Friday, February 3, 2012

Walking the dog...



Took the new dog Rocky, out to run on the 12acres behind us...The original plan had been to work on voice commands with him today, but I am suffering my 6monthly bout of seasonal laryngitis, so that was off the table. But I figured he could at least get a good run...Sadly once we got out there I could not take him off of the lead because the stupid cat followed and he is not a cat friendly dog....Yet.

He is now running freely in a 25x50 pen and not on a chain all the time, so I am happy about that....The goats like to wander up to the shared fence and visit with him....Still not ready to mix them together without a dividing fence. So far he has not shown any aggression towards the goats and seems to enjoy the company...He did give chase to the chickens the other day when I was not home...Hubby said he did not try and actually catch them, just ran at them...My guess is he was probably trying to herd them them.

So as you can see he is getting lots of interaction throughout the day...I just wish there was someone I knew of close by that actually trains working dogs so they could teach me how to teach him.

Blessings Kelsie

6 comments:

dr momi said...

Wouldn't know what to tell you about herding dogs. He's a cutie
:-)

Dreaming said...

He certainly is cute! And you sure have made his life better.

Karen said...

Rocky looks very intelligent. I know herding dogs are very active which makes it harder to keep them from getting bored. If he's good with the chickens, then you have half the battle won already. He knows he's not supposed to kill them, just herd them. I had to teach my Shih Tzu not to kill chickens, believe it or not. Had to take her out on a leash and correct her every time she went after one. It took a good month, but now she's very protective of them. I hope you can find someone who has had experience with training your dog. I think he will be a great asset to your farm.

KathyB. said...

I love Heelers, but they can be challenging on many levels. Once they get the message you mean business and will uphold your requirements they seem to give you respect and are the best dogs you can have. Our son, a farrier & horse trainer had 2 who were loyal til their death, and they more than proved their worth and love. ( Our son had one of his heelers in his wedding)Rocky is a handsome dog and appears to be in good hands. When our aging dog population fades I plan on getting a heeler, I am interested in following Rocky's sojourn.

Ellen said...

I sure hope you feel better soon. Being sick is just not fun. Rocky is so handsome, just such a beautiful dog. I know it takes awhile to get them trained, but I'm looking forward to future posts about Rocky and how he is doing.

TexWisGirl said...

you've got a very smart and energetic pup on your hands, for sure! good luck!!!