WINNIE'S DIARY.
December
December has seen the biggest change in Winnie, and all it took was a trip to the groomers for a good clip. I went in with a shaggy ball of hair, and came out with a Sealyham. I’d found a groomer locally and after quite a long call I felt happy that she would take her time with Winnie and not stress her too much, which was more important than anything on this first occasion. I’d contacted Harry and Gail as to how things should be done, and this was passed onto the groomer. The sight that greeted me when I collected her was wonderful, and I couldn’t believe the difference it made to her. She was understandably far easier to clean up after a walk, but we both appreciated her not getting caught up in brambles, making walks far more enjoyable for all concerned.
We have still been doing a bit of ferreting, and she is noticeably more alert and tuned in to the events that are going on underneath her. I am still missing the odd rabbit in the nets, but she is enjoying the chase of those that do make a bid for freedom.
The stock breaking is continuing well, and the lambs that were born this month have grown up with the dogs being around, and are not scared to get up close and personal with them, especially the two pure Dorset horns.. In fact it has been good as they have added another element with their running and jumping around, and you can see Winnie itching to join in but I don’t want her to associate sheep with anything fun.
I think it is her age, but she has been quite wilful again this month. She went through a similar stage a while back, but it is creeping in again. Now it is nothing serious, but enough to warrant me looking at our routine and training methods and see where I can improve things. As I say, it could just be her age, as she is approaching her ‘adolescent’ stage but I don’t want her to pick up any bad habits now and if that means going back to basics then so be it. I’ve always found it a challenging time with the dogs, you feel you are getting somewhere with them, then they seem to take a step backwards, but the extra effort put in now always pays off in the end.
WINNIE' DIARY.
November.
This months article is later than planned, but I wanted to try and get some interesting videos for you, which due to my inability to check my cameras battery levels, took longer than anticipated. We managed a ferreting trip this month, in fact two. The first trip went extremely well as Winnie marked in difficult conditions and where she marked we bolted a rabbit. It was a very windy day, and the spot I had chosen, on a slight bank under some young trees, turned out to be more challenging than I had expected. With the wind blowing up the bank, and the leafs falling from the trees at a rapid rate most of the holes had been filled with leafs, with no signs of occupancy. This did not stop us however, and I was over the moon to see Winnie pushing her head through the blockages and giving me a very slight sideways glance to let me know there was someone at home. We bolted two and caught one, which was more than enough for me as I've never been into the numbers game. The only downside for me was that I only managed to take one picture with my camera before the battery went dead on me, which was incredibly frustrating as there were some lovely opportunities for some decent pictures. All I managed from the day was a rather bad 'end of day' picture on my phone.
So with nothing to show for the trip (other than me being incredibly pleased) I went out again on my next day off, armed with a fully charged camera this time. This first video shows her trying three sets of burys, the first two she ignored whilst the third she gave a mark. Now she is still very subtle at times with her marking, especially if the occupants haven't been above ground for some time, but it was enough of a mark for me to try the ferret.
http://s79.photobucket.com/albums/j150/Sumodave/Winnie/?action=view¤t=SAM_2252.mp4
After setting the nets we settled down to wait for the bolt. Now please take into consideration that I am trying to hold a camera steady, have a gentle hand on a pup, and anticipate when and where a rabbit may bolt, so the footage may not be the best you will see, but it gives you some idea of how I do things. These next two videos show the results of the positive mark, above, and another bury she marks. Now if my ability to lay nets was better we would have had more in the bag, but as I said, I'm not about numbers and to be honest I believe a pup gets as much enjoyment from chasing a rabbit as seeing it in the net, so all in all a constructive and enjoyable day for us both.
http://s79.photobucket.com/albums/j150/Sumodave/Winnie/?action=view¤t=SAM_2253.mp4
http://s79.photobucket.com/albums/j150/Sumodave/Winnie/?action=view¤t=SAM_2256.mp4
Now, I couldn't be more happy with her, but we are having a few issues with her regarding people, but again this is down to us as much as her I feel. We have found she is very reserved, almost scared, when people approach her when she is on the lead. Now, I have realised that she normally encounters people in her comfort zone, i.e. our house or other surrounding familiar to her, and as its dark when I get home from work to walk her around the village she is not seeing enough strangers. When she does things have to be on her terms, in that she will approach people or objects when she feels comfortable, and there is no point us trying to force her as this will just put her back. So, we have to concentrate on getting her out more at weekends in the day time to experience more of what the world has to throw at her.
Now, to end on a humorous note. The dogs go to my in-laws on the days that we are both at work, and Winnie has built up a very close relationship with both of them, but especially my father in law. Now he has always allowed the dogs onto his lap after finishing his evening meal, and Winnie has been no exception, but she takes it one step further and tries to get involved in whatever is going on, and we couldn't resist this picture of her helping to do the crossword!
May I take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and a prosperous new year, and we will keep you up to date with Winnies progress next month.
WINIE'S DIARY
October
I'm afraid October's diary will not be a particularly interesting read for you, although it has been a very informative month for us. It started well with us continuing with the stock breaking, lead training and basic obedience, which were all going well. I was still taking Winnie out every other evening for a short walk, and I was delighted to see her nose developing well as she was hunting any scent she came across, and she even started marking occupied rabbit burrows, although it was only very briefly. Of course, she had no idea what she was doing, but by just observing her when I had seen a rabbit run in to a hole, I could read her behaviour and understood her body language. She is a very easy dog to read when on a scent as she seems to extend her neck so as to push her nose as close to the ground as possible and her tail becomes more upright the stronger the scent. So with this in mind, and wanting to reinforce this marking behaviour, I decided that a ferreting trip was on the cards for her.
Now all I wanted from the day was for her to be running loose down a hedgerow that I had selected with small rabbit burrows in the hedge line, and as and when she showed this marking behaviour I would quickly place a couple of purse nets before entering the ferret. Speed would have to be of the essence as I wanted her to associate the marking with something good happening, i.e., a rabbit bolting. A couple of successful bolts were all I was after. However, things were not to go to plan. The week leading up to the proposed ferreting trip was the most testing we have had with Winnie, as she would not come to hand when called, which I found incredibly frustrating. She would come to within a couple of feet and then just look at us, even for enjoyable situations like having the lead put on her in the house for a walk, and she became hand shy. I racked my brain as to what we were doing wrong, and what may have caused this sudden change of behaviour but I was at a loss.
I decided to cancel the ferreting trip as I wanted it to be a fun exercise for myself and her, and by her not coming to hand would have upset me and caused friction in our relationship, and may even have caused her to develop bad habits which may have continued whilst she was hunting with the ferrets. It wasn't until the following week that I realised I had been a bit tense, do to with a change of location with my work, and she must have been picking up on this as we have not had any trouble since and we really seem to have turned a corner as to our relationship developing. It also made me appreciate how in tune she is with me already, even at this tender age.
So onto brighter matters. As I have mentioned, stock breaking is progressing well, especially as we are currently looking after some hand reared sheep for friends which are not only tame but used to dogs, which has been perfect for us. Her first introductions went well, for me, as she sat close to my side, on the lead of course, as the sheep ran over to be fed and although you could see she wasn't happy about this she didn't try and run but just watched as they surrounded us. A couple came to investigate her closely and it ended up with her licking the nose of one, before it gently butted her, which made her retreat to the safety behind my legs and she hasn't so much as looked at one since which is exactly what I was after. We have the sheep for a while yet, so she will be seeing them daily just to keep reinforcing that they are of no interest to her and not to be chased.
She has also accompanied us on three ratting trip this month, again always on the lead, but it has allowed her to soak up the atmosphere, the noise, other dogs and general hustle and bustle that goes with most trips. Again I have picked my spots and our fellow hunting companions carefully to try and make it as enjoyable for her as possible, and once again she has not let me down. Not once did she look stressed or scared by anything she saw or heard, and she has spent the trips with her ears forward and tail up the whole time. She doesn't worry about being in the company of other dogs, and her first trip she was out with eight new dogs (to her), and it is also teaching her a bit of patience as I have been putting her back in the car at times, or having Bear out for some time before her, as I do not want her to think she must always be with us and she has not made a sound when left in the car and is normally curled up asleep when I have checked on her. In fact she has taken to it so easily that on her third trip out I had to stand a long way back with her, as she was striking at any rat that came near, but she is far too young yet and she will not be allowed off the lead until she has all her adult teeth, and even then she will enter to them when she is good and ready and will just be put in a situation where she can decide as and when she wants to start.
She is still a delight in the house and has fitted into our ways and mannerism extremely well. We feel we have had her for a lot longer than we actually have, and we have to remind ourselves that she is still very much a puppy, but overall we couldn't be happier with the way our new little sporting companion is adding such a positive influence to us and our combined lives.
WINNIE' DIARY.
September.
It was August 2008, and we were attending the West Midland Game Fair at Ragley Hall when we were initially introduced to the dogs and people of the W.S.T.C.G.B, and I did the one thing I always hate, which was falling in love with the dogs at first sight. However, I am not a compulsive person and it was to be nearly three years to the day, many hours on the phone, and many miles driven attending meets, before 'Winnie' entered our lives.
My intention is to give you a brief summary each month as to her progress with us, the highs, the lows, the good and the bad. My ways will not be every ones ways, and my intentions may vary from yours, but it will be a truthful account of the progress of a Sealyham pup and her first time Sealyham owners.
So to 'Winnie'. She was bred by Harry and Gail out of their bitch Rose, and sired by David Winsley' Ch. Davmar Duty Free. I went to view the litter at five weeks old and she stood out as being a bit of a character, and as they were otherwise an incredibly even litter, that was good enough for me. It was then just the wait until we could collect her.
The day finally came and we made the long, but very worthwhile, journey down to get her. She travelled home very well considering this was her first time in a car. She cried for the first half hour but then we never heard anything from her for the rest of the trip. This has continued, and she has yet to make any sort of mess or noise whilst being in the car. The first week flew by, even though she was waking me up to be let out at 4.30am each day, but I couldn't complain as she only made one toilet mistake this first week. Since this she has lapsed on a few occasions but nothing we can't get round. She got on immediately with our other terrier, in fact he is too good with her and is tormented for most of the day without telling her off. She was growing and eating well, and nothing seemed to faze her. She became steady with the chickens and ferrets within a matter of days, although I am always watchful and never take her for granted, even though she sees them on a daily basis.
http://s79.photobucket.com/albums/j150/Sumodave/Winnie/?action=view¤t=SAM_0955.mp4
She just seems to take everything in her stride, and if she is slightly unsure of something she will sit and watch it for a while as if working it out, and once happy with it will continue with what she is doing. Lead training took longer than I initially would have thought, but we are getting there. She is the most wilful and self assured pup we have ever owned, and I think 10 years ago I wouldn't have been ready for her ways, but now we are learning from each other and things are progressing nicely.
With her inoculations over, we have been exploring more of the great outdoors with her. Cars travelling up the road interested her for about two days, as did people approaching us, but she is improving dramatically. We also introduced her to water by taking her to a shallow ford near us on a nice hot day, and she trotted through the inch deep water without a care in the world.
http://s79.photobucket.com/albums/j150/Sumodave/Winnie/?action=view¤t=SAM_0958.mp4
We are trying to make everything she does and sees fun, and everything will have a purpose to play later on in her life. We still need to do a lot of socialising, and more around children as she hasn't seen enough of these yet, and she also has to see larger livestock, but ill let you know how she gets on with these next month.