Luna just picked up my dropped stock stick and handed it to me!!
We were letting the goats graze the backyard and after weeks of running, yelling, and waving a stick to keep the girls from eating our blueberry bushes, I finally got smart and parked Luna under them. Now, Luna may seem like a sweet, love-bug of a dog to you and me, but to livestock, she is a scary, scary wolf out to get you. I've seen this Sheltie move stock with just a look.
Well, it worked like a charm. One look at that blueberry guarding wolf and Josie and Jenni steered very clear. The goat gals grazed on various things for a while then headed back to their pen. Luna and I closed them in and as we were walking back to the house, I dropped my stock stick.
Without a word, Luna scooped it up and handed it to me. We had a giant party with lots of "LUNA WHAT A GOOD GIRL!!!" and pets, and I actually got her to do it a couple more times. I didn't even care about the teeth marks that my iron jawed beast was putting in the stick.
This is a really big deal considering the dog is 6 years old, and I have been trying to teach this behavior since day one. The other dogs can do it. She just seems to have a mental block about this one thing. Hopefully she has finally got it.
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