Carol Johnson said Bud chased her cats, so we are acclimating Bud and the barn cats to one another slowly. Bud made the mistake of running after Flo, and he got a bloody nose for it.
Minnie is much sweeter and the two seemed to like each other. We’ll do this for a couple of weeks until we get it right.
The thing about training dogs is this, if you are honest, you are humbled again and again. This morning Bud came into the pasture and got cranked up – this is a dog with a lot of prey drive. Everybody was running, and Bud, who loves to run, chased after the sheep, barking and charging at them, and then did the same to Lulu and Fanny, who took it badly, Lulu ran right over him.
Nobody got hurt and nobody got bitten, but I was reminded to be more thoughtful and careful. And patient!
Bud seemed so confident and careful and appropriate out with the animals over the last two days, I forgot to do the due diligence and train him deliberately and with patience.
I don’t believe in dog training miracles, you have to do the work and take the time. My fault completely. Bud is a great dog, affectionate, obedient, and enthusiastic about life. There is nothing aggressive about him, but he is a dominant creature. Men.
He’s still got a lot of testosterone in him and as I said, a lot more prey drive than Gus had (or Fate, for that matter.) So he’s temporarily banned from the pasture off lease.
After the donkey dust-up, which was a bit scary, I put Bud on a leash and walked him slowly right up to the donkeys while they were grazing. The donkeys were quite calm and so was Bus. This is encouraging. The donkeys were not upset, and Bud calmed down quickly.
I’ve taught Bud to sit, but didn’t bother to teach him that the animals are not toys for him to chase. Bud didn’t even try to nip or bite anybody, he just like the chase, but prey animals don’t know the difference. And But got too close.
And as sweet as they are, either donkey could stomp Bud to mush if they wanted do. I think Lulu taught Bud a lesson or two about being close.
The donkeys are quite resilient, they’ve been around dogs all of their lives and handle them well. It’s the trainer who has to get to work. And this what I really love about training, it is just like chess, they make a move, you make a move.
Done properly, it’s the most creative thing in the world.
The challenge is to stay patient and start thinking about a different outcome.
For the foreseeable future, Bud will come into the pasture on a leash, we’ll work on being calm around the animals here. Bud is a smart dog, responsive and alert. He wants to please, and picks things up quickly.
I’ll have him stand next to the donkeys and give him some treats. If I’m calm, he will be calm, and then the donkeys will be calm. That’s the beginning. I am confident we can make this work.
He’s a Boston Terrier, not a border collie, so he doesn’t need to be in the pasture at all, if it comes to that. And I won’t to anything that frightens the sheep and donkeys or makes them uncomfortable.
I’ll share the process, honestly and openly. When you train a dog, your own flaws are revealed, there is no hiding.
Red and I communicate telepathically. We both came to the Mansion Tuesday for a memorial service for Ken, Ruth’s “hubby.” Red hates smooth wooden floors so he knows stay up on the stairs with the staff and some residents who can’t make it down the stairs.
I went onto the floor to take photos and I turned around to look for Red, and there he was, happily ensconced in the middle of the staffers – all female – who work at the Mansion.
Red loves these very dedicated people, and they love him. It was a beautiful thing for me to see, he is such a wonderful and trustworthy dog. I think I will never have a therapy dog as wonderful as he is.
Wherever they go, Red and Bud seem to clog the halls of the Mansion, Jean watches them with Kayla, her comfort doll, and Tiffany and Kelly stop to love the dogs a bit. They are happy dogs in the Mansion, girlfriends everywhere.
Bud is already earning his spurs as a therapy dog at the Mansion. He checked out Kayla the Comfort Doll with Jean, and she was so happy to hold her baby and pat Bud at the same time.
I like Bud’ s patience and ease with strangers, I think he will make a great therapy dog. I think he sensed how important Kayla was to Jean and wanted to check it out.
