Star had his ups and downs this week and learned some lessons the hard way. His training progressed, but he struggled with practical jobs. Patience, patience and more patience was needed and, because that is what he received, he overcame adversity and accomplished the task after 3 attempts to get it right. This week's lesson:
- If at first you don't succeed, you need more time
Here's an excerpt:
Success, comprehension and willingness all rolled into one good, young dog this morning when I put the sheep out. When I opened the gate, Star flanked nicely around his sheep and this time followed them out of the pen. Hah! He broke hard to get around him, and I let him bring them back to me rather than diminish his enthusiasm. I flanked him around, and with the sheep headed in the right direction, I downed him. He hit his belly like a champ and as I walked ahead of him, he started to break again. I downed him quietly each time he started up, which resulted in him walking beside me down the lane. It only took a few times for him to understand that we were walking down the road, not gathering the sheep and when we got to them, he waited while I opened the gate and then put them through for me. Again, he broke to cover as they trotted off, so I let him bring them back, then flanked him around and called him off. Patience rewarded. Happy dog, happy handler.
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