Rory VS Sheep Part 2!

Rory had another herding lesson, finally, and things went well. Actually, the whole lesson was exactly like his first lesson. He has a lesson scheduled for every Thursday now, and hopefully we won't be rained out for tomorrow's lesson. 

Not surprisingly, Rory isn't a very efficient sheep herder. He purposely separates the sheep so he can chase them around. Our instructor doesn't seem too concerned, he only tried it twice so maybe he's getting the hint. Tomorrow is his last lesson with his trainer and him out with the sheep. Next time I will be out there guiding him along and teaching him his cues. 

One thing Rory has been good about lately is not pulling me! At his herding lesson he cannot pull me down to the sheep, so I've been working with him at home on loose leash walking, walking around the block, and having him lay down randomly. (I'm having him lay down in weird situations so he will pay more attention to me around sheep.) I have a feeling he might actually turn out to be a good sheep dog! :)

Christmas in January!

I obviously have procrastination issues. I'm only now showing you pictures from Rory's Christmas. :p

Rory got a bunch of toys, and he loves them all!

Here's a video of the chaotic morning.

http://youtu.be/2xLL8gFsKsY

Changes

There's nothing worse than being annoyed with your own dog....  That's how I've been feeling lately. Rory had been soo nippy these past few weeks. Luckily, I've been given some super advice on how to calm him down and prevent him from nipping.

Basically, I'll be planning out my whole day, adding in extra walks and training sessions. Changes will be made, good changes! I'm going to finally order Controll Unleashed, and contact a dog trainer I discovered after months of searching! I even used my $50 gift card from The Clicker Company, from Rory winning Pet of The Month, to buy 2 treat toy puzzles, a whistle clicker, a target stick, and a box & ball puzzle toy.

 Tomorrow, I start my new plan. I have a great feeling about this; I bet Rory will enjoy it too!

He's NOT a Dingo!

Rory really surprised me a few days ago! I took him to a coffee shop, and some people asked to pet him. Two older, calm, men pet Rory, and he didn't even try to jump on them, until an exited woman walked over…. I'm thinking of buying a vest that says " In training, please ask to pet" so people just don't walk up to him and try to pet him. Everyone except for that lady asked to pet him.

Yesterday was the SECOND time someone has thought Rory is a 'Dingo'. A man was petting Rory, and asked me what breed he is. I told him he's an Australian Kelpie, and he said 'like a Dingo?"…. I was shocked to hear that! I explained that Australian Kelpies are a herding breed, not Dingos. This is getting crazy...

Last year my dad build a large hog pen next to our pasture, in the forest. We never ended up getting pigs, so I'm going to use it as a training area for Rory! There are trees, stumps, and it's hilly inside the pen, so when I do start agility with him, setting up a course is going to be a challenge. The gate and some of the fencing is falling down, so I've been wrapping a giant leash to a tree and connecting it to his harness so he can run around while I work on the fence. I'm also raking all of the leaves and pine straw out of the pen. I'm thinking of making a little Halloween video of Rory, but I can't think of any real cute ideas….