Dillon’s Day

Yes, for once, a post about a dog other than Jig. Hard to believe, right? Well, up until now, Dillon hasn’t done much training besides dry foundation work, a few twirls in the round pen, and one time in the small arena. Other than that, he’s just been hanging out, going lots of places, socializing, and learning how to be a good puppy.

He did get to go along  to my friend Diana’s farm last week, where he met cattle for the very first time–on line, of course. Once Jig explained the proper procedures to the heifers, such as, ‘if you put your head down and come toward me, you’re going to get bit’ and ‘when I say move, I mean get to hoofing’, I introduced Dillon to them. He wasn’t the least bit intimidated by their size, and even brought out his big dog growl and held his ground when one forgot Jig’s rule and dropped its head to take a look at him. I have no doubt, if I had let him off that line, he would have been trying to make them move. That day will come, but for now, it’s enough that he gets some up-close-and-personal exposure.

This morning, I found myself needing to move the sheep out of their pasture and into the alleyway. I happened to have Dillon with me, and was feeling adventurous, so… why the heck not? I even videoed it for your… er… entertainment. He circled a few too many times when I was in the wrong place to kick him back, had some episodes of Puppy ADD, but overall, not too shabby for a not-quite-eight-month old with limited training. (The camera work isn’t the best. Hard to operate that, gates, and puppy, all at the same time.)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ruNs0qv6TI]