Fence Training

I have finally started fence training for Ms. Sophie. Had I been motivated this could have been done months ago. Could have, should have, might have.....wasn't. I think I was waiting for the hottest week of the summer. All the while thinking of the coldest week of the winter and knowing I didn't want to still be taking her out on lead then.

The challenge, of course, is getting her to even go close to the flags that present a visual boundary. If only the audible on the invisible fence collar was the sound of a gentle clap of the hands. That's really all it takes for her.

Of late I've gotten her to work on the flexi leash like a horse on a lunge line. She goes in nice wide circles loping (literally) around the yard. I can't wait to see her race the yard completely off leash. Although, getting her used to being "alone" in the yard will be a learning experience for her too. She is showing more interest in sniffing the areas Mick and Hank work over with a fine tooth comb. So she is making progress.

Slowly, slowly with little Sophie baby steps we are learning. Learning to trust, learning to be a dog, learning the fence, learning to play. The goal being to fence out the fear and fence in a happy confident pup. What a happy dog day that will be.