So this morning I had to come up with my own Hurry-Up Training approach. Red and I are going to Vermont tomorrow for him to be tested for a therapy certificate by a Vermont Therapy Training Organization. It’s a through test – the first of four steps – and I admire the conscientious and thoroughness of the group. Lots of paperwork, rabies certificates and the tests have dozens of steps, from the dog’s demeanor to reactions to being touched so sit, stay, lie-down and many others. I just realized that, a suberbly trained dog when he came to me, has some oddities. He hates to walk on smooth surfaces, sometimes freezing, and he has only been on a leash once or twice in his life.

Beyond that, his stays and lie-downs have been taught to him around sheep, not away from them. If I ask him to lie down in the pasture, he drops like a rock, you can see it in the videos. If I ask him to lie down outside of the pasture, he is confused, doesn’t know what I am asking him to do. So I went into hurry-up-training mode this morning, a quick-step process. I got him outside, away from our usual spots, and had him face me. I had him walk up to me, put my hand under his chain, asked him to sit. He got it in a minute. Then I backed up, held up my hand, told him to stay- he has a beautiful stay – and I bent over, held my hands out, pushed them down towards the ground, said “lie down.” It took a few minutes, but he got it, and we started having fun with it, running here, running there. I brought some biscuits into the equation and threw them towards him when he hit the ground flat.

I’ll work with him more this afternoon, but I will have to ask him to let me do the lie-down and stays off-leash, his training is to move out to my left or right as a herding dog would do, and he is confounded by the leash, I’ve just not used it, even at the vet.

Have to do this a dozen or more time this afternoon, keep it interesting and fun, and take him to sheep right away afterwards. See if we can pull it together by tomorrow. He and I are in sync he usually grasps what I want, often before I do, and he loves to please.