Eyeball update

Jax is doing swimmingly. His eye has been healing well and he isn't showing any signs of vision loss or problems with depth perception. Phew! It still isn't back to normal and he's so used to me putting drops in his eye that it has become a breeze to care for it. His concern at the vet was more related to where Ben had gone when he left the room than the actual vet care. 

What a good boy! 

Weekend Away and a Horse Named Argo

I came down to Houston to have a trial run at the SPCA, a soul fulfilling chance to give back and help some animals in need. There are no zoning laws in Houston, which means a whole lot of hoarding, neglect, and uncared for critters in back yards. No one's priority until they get to the SPCA and get the care they need. While you may not find a bomb proof trail horse as many of the horses that come through are unbroke at age 7, you will find a horse at will steal your heart and offer solo much potential if you trade in your time and patience.

Enter Argo. Argo came to the SPCA with about 30 mares, foals, and stallions. Skin and bones and ungelded this poor horse had a lot to improve on. He's a little dinged up, all those dark marks from getting picked on in the pasture. But boy, as one of the women said when she first saw him, "what a sexy neck!". Even as a neglected stallion he still could turn heads. My guess is he's not just a quarter horse, way more of an Andalusian type for all you horse folks out there who know breeds. 

Argo stole my heart. With his sexy good looks, this horse is made for dressage. If he goes to a western trail home it will be an absolute shame. Not to mention the young man has really low confidence from having minimal human contact or a job until he came to the SPCA. Sound as a pound and a gorgeous mover to boot, I can quickly see where he could get to with some work (well, a lot of work).

So we shall see. Maybe I'm crazy (definitely horse crazy) but I am head over heals. I'm always a sucker for a fixer upper emotional mess. Though he is only able to free lunge right now, put some makeshift side rains in him and it's instant work mode and he loves it. 

Sticks + eye = emergency vet

We have had a rough few days. Sometimes the most dangerous place is your own back yard.... Or at least that's how it's been for Jaxy. We manage to get kicked, smashed, and roughed up by livestock but going outside for a pee and we nearly lose an eye. With a little vet care, a cone (how horrid) and a whole lot of eye drops we are on the mend. But feeling pretty bad for ourselves at the vet. 

Put Your Teeth Away

That pesky grip, when Jax insists on problem solving with his teeth. His breeding is intended for cow herding, when you don't necessarily want to remove it completely. But there's time and a place, so we are working on getting him to not push to hard when he's close to the flock and use his teeth selectively. As a farm dog, it's less of a huge deal. But I'm working on him being a trial dog, so I'd rather not get disqualified every time. 

We worked with Jax in the small holding pen. You'd think that would be the best thing-most-fun-ever for Jax, close to sheep... perfect, who's ready to party, right? Actually it's really stressful for him and an intense experience that fries his poor little noodle. We started out with him on the leash to manage the situation. I was expecting sheep to be flying out of that pen like popcorn kernels in a frying pan. 

The goal was to squeeze Jax along the outside of the pen and to get him to move them off the fence without using teeth when he gets close.

"Can I leave now?"

He wanted to bail out in the beginning, it was a bit hard for him to take it slow. We then decided to let him off leash to give him a little more confidence and less pressure from the leash tension.

"Are you kidding? Dog with teeth, small pen?? Get us out!"

"Get me outta here!"

Off leash he was able to work both sides by himself. The best part about this pen "training tool" is that when he did go in for a grip, his trainer was right there to be able to tell him "no" and reprimand him for it. In the field it's hard to get the "punishment" at the right moment, so essentially he gets away with it every time and doesn't learn that he's not supposed to bite. 

 

Just as he's getting too close he can be told what not to do before it happens, reinforcing the "no grip
 policy we are putting in place. 

I was very proud of the progress he made. It's ok to nip if the sheep aren't moving. There is no need to hang on and grab fleece like he has been moving. Nip when they aren't moving, not when they are. After the trial where we DQ'd for the bite and hold, it was on the to-do list to get that habit taken care of. Making steps in the right direction!

Jax the Gripper and our First Trial!

The weekend of Jax's second birthday was also the weekend of our first sheep dog trial. I was definitely nervous, the kind of nerves you feel before a horse show and your riding a 5 year old who hasn't been in a ring before. Jax wasn't nervous, the only thing that does that is small children and women over the age of 80. No, Jax was deliriously excited about two full days around sheep. And "cranked up" from having to wait all day around said sheep without getting to herd much.

Day one, Saturday. Overcast and windy (frankly miserably cold), but we were all ready and excited. Here's how it goes, everyone gets 5 sheep for their run. Let's just say we got some really shitty sheep. That gang of sheep that didn't want to play nice and who wanted to run as fast and far from my dog and not just make it easy.

Here we are at the start. Let this be said, Jax doesnt normally drag me into the field. He was off his rocker at this point from sitting in his crate all day. The sheep running willy nilly before we even started. 

"Wait......" 

See that leg, he gripped it shortly after this photo. DQ. 

So the entire run I was trying to get my dog to slow down and stop being such a predator. I've said this before, set your dog up for success. Seeing as he's such a young dog and still in serious training, sitting in the car all day, working with sheep that wanted to run away rather than play nice.... not setting him up for success. He grips when he sees no other solution (we're working on that). All in all Saturday happens to all of us, a whole bunch of dogs got disqualified from his run group. He's a lot of dog and that's one of my favorite parts about him :)

Soft ears, big heart, best friends

“We'll be Friends Forever, won't we, Pooh?' asked Piglet.

Even longer,' Pooh answered.” 

TJ is Jax's partner in crime, his better half, and his canine best friend. Thomas Jefferson better known as TJ is a real Virginia gentleman. Born and raised in Virginia, TJ is a walker coonhound raised to hunt deer. Apparently "that dog dont hunt", and TJ was left free to be picked up by a local shelter and adopted.  He is now happily retired and living a life of sleeping, snacks, and playing at the dog park. Like two peas in a pod, Jax spends his non-herding time attached to the scruff of TJ's neck and having a good ol' time doing dog stuff. Wrestling, sniffing stuff, and barking at squirrels.

Being handsome (and waiting for a treat)

Hey, I can see Jax chasing the sheep. They smell weird!

These pups are real American history buffs. Let's go check out some plantations, y'all

Car rides are the best when you are with your best friend

Let's wrestle!

Playing at the park is so fun!

I see you TJ

Who doesnt love dressing up for Halloween???! TJ, apparently. Someone doesn't like his hotdog costume, he wanted to be superman.

Sitting on the porch, watching time go by.

Watching mom put on her makeup in the morning. 

Dinner time, everyone sit!

Nothing like a day at the beach, a couple of buddies breathing in that fresh ocean air and catching a little sun.