Horse trainers like to say, “Make the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy.” I embraced the strategy with my dog, Kip, during our most recent training session. In this case, though, weather lent me a helping hand. As previously noted, Kip has had […]
Lessons continue for our Australian Shephard pup, Kip. Next phase of Ride Along Dog training? Hit the trails! [Read past Dog and Horses posts.] Since she’s not entirely savvy about traffic or strangers, I had to work out some safety-related logistics first: We picked […]
Kip, the Aussie pup, graduated from obedience class with average marks and now is ready for anything. Or, so she says. Thanks to Dr. Cynthia Reynold’s sage advice, my top priority now is making her safe around horses. Then, to make her trail savvy. She’s […]
The development of our Ride Along Dog reached a tipping point recently. At seven months, Kip has matured physically and mentally. Weighing 40 pounds, she’s all speed and agility. On the last few pasture walks, her herding nature has blossomed in full form. She’s done […]
The second ride in two days was with Shea and Jodi. Shea’s such a lovely, quiet horse, so ponying the new girl is a Win-Win: It’s good for Jodi to see new things and good for me to practice that extra juggle. Jodi has some […]
Call me a grouch. A wet blanket. There were times I had a more upbeat attitude about winter, this month is not one of them. Make that a frozen, wet blanket. The shorter, colder days cut down on saddle time. If we do ride in […]
If we got another dog, we wanted a Ride Along Dog. Thus, the summer acquisition of Kip, an Australian Shepherd from a litter of eight down the road. Kip’s growing up and at six months can outrun nearly everyone here at the farm. Her speed […]
It was a helluva 24 hours. It started when I went for a quick jog with my dogs on wildlife management land a few miles from home. A beautiful fall day until my black lab, Ruby, disappeared somewhere along the Iowa River. I called and […]