Day 6: Free at Last!

Today, thanks to Sage, the day began with  a duck in my face, as any good day should!

Good morning to you!

 We did our morning whistle training, and then went for a walk with  a friend and her border collie Finn. I knew Finn would be a nice dog for Sage to be around, and thought this would be a good occasion to try her off leash, as she has been doing so well dragging the long line. Finn is a 5 year old working sheepdog, and very sensible! Sage loved him and tried her very best to get him to play. In between we practiced recall, first dragging the long line and then with no line from short distances. Freeee!!!  I called her back to me and she came immediately every time, even from quite a long way across the meadow! She got really stinky salmon treats and huge praise for coming, followed by release to run free again (always the best reward ever!) This was super fun for her and reinforced all the preparatory work we had been doing.

Sage, COME!

Sage came all the way from the tree line!

 And then, to add to her delight she found some nice sloshy elk scat, and adorned herself with it.

Ahhh... such fragrance!

 Next Sage set her mind to getting Finn to loosen up a bit. It was very sweet to watch her entice him, until eventually he couldn't help himself.  The fact that she looks a bit like a lamb probably didn't hurt either!

Wanna play chase? 

Yay!! Success!!!

Come on, chase me back!

Yay!! Success! 

Hey Finn you aren't so stodgy after all!

 Next we went down to the river to see if we could wash off some of the stinky stuff. We tossed sticks for Finn to retrieve hoping Sage would go after him. She did - sort of. But her long legs kept the green slimy parts above the water line.

 Sage believes in letting others do the stick work, and then trying to get the stick when it is nearer to shore.

 Sometimes Sage forgets herself and leaps into the water but she isn't choosing to swim yet and pulls back most of the time.

 She loves the moving water where the creek enters the river.

 Sometimes she falls in by mistake -- she's under the splash!

Oops

She hauled herself out as quick as she could!

 And had a good shake off.

 Next she pestered Finn to play with her some more by barking in his face but he wasn't interested. Eventually he got fed up with her and did a controlled snarl/rush at her. She squeaked and backed off, learning her lesson nicely. It's good for youngsters to have sensible older dogs let them know when they have had enough.

 Sage hardly ever barks, as you said. The only time she does is when she is getting over-excited with another dog. I don't want to encourage this, so I call her away and have her settle in a Down or walk her on leash for a little bit to help her calm down.  Young dogs often need help amping themselves down when they get very excited during play. Just a few minutes break can make a big difference.

Next we went to another part of the property, alongside Helms Creek, and again Sage was allowed to go off leash, once she was calm again and had stopped focusing on Finn.  They explored along the creek happily, and Sage played nicely with Finn.

It was a fabulous walk on a beautiful morning and Sage really showed her potential -- she aced it with her recall and play skills today!

Unfortunately for her what came next wasn't so fun - a quick bath with some peppermint shampoo replaced Eau De Elk Poop. She's sleeping now and the house smells of wet dog wool.

Change of plans - Sage was tired and so was I, she has had a full few days and it seemed a  bit much to do another round of intensive training so we kept close to home for the rest of the afternoon and Sage slept a lot.

In the evening, we went to my friend's house for dinner (Sonja and her dog Finn, whom Sage met this morning).   This was also a good training exercise for Sage. I kept her on leash at first, to show her how to behave in someone else's house. We explored together so she knew her surroundings, and then I settled her on a dog bed in a Down Stay. She was very good and only needed to be reminded once during dinner. Sonja admired her calm good manners, as everyone does who meets her! Sonja's house was only built recently, and everything is new and beautiful. Just goes to show, you can take Sage pretty much anywhere!