herding instinct test

This past Saturday, Josh and I took Piper and Baron out to Alliston so they could be tested for herding instinct. It was a pretty stressful morning, figuring out what we needed to bring (not much) and how to time the drive. I really dislike driving to new places - we weren't sure exactly how to get there, or how long it was going to take. But we arrived safe and sound, after an hour and a half of driving.

Once there, we hopped out of the car and went to find someone in charge! The farm was very small, and we quickly found the correct person. It was very informal, which was nice, as we were all quite nervous. Even I hadn't seen sheep so close before!

We walked the dogs around a bit, trying to relax them. There were a number of dogs around, and of course the strange sights and smells of the farm animals. Piper took about 10 minutes to settle, Baron was quite worked up and took a little longer. Josh ended up leaving him in the car so he could watch (and take pictures of) Piper's session.

When they were ready for us, we went into a small gated area and put a long line on Piper, it was probably a horse lead. There were three sheep waiting for us in a larger pen attached to the one we were in. I took Piper through the gate, and the sheep started moving away. The tester had us follow the sheep, to see how Piper was reacting to them. After a few minutes she asked me to drop the lead, and Piper was off chasing sheep!

Piper chasing down a rogue sheep.

Generally she did very well, rounding them up pretty quickly. When they would separate she would chase one down, but often on the wrong side. It took her a little while to figure out what would work. Once the sheep were grouped she would just stand there watching them, and actually started to ignore them - sniffing the ground and going to visit Josh at the fence. Once they started moving again she went right back to work. The tester quite liked her, and said she shows great potential, but she needs some encouragement, and to learn what is expected of her. Not too bad for having never seen sheep before!

Trying to get another sheep back in line, this time correctly running on the outside!

Piper being told to "back off" by the tester.

Piper very properly moving the sheep around the pen.

Piper after the test...tired and happy!

I put Piper back in the car and Josh pulled out Baron. He settled much quicker without Piper around, and was fairly relaxed by the time they went into the ring. Once he saw those sheep, boy oh boy there was no stopping him! He pretty much had the sheep on the run the whole time he was in the pen. He knew his job and he did it! Baron's only problem was that he was a little too keen - he was pretty rough with the sheep, biting at their tails and such. He even came away with a big hunk of wool one time. Oops. The tester said he did very well, and scored him a bit higher than Piper. She also said he would be more difficult to train in herding, since he needs to broken of the biting before much else can happen.

Baron's on the move! Very efficiently moving the sheep.

Continuing to move the sheep in a circle...they were probably getting dizzy.

Baron chasing down a rogue sheep.

Great action shot, although poor judgement on Baron's behalf...this time separating a sheep out.

Baron being told to "back off" by the tester... in no uncertain terms!

Overall a very successful day, and now both puppies can add the title HIC (herding instinct certificate) to their names!

We are hoping to take them to herding lessons sometime in the near future, maybe in the fall. It was a joy to watch them do what they were bred for, they really are amazing animals.

dog pages

  Check out my new dog pages :)    

puppy cuddles

Ace and Piper rarely cuddle. But here is one such occasion. Generally the situation goes something like this: "Hey, you're lying there, and I'm lying beside you, so its just convenient to rest my head on you!"

Oh well, I'll take what I can get!

flipping dogs

This is a very cool link I came across, about how to teach a dog to flip for a frisbee. Maybe Piper can learn how to do it this summer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2QDW4-gexI

family playdate

Last week Piper and I drove down to visit her breeder, Wendy at NoRulz Australian Shepherds. It was very snowy and she had lots of fun playing with her sister, Party, also a red merle. Party is a little obnoxious, more than Piper even, and definitely more of a barker. But still they had fun.

Party and Piper in the backyard

Piper are Party wrestling! Teeth bared, most of their feet off the ground.

Stare-down between Piper and Party

Piper leaping like a deer! Party trying to chase her down.

After a while Wendy put her back inside and brought out Tawny, her 11 year old female. Tawny is also a red merle, although with less white and no tan markings. Her spots are also more uniform, so her colouring altogether looks quite different from the younger sisters. Tawny is a great-great aunt to Piper and Party. She had surgery on the same day as Piper's spay (January 25) to have a few lumps and teeth removed, so I couldn't believe how energetic and enthusiastic she was! She was more than happy to run around and play with her 8-month old relative. Must be good genes :)

Tawny leaping for Piper, legs tucked up in the front. Piper trying to run through all the snow, can't go fast enough!

Tawny also does this hilarious butt-scratch thing. I wish a had a video. She stands between your legs so you scratch her bum, wiggles like crazy and kicks her back feet out in a little dance. I think she might be the most endearing Aussie I've ever met!

Piper and Tawny on the deck

dog faming

Since I am friends with many dog people, and am generally known as a crazy dog person, I get quite a few emails with pictures of "dog-shaming". Some of them are cute, or funny, but to be honest most of them I find sad. Most of the dogs in these photos are poorly trained, or improperly managed.

Working in a pet store, I meet a variety of people. Sometimes they are crazy dog people like me, sometimes not. Whenever I ring a customer through, I always ask what kind of dog they have, how many dogs, how old are they, that sort of thing. Most people love to talk about their dogs, sometimes I even get to see pictures, or will go out to meet them in the car is the person isn't able to bring them into the store.

One day I rang through a customer who told me he and his wife adopted a large-breed dog from the humane society half a year earlier. She was very timid, and comfortable with the man when they were alone together, but anytime his wife was present the dog would be terrified of him. He would speak in a whisper on a regular basis so the dog would be comfortable. This alone I find an interesting behavioral problem (what is the association with the couple as opposed to the individual?). Anyways, when they first adopted her they were told that she had been found roaming the streets with a sign safety pinned to her chest, saying "I am a bad dog".

Can you imagine?

I can't look at a dog-shaming photo without thinking about this poor dog.

So this afternoon I was snooping around the internet and heard about a reversal of the dog-shaming revolution... DOG-FAMING!

First on this blog:
http://aftergadget.wordpress.com/2012/11/30/dog-faming-picture-it/

Then this one:
http://eileenanddogs.com/2012/11/21/dog-praising/

Why are we focusing on a dog's faults and lack of training when we could be celebrating the amazing things they do every day! I think this is an amazing idea, and I'm looking forward to posting some dog-faming photos of my own!

thesis

According to my program timeline, all student research and write an original thesis from September to April in the third and final year of the program. For as long as I've been a student at Guelph, my plan has been to write about some aspect of ecological restoration. It's a topic I am interested in, and something with employment potential. However, recently that has changed.

Before Christmas I had a meeting with my professor Nate, and his wife Tina. While Nate is a prof in Landscape Architecture, Tina is a prof in the Animal Science department and specializes in animal behavior and welfare. They are looking to have research done to look at the need for and design of outdoor components of humane societies.

Starting now (so I can hopefully meet some of the deadlines to get research grants), I will be researching the design of dog parks, training areas and walking areas for dogs at humane societies. Part of this will look at the need or use of such areas by the dogs, and another aspect will be their use by humane society employees and volunteers.

It is an interesting research project, but never something I had ever considered doing before! This will be the first time I have combined my love of dogs with academics. Hopefully I'll be posting a bit more about the project as it progresses.