Clean Run - May 2017 - 37

Training Freedom:

HERE WE go AgAin!
By Jo Sermon, photos courtesy of author

Shade is quite simply adorable, I've
stopped comparing him to other dogs;
he is entirely himself and he's a lovely
lad. I'm really enjoying him. I enjoy his
company. I love taking him out and
about. Highly independent, he's very
happy to entertain himself. Living with
a sight hound has, I think, given him a
love of putting pheasants up; he gets
excited when he hears their daft call.
He still loves chasing leaves and watching birds in the hedges. Left to his own
devices he will spend hours following
scents. He enjoys playing tug; we now
need to address the difference between a tug toy and my hand! He enjoys playing ball and will bring the ball
back to my hand.

Assessing Where You Are
with Life Skills
His relationship with the other dogs is
well established. Tyzer, his sire, is starting to thaw a little. Dexi and Darcey are
firm playmates. Kaya, at 13 or thereabouts, is still not impressed and no
matter how hard Shade waggles and
licks, she won't have anything to do
with him. We still have to be careful
with Boogie as Shade gets really overexcited when he sees him, but Boo
seems to like him, or at any rate doesn't
protest too much!

May 17 | Clean Run

Shade is now obviously aware of the
horses and is respectful; he'll get out of
their way and he keeps an eye on them
in and around the horse paddocks, so
he's off lead on our morning and evening strolls. Still, not a cuddly boy, he
does now check in with me every five
minutes or so when we're out and
about. It's a fine line with an independent dog; too much restraint causes
frustration, but at the same time you
can't really allow them to become feral.
He loves to be scratched and will come
and sit next to me if I sit on the floor.
For those of you reading this who have
dogs without the independent tendencies, this is quite the achievement!
Shady is a gentle soul, he thinks very
carefully about things and once he's got
something, it sticks. The old jobbing
stockmen used to say of the Beardies,
"show them once and that's it, they've
got it. Go back three years later and
they'll know exactly what's expected of
them." That's worth thinking about, as it
means I do have to show him the right
behavior, the first time.
To me all of the above is far more important than any degree of training,
although a lot of time has been spent
getting to this stage. Not every dog
can be an agility champion, not every
dog can be on an international team.
Some of my clients are obsessed; they

put themselves under so much pressure! They attend every workshop, buy
every DVD, and take every online class
offered, convinced that their puppy
must be proficient in all these things
to be the best agility dog. Desperately trying to have the most proficient
puppy in every exercise ever dreamed
of by marketing professionals, there's
no time to simply enjoy a puppy. I can
feel their frustration with my relaxed
approach, but to me it's so important
that you get to know your pup, his likes
and dislikes, how he uses his body, and
to enjoy him. There is no rush to teach
agility; before you know it, you'll turn
around and your puppy will be a dog.
If the worst happens and he's injured
and can't do agility anymore, will you
still have a relationship? I disapprove
strongly of putting young bones and
tendons under strain; we have all the
time in the world for turning and contacts, there is no need at this age.
Shady is still a monster if he doesn't get
enough stimulation during the day; favorite occupations being emptying the
shoe rack, shredding cardboard, and
pulling out the logs stacked next to the
wood burner and carting them off to
surprise locations. My fault, as he's been
allowed to discover that those things
are entertaining. However, I'm still
balancing exercise vs. growing bones.
37

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - May 2017