Stoga

deleted

Hey Ben - what's the word on Lu? Hoping the news was good...

Wow, your dog looks a lot like Stella's brother Bill. Kind of hard to tell from the pic. but Bills a tri too...they've got those same radar ears ;-) How is your dog bred?

They sure do look alike. Cal and her sister (Jan's Juno) are out of mostly southern California working ranch dogs. Anna (stockdogranch) found her for me. As Anna would say, "decently bred," but probably nothing recognizable beyond that general area. More than dog enough for me...

Saddleback sable

Calli too?

Thanks for the informative discussion!

Has anyone's head exploded yet?

OK, so what color would you guys call this dog (Calli's sire)?

As heartwrenching as your decision was, it was just as selfless. Run free Pan...

Thanks everyone for responding to my thread! I had thought about getting Jake trained up for a while now but hesitated because of his thunderphobia but finally decided to take the plunge. After all, we would train when it wasn't raining and it would work him physically and mentally at the same time. I also hesitated to post this thread because I thought it might sound too silly but I figured if I'm ever going to find out, now would be the time to post it while I'm such a newbie. (Newies are entitled to silly questions, right? ) I'm sooo glad I did now! I never realized there were working dogs that are noise sensitive/thunderphobic. Because you guys posted, I have even higher hopes for Jake. I'm sure Jake appreciates it too! Now if I can just convenience him kiddie pools will not gobble him up if/when he gets in.

From one noob to another - don't hesitate to post. Not only did you spark (heh-heh) good discussion, but the rest of us newbies learned from it too.

Donna, FWIW, I've worked with Jake a lot with frisbees and balls to keep him focused and he has never associated me with a storm. In fact, when it gets bad, I'm the one he searches for. The way Jake likes sheep, I can see him appreciating them if they were around when he heard a storm coming up.

Great... we'll give it a try. Thanks!

I'll just put my 2 cents in here as I have 2 very noise sensitive dogs. After the 4th of July, my working dog has become even more sensitive and we had a really severe storm a few nights ago (2 solid hrs of lightening and ear splitting thunder) that has obviously effected both dogs. Because all this is happening at night, they now refuse to stay outside when its dark unless I'm with them. So I've started playing frisbee with them after dark (tricky, beware of obstacles!) and I've been working my girl on the sheep at dusk, as long as I can still see enough to work her anyway. During hunting season, I'll always take the opportunity to work her and if she tries to shut down on me, I just do some more intensive close work with her, do my best to wear her out. The more tired she is, the less likely she is to be afraid. This seems to work for my dogs but its something i have to stay on top of and keep addressing because I don't think it will ever go away, just something I have to manage.

 

Good luck!

Jennifer

www.dreamcatchersheep.com

Thanks, Jennifer! Calli has now made the association between rain and thunder; this was never a problem until a recent bad storm. Since we train in the rain a lot, I appreciate your suggestions - we'll give them a try. BTW, saw your recent blog entry... so sorry about your lovely cedar.

Sorry... double post

If I had the resources (i.e., sheep) and time I would probably USE sheep to help him get over the phobias, because this is about the only situation I can think of in which his fear is ameliorated enough that I think desensitization might actually work. Otherwise attempting to desensitize a dog to these noises is very risky -- it is usually impossible to work with the dog close but not over threshold because the moment he hears the noise, he is over threshold -- so you end up sensitizing the dog instead. This is why they have a tendency to get worse with exposure, not better.

Thanks for chiming in, Melanie. So... if you were out working Solo on stock, and you heard a faint rumbling of thunder in the distance, would you make an effort to stay out in the weather to work him through the fear? Or would you not risk his possibly associating the thunder fear with sheep and take him in?

...I seize the opportunity and run outside and work my dogs to let them know we still have work to do, no matter what. Now if I see lightning, that's what will send me indoors, but just rain and/or thunder, I'm out there in it.

 

A

For sure... you can't work a dog in the gulf south and NOT work in the rain - a lot! She's OK in a driving rain while we're working, it's at home that she freaks. I'm hoping she's associating the serious thunder/lightning with being at home. We haven't been in a situation yet where we're working in the rain and it starts lightning/thundering, so I was wondering. It's been drilled into me: "When thunder roars, go indoors" -- too much Weather Channel (something else that happens if you live in the gulf south)...

Really helpful thread. So let me pose this question: what do you do with your thunderphobic dog to help them work through their issues? I'm with Julie - not keen on the idea of standing in an open field with thunder crackin'. Cal is thunderphobic and getting worse as time progresses. Now just a hard rain sends her into hiding. We were working one afternoon and, without warning (no rumbling in the distance), a thunderclap scared the crap out of both of us. I calmly walked off and she followed, shaking like a leaf. Is that what I should have done? Would it have been better if I'd have sent her on a quick gather just to get her mind off it?

Agreed... thanks to Carol and Bob!

PS Where are y'all getting these non standard emoticons and how do you post them?

Here's Freesmileys.org

Just copy the Forum Code of the smiley of your choice and insert into a post...

DVD! DVD!

Damn Anna, I'm so sorry. I'm sure she held a special place, being Riddle's mom and all. Thanks for bringing her back home with you so she could spend her remaining time with you and Rid.

Good girl, Lucky...

Lots of hugs from Calli, Gary and I.

Sorry to hear about Lucky, Anna. Hopefully you'll get a quick diagnosis and it will be something minor. Heavy duty mojo on its way from the land of Marie Laveau, where we take our mojo seriously...

Thanks for reposting them, Denise. I was silent after noticing they'd been pulled because I was unsure of your reasons and didn't want to pry. Cal is 16 months now, and watching you and May has been really helpful. I'm quite sure I'm not alone in that regard.

Source: HobNob Blog

“As for LS, I know that the HN army will conduct themselves with dignity if they cross paths next weekend.”

HN army? With that many litters, I guess so.

Great stuff everyone... thanks.

While there are some exceptions to be sure, I think for the most part 'starting' a dog on stock, should be left up to someone who knows what they're doing.

And, from personal experience, I couldn't agree more with Betty.

Way to go, Celt!

Calli is going in for her spay surgery next week (she's 15 months). Most of what I've heard/read says to restrict activity for 10-14 days (jumping, rough play, all-out running). Problem is, Cal does everything all-out.

What's the conventional wisdom of the Boards? How long should I wait after surgery before putting her back on sheep?