Holy Moly, MORE great new books!

I know I know, I have books stacked by my bed staring at me waiting to be read. But here’s the good news: these two new books on Treat Search Tracking and Trick Training are the kind of books you can read a little or a lot, and get what you want out of them.

I must be brief, as I prepare for the first sheepdog trials of the season, my novel (2/3 to 3/4 done!), and oh yeah, spring and a gazillion weeds trying to take control of ‘a garden. But I couldn’t resist the urge to talk about these two books that I already love, even if I’m far from having read them from beginning to end.

First, super dog tricks by Sara Carson is a wonderful addition to all of our libraries. Sara and the Super Collies blew us all away with her amazing stunt dog tricks, like balancing her dog on her feet as she lays on her back. I’ll tell you right now that’s never gonna happen to me. My middle name is Clumsy, and I would never trust myself enough to put my dog ​​in that position. But I loved reading how easy it is to play “feet” with your dog and have him go through your legs and put his paws on your feet. Adorable.

Here’s what I do, however: Reading the book reminded me how good it is for a dog’s heart to “sit,” and Skip really needs that kind of work. Right now I’m working him on a balance board, but because of his bad heart and crummy rear end, the more I can strengthen his core, the better he’ll be. We’re just getting started, but here’s a video of Lesson #3:

I’m happy with his development. because his first session (which of course I would have liked to record) was so difficult for him. Be careful, though, on this one: not many reps please, it might be too hard on your dog.

Next, The fabulous smell of a dog by Anne Lill Kvam makes me want to have an extra hour in the day. She makes the best case I’ve seen of the value of teaching dogs to follow a specific scent, as they would in nature. In his own words: “A lot of the activities we have with our dogs include speed, excitement, precision and control, but very little calmness and concentration.” I’m not sure about the concentration part, it seems to me that agility and sheepdogs, for example, have to concentrate completely when working. But concentration and calm together? No, not that.

She points out that sniffing roaming freely is fine, but not the same as “looking for a specific mission”. I love that she writes about the value to our dogs of “situational leadership”, in which whoever has the skill takes charge of that particular situation. I immediately thought of Skip’s work yesterday during a little ‘training’ trial, in which he took charge of bringing three wild yearlings back to a paddock as they were determined to fly across the field to their friends. I sent him to get them and bring them to the paddock. He knew they had to come in without me saying anything, and in every way except with language he told me, “I got it.” And he did. No one can read a sheep as fast and as well as a dog, and while he sometimes can’t do it on his own, you’re no more likely to succeed than if you’re asked to sniff out a kibble in a pile of hay blindfolded. “Situational leadership” as something good for dogs. To like.

I would love to do this kind of perfume with Skip, I think it would be good for him to focus in a quiet, calm way. Unfortunately, he does some of that when he sniffs sheep poop to eat, which he seems to absolutely adore. It’s not really bad for him in small amounts, but . . . So I think what I would do with him is use toys instead of food. He’s not that crazy about objects outside (unless playing tug with Maggie, which is still off limits as they’re getting back into shape from injuries), so I think I’ll take the smaller Kong whoever is and stuff food into it. After, that is, the sheepdog training and the novel and the garden. . . But I love this book, and I’m going to settle down and read more for the rest of this week.

MEANWHILE, back at the farm: As noted, sheepdog trial season is approaching and last Saturday we were at Big Yellow Boots Farm for a ‘practice trial’, during which you were allowed to leave the station and help your dog s he was in trouble. And trouble was the name of the game, because the sheep were yearlings that hadn’t worked much, and the field was full of soft, spring grass that the lambs seemed to think it was worth to be shot by a pack of wolves, if they could just get in one more bite. They were also laid out with grain, and many dogs couldn’t even get them to look up, let alone walk down the field to their master.

Skip and I ran twice, and it was good practice for the real trials to come this summer. Our scores were nothing special (I don’t even know what they were); I was slow to respond, and he wasn’t perfect BUT he did an absolutely magnificent job and made me all gooey because he showed as much heart and commitment as a dog could . Maggie also got down to business, although she thought the sheep were just ridiculous and told me so at specific times when we helped do a bit of mise en place. No one does side eyes better than a dog.

Here is a photo of Skip, hang around and wait your turn:

Skip and Maggie are healthy now (well, I’m sure with Skip, not 100% sure with Maggie), but out of state. So we are working on it as best we can.

Pardon my brevity, there’s a murder mystery to solve and some Creeping Charlies (that’s a weed to all non-gardeners, not a stalker) trying to grow through the cracks in the windows and take over the living room.

i would like to hear if you’ve read the books I mentioned, the value you’ve found in follow-up training, and whether or not your dog can sit! I’m all ears.