So, we've decided to keep Intrepid's working name as Peach. I sooo wanted to use Intrepid because it suits him, but it just doesn't flow easily when calling nor does it shorten well.
(For those new to the Blog, Peach's story starts here.)
I brushed Kohar & Argos the other day. Even gave Peach a few quick licks. So pleased with everyone's behavior; Peach was relaxed around the livestock guardians, and they were excellent with him. <3 **With all videos click on the link then click on the video to open fully**
At the end of April we finally finished building the safe, predatory bird proof, outdoor pen for Peach so he can spend some of each day outside getting extra input from the air and farm noises without being at risk (He does accompany me for some of the farm chores (here's a clip 1 with him, Kohar, and poultry, and clip 2) but there are simply some he cannot accompany me in doing because they're too dangerous for a dog that can't see. Particularly when I am too busy or have my hands full to be his eyes and protector. Roosters can attack, goats can butt and tractors...well that's obvious... I can't have him around any of them except when I can be fully focused on him). But, he is adjacent to one of our goat pens so he gets to hear and smell them as well. :) The area is about 16' x 20', including the 8 by 8 shed that has a calf sled potty area for him. And covered by bird netting. I kept a track that broke off a mini excavator last summer thinking it had to be useful for something. Sure enough! :D And, did I ever mention how much I appreciate the versatility of ex-pens?! Lol :p
We are still hoping that someone living in a town will be willing to take him fairly soon so he can become attached to them sooner than later, but we needed somewhere safe for him in the meantime that was more stimulating than 4 walls.
So far Peach has been good with the cats he's met.
I don't allow my LGD to play with my English Shepherds so as to discourage dogs wanting to get into the pasture to play, gangs of dogs chasing stock, or refusal of LGD to protect against dog friends.
BUT, Peach will never freely roam the farm, will hopefully find a home in town, and needs the exercise & experience of playing in a safe area with a larger, gentle dog so... he is an exception to that rule.
Kohar and Peach playing the other day <3
I couldn't believe how well he could track her movements and play appropriately without being able to see. He's beginning to recognize what "easy" and "fence" mean, too. :)
Here she was trying to entice him to play with a root. Epic fail, lol :p
It was neat to see how they both adapted over the period of time that they played together though. And towards the end of the play time he actually found the root and played with it a little bit, but I had shut my phone off, so missed capturing it.
And then I took Peach to the barn and trained him in there for the first time ever - taking a few short clips of extremely poor quality video of some of it. But at least there's some record of his progress. :P
Sit and down. I've been working on extending the length of it with 'good' but did not do that in this new area. Anytime you take a pup to somewhere new for training you need to start with a reduced difficulty of the commands given, then work up to more extended time frames.
This is the first time I have asked him to 'up' on a straw bale. Not only did he go up, he went 'up on' then back off again, lol
Spin & Turn - yes I still use some food in my hand in new areas because he's reminded by the scent rather than the gesture, although he is becoming much more familiar with the words used - and when working in a familiar place can actually do it just by following the word command.
Touch - first time I've targeted my hand using the sound of a gate rather than clapping my hands & it worked quite well. I'm trying to find ways to have my hand be able to stop for him to be able to touch it, but currently when I stop, the sound stops too, which makes it much harder for him to locate. Hoping to be able to buy a bell soon so that he can target the jingling. (With my permanently severed tendon I cannot snap my fingers on my left hand well enough for him to hear so snapping my fingers doesn't work, plus I want to be able to move on to target other items eventually.)
Search is a brand new term we're working on; he's doing pretty well with it.
Other commands that I wasn't able to video were 'stand', 'place', and 'place walk' (walking him in between my legs). We're also working on 'stairs - up', 'stairs - off', 'wait', 'watch out', 'collar on'.
He is interested in trying to learn what I'm attempting to teach him.
Yesterday we finished a large play area for the dogs. Misty and Laddie are currently using it the most. Today I took Peach up to play with them. I've introduced Peach to Laddie prior on leash & with a fence between them, but this was the first time that Laddie and Peach have been together off leash. From Laddie's prior responses to the pups, I figured there would be no issue with it (unlike some male dogs, he doesn't find puppies disturbing). They did really well :) Laddie & Peach playing.
Just as a point of interest due to Peach, for those wondering how well a pup blind from birth can adapt, this boy is a good example. Please contact me if you'd like to offer Peach a loving home.
