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A Really Nice Day


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We went down to KillerH's for the day. Rocky pup will be starting "cattle training boot camp", I got to see his littermates again (both marvelous in their own ways), I got to do some hands-on (sort of) work with the cattle, and Patrick got to hang out with the man of the house. And Ted got to work goats.

 

I wanted to be able to take pictures while someone else worked him, so that's not me working Ted.

 

TedWalkGoatsJune07.jpg

 

Ted learned pretty fast that you have to be all business to move goats.

 

TedFlankGoatsJune07.jpg

 

In retrospect I should have gotten in the paddock with them - I got a lot of shots like this:

 

TedGoatsSideJune07.jpg

 

None usable from the front. Maybe next time.

 

I learned several things that day. One was the difference between a cheap shot and a correct bite. Ted got to learn the difference too on these goats.

 

"Oh, hey, they stopped . . ."

 

TedGoats1June07.jpg

 

"Um, still not moving?"

 

TedGoats2June07.jpg

 

"You sure it's OK to . . .you know . . .?"

 

TedGoats3June07.jpg

 

"Let's try it!"

 

TedGoats4June07.jpg

 

"Hey, it worked!"

 

TedGoats5June07.jpg

 

Here's a head bite for Mark's benefit :rolleyes:

 

TedGoatHeadJune07.jpg

 

I also learned that when you are moving a bull calf in an alley and someone yells "RUN" - that doesn't mean get a little distance between you and said animal - it means get something BIG AND HEAVY between you and it. I will, however, have my revenge - he's earmarked to be dinner for my dogs and those of a few Triangle Raw Feeder group friends. :D

 

Finally, I learned that my Chinese Crested is utterly insane and really does think she's a Border Collie. Here's a video of her helping chase geese at a pond down there. The really funny video that shows her actually getting fairly close got corrupted unfortunately. Please note that I will not be encouraging this behavior - it would be very easy for a wild goose to drown Zhi - she never got really close or upset the geese in any way.

 

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Becca

The sequence of Ted finding the goats stopped, trying to determine what to do, and then pulling that tool out of his box and using it, is just well, awesome. It would surely have made my day. NOT that he gripped, but he was presented with a road block, and hanlded it with more than aplomb. Good to get him on lots of different stock. Nice job. Love it.

Julie

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Ted looked like he was having a great time. Good for him for figuring out how to make those goats move. :rolleyes:

 

I had no idea Chinese Cresteds could even swim, so the video was very interesting. Is the water that green or does it have a plant growth on it?

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The green stuff is duckweed. Yuck. Teeny little plants that cover a pond lickety split. It's hard to train in because the dogs get disoriented easily - Eddie was doing great, considering! And I can't believe Zhi kept going in over and over.

 

Have never worked goats before, how much diff. are they than working sheep?

 

Goats don't flock well - the dog has to work the "flow" rather than just catching the eye of the lead - the troublemakers can shift from individual to individual and if the dog's locked onto the heads he can miss his chance to fix problems before they start.

 

They'll turn on a dog that gets locked up, in a heartbeat - so a dog has to stay ready to apply some force in the right place. It's an excellent way to introduce a dog to what is needed to work cattle, without endangering a pup. They can teach bad habits pretty fast, though, so even a goat working dog should be finished on some other stock.

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