot anytime I want – apparently he will talk to anyone. Cheryl said the big thing is you must trust yourself and write down what you are hearing/thinking. She also said it is important to practice.

I think it is really hard for people to trust themselves.

Herding Lesson

Sunday Bug and I had a herding lesson and John came to watch!! Very cool.

We started out in the control pen and we did a small bit of fetching and then an exercise I am not quite sure what to call - it is a balance exercise. We are fetching, I walk through the sheep, have Bug get around in the other direction, I pivot and walk backwards - where my dogs was. Rinse and repeat.

We also worked on Bug's "That'll do" which had been decent and now sucks. Every time I say "That'll do" Bug is diving for the sheep. So, Diane had me toss my rake between Bug and the sheep. I explained that I am a TERRIBLE thrower and she suggested practicing. She also helped me out by tossing a rake for me. A couple of times I was able to step on the line and Bug corrected himself quickly. We'll have to keep working on this!

Diane noticed that Bug was getting bored so off we went to the big field. First we moved the sheep that were hanging out there into their pen. Then we moved the three sheep we were working into the big field. We started with a nice outrun and did some fetching. For the first time, I did not walk backwards while fetching! And Bug did not push the sheep past me. good boy!!

Then Diane had us do a ASCA Started course. Wow! Through 2 panels (no more than 10' apart) around another panel turn around go past the single panel and through the 2 panels. Throw in a down or stop. Bug did a great job.

We did this again and then Diane had me pen the one heavy sheep in our group of three so that Bug could work with the lighter sheep. She thought that would be more fun for him (and boy, was she right!). Penning the heavy sheep of three sheep was tough for us. In part because Bug wasn't holding his stay when I went to unhook the gate. He was, however, much better than our last lesson. It makes sense to me that a stay with sheep is tougher for him - the rules are so ambiguous. Sometimes it is okay if he breaks his stay - sometimes it isn't. It all depends and where I am, where the sheep are, how he's moving when he breaks.

We worked some more on outruns and fetching. It became very clear that Bug favors "Go by" (clockwise) and really doesn't like to go Away (counter-clockwise). To date we have been practicing them fairly equally. We need to start practicing Away MUCH more so that Bug becomes more comfortable and doesn't resist it as much.

It was an excellent lesson. The only downer is that Bug was stiff in the evening. I think in part that is because he worked for a SOLID uninterrupted hour. We usually work in 15 - 20 minute intervals. Wow! And he never quit. What a great boy.

The reason the stiffness is a downer - other than the obvious - is I have noticed that he appears stiff in the front after herding lately. It typically appears within 6 - 10 hours of herding and he looks stiff getting up from laying down and has some difficulty jumping up on the bed. I massage and give him Traumeel. The next day he is fine.

As you all know from reading my blog, I am paranoid about my dogs' health and my chiropractor Cheryl recommended a rehab vet that quite a few other corgi people I know have used.

So I went on Columbus Day with the Bug.

Basically Bug's bicipital tendons (bilaterally) are tender (left more than right). Dr. M said at this point there is no scar tissue - it is just tender. They gave me a slew of exercises and massage techniques to do 3 x a week to prevent it from getting any worse and becoming bicipital tendonitis. She said given the starting and stopping a dog does in herding it could be a fairly typical injury.

We have been doing our exercises religiously and have seen NO stiffness after trialing in agility or running off leash on hikes. However, I knew the real test would be herding.

Yesterday's stiffness was, I truly feel, in large part due to the amount of time Bug worked. However, to be on the safe side I have scheduled an appointment with the physical therapist to make sure I am doing the massage techniques correctly. I am supposed to do something called "friction massage" ON the tendon. I am afraid perhaps I am missing the right spot. So on Thursday I will do Bug's stretching and massage in real-time and the therapist will critique my technique.

Cathy, the physical therapist, said she is not surprised he was stiff after working an hour. She said a soft-tissue injury can take months to heal. She suggested that I make sure we only work in 15 - 20 minute intervals next week. She said she was sure I would see a major difference working in intervals. I asked if I should stop herding and she said absolutely not. I am relieved because Bug ADORES herding. It is amazing to me how much more strenuous herding is on the dog's body. The rehab vet commented on what a "hard body" Bug is. She said he had tremendous muscles! That is all due to herding.

There you have it, that is the herding update. I have a herding fool, without a doubt!

The Schnauze

Who knew it had so many colors?

Beyond Basics #7

Tuesday night Bug graduated from Beyond Basics.

We practiced our stays, loose leash walking, and recalls. All-in-all I think Bug and I got a ton out of this class. Canine Mastery has a class that takes place outdoors at shopping centers and various locations. I forget what the name of it is, but I think I will put my name on the list for when they it next (they do not schedule it until they have at least six participants). I think that would be a fun class to do with Bug.

Seven Groups

About a week and a half ago Amanda at ManyMuddyPaws did a post on the CKC/AKC seven groups.

IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE A DOG FROM EACH CKC/AKC "GROUP," WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY? (excluding your own breeds)

Group 1- Sporting
Group 2- Hound
Group 3- Working
Group 4- Terriers
Group 5- Toys
Group 6- Non Sporting
Group 7- Herding

Recently both Katrin and Cat answered the question on their blogs and it reminded me I intended to post on it, too. I forgot all about it.

So here goes:

Group 1 - Sporting: I am actually not crazy about any of the breeds in the Sporting Group. If I had to choose I would say Novia Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. Primarily because I like the slightly more petite build, compared to some of the other dogs in the Sporting Group, and I know a breeder in MA who I would definitely consider getting a dog from.

Group 2 – Hound: Long-haired Dachshund. I have met quite a few that do Earthdog and like their tenacity. I would worry a lot about IVDD, but that is a possibility with Cardis too. Given they are hounds there would also be the challenge of their noses – hopefully tracking would give them a good outlet for that.

Group 3 – Working: Portuguese Water Dog. I have always liked them and after going down to CT with Katrin to check out a local breeder, I really like them! Only downside would be that it is another dog with a coat that requires serious grooming, but I could try water sports!

Group 4 – Terrier: Welsh Terrier! I have met too many recently with super work ethic to say no to this compact terrier. JRT is a close second.

Group 5 – Toy: Not much calls to me from this group. If I had to choose I would say Havanese. The Havanese I have met seem to have a pretty even temperament, are cute, and seem fairly biddable.

Group 6 – Non-Sporting: Having spent some time with Kerry’s French Bulldogs – OMG, what a lovey little dog. If I were looking for purely a pet I would certainly pick French Bulldog.

Group 7 – Herding: I would like to have an Australian Cattle Dog at some point. I love their structure and tail and they just seem fierce. I think they would be a very challenging dog to own and work with. However, I think an Aussie would be a better fit with my husband!

Anyone want to play?