Rehabbing an Aggressive Australian Shepherd

The anticipated clinic is now over, and we all had a great time. Unlike the previous two years, with two years being blazing hot in the mid to upper 90s, and last year freezing to death wrapped in blankets, this year was perfect weather for dogs, sheep and humans alike. While it was chilly in the mornings, by late days were turning out to be nice. So nice that some of the dogs, right after working their sheep, didn't even want to go to water. There were a few sun burned faces, but over-all, …

Last week at my friend Sandy's place, she had set up an Easter egg hunt for all of the dogs. When I arrived, which was fairly late, they were in the middle of the egg hunt. I was anxious to see how the girls would do, since they are always looking for the balls in the field.So we hid the dogs from looking as each owner grabbed a peeled hardboiled egg and placed it out in a small grassy pen for the dog to find. With my dogs, Kate was first. I hid the egg and then let her into the large pen. …

Just Kidding! But we have seen our first snake of the season. I was walking toward the barn and am glad that I looked down to see a four-foot gopher snake. Yikes! Seizing the opportunity to train the dogs about snakes, Decker was about to get his first lesson.I caught the big snake, and called the dogs over to me. Kate learned the lesson long ago, and would come near me as I held the snake. Tam took one look and backed off. Just the response that I am looking for. Last year, Tam came run …

Now that Decker is better trained on sheep and also minding a lot better, I have started letting him do chores. Doing real sheep work is a good way to get dogs much better at trial work. It is a form of seasoning that makes sense to them. Sometimes the light bulb can go off-"oh, I get it now!-that is why I have to lie down...". Real work can take patience on that handler's side though.A few days ago, I had Decker bring out the sheep to put them into the field to graze. Well, I gave him too …

Well, I finally did it. I entered Decker into a local ASCA (Australian Shepherd Club of America) sheepdog herding trial. The trial is set for memorial weekend in Cayucos, California. In ASCA, unlike the USBCHA (United States Border Collie Handler's Assoc.) trials, where one can enter their dog in any level that they deem "fit" for their dog (not being able to go backwards after the move up-so better make sure), ASCA's requirement is to successfully compete first in the "Started" level. S …