Girls Just Wanna Have Fu-uhn

Part of the reason we got Sage earlier this year was that Kersey has really slowed down.  She acts like an old dog now, sleeping a lot and watching us from the front porch during chores instead of coming along.

She had some ACL injuries when she was younger and now her joints are fused and arthritic.  She’ll be ten next summer.

So, Sage arrived and immediately started tormenting poor Kersey.  Then, Kersey taught Sage what to do with squirrels.  Sage is fast — she catches ground squirrels a lot.  She didn’t know what to do with the squirrel at first; Kersey demonstrated.  I won’t go into details but our squirrel population has decreased, which is a good thing.

We put Kersey on a new arthritis medication a month ago and she is a new dog.  She’s dropped almost 15 pounds in the past six months and she looks good.  She was way overweight before.    The two of them have a lot of fun together chasing squirrels, swimming in the stream and digging in the compost pile.

Sage Graduates

On Sunday, Sage had another obedience training class.  She did really well this time.  There were a couple of things that helped with that success.

First, I’ve been able to work with her everyday (yay retirement).  Some days we do a lot and some days we do a little but we do something everyday.  She can walk politely on a loose lead, she can heel, and sit, down, stay and come.  Reliably.  ...at home anyway.

Secondly, she didn’t get car sick on the way there.  Brett traded in his Subaru last week and got a Honda.  We put a seat cover/hammock in the back seat and she did fine.  She looked out the windows and her eyes were clear, bright and not in the least bit glassy.  On the way home, she laid down and slept.  Interestingly, a number of people have gotten carsick in the back seat of the Subaru.  So, maybe the car had something to do with it.  I have also done some work with her, sitting in the car and feeding her treats when she climbed partway in.  So, maybe she wasn’t as anxious either.

Thirdly, I started using a Gentle Leader when working with her on heel.  I had seen these things on other dogs and thought they were like a muzzle.  Wrong.  They go across the nose and around the neck in the same way as a halter.  So, you are leading by directing the head instead of pulling on the neck.  Way better.  And super effective.  I only use it when training things that are difficult for her to focus on — or when there are a lot of distractions.

So, at class she was gold.  She understands that class isn’t about playing with the other dogs although she does do some whining, leaning and tail wagging.  But not too much.  She held her down-stay even when the trainer rolled a ball in front of her.  She held it when I danced in circles around her, and over her, singing and clapping my hands.  And everything else was easy-peasy for her.

At the end of class, the trainer said that Sage has it down, is getting a bit bored, and is ready to move up to the next level.  I’m not sure what that will involve exactly, but we’ll find out soon enough.

I’m very proud of my sweet Sagey-Poo.