Bringing Mikey home.....

Training starts on first moment of contact.
Consistency begins immediately!

This is the hardest part. I am sure you will be very excited to See him and instinctively want to run up to him all excited screeching his name "Mikey! Mikey!" This will bring out all the behavior we are trying to discontinue. No Love and No acknowledgment. This is time to show him he needs to work for his rewards (love, petting). This sounds cruel but so very important. How your family treats these first 48 hours will shape his place in your pack. Not only for Mikey but for Matthew as well. It is extremely important for all the dogs to have the same rules, boundaries and limitations set. Their reward system can vary, but never the rules. They are pack animals and do not rationalize the way humans do. If one dog is allowed on the couch, or bark at the door, then all dogs will follow.

When we first meet:
NO EYE CONTACT with Mikey!
Need to be a park, or public place near house.
I will need to exercise him. I want to walk with him first. We will meet each other (while you ignore Mikey) and walk along together talking. I will give you the leash and we will continue to walk while ignoring him.
Ignoring him will show leadership. When Mikey is calm, we will stop, make him sit and them you can acknowledge him. Pet him and tell him he is a good boy. If he starts to get to excited (and jumpy)-stop! Ignore him again. This cycle may continue to go on for awhile. Not only with you but with each member he meets. It is extremely important that we ALL follow this. He will smell your smells, recognize you and immediately fall into his behavior pattern he had with you before. There will be time later at night, when I am gone and he is nestles next to your feet (his favorite spot) for you to rub his belly, coo at him and love him. But now is not that time.

Introduction to house:
Outside area first. Walk around yard for him to gain smells of familiarity and of Matthew.
Inside done with lease on. Start with Boundaries:
Show where his cage, food and water area is.
Baby gate off areas of the house where he will not be able to enter. This will help cut down on the running around. Also, he may be able to have free range of the house, but not when he first arrives. We must set limitations and rules straight off. He can be rewarded after when he knows them.
Matthew and Mikey meet on neutral territory. Preferable somewhere that is fenced in (a neighbors yard?) so after they meet we can observe them, off leash but contained. Normally it can take up to 2 weeks for dogs to become pack. My experience has been 3-6 days.
Introduction to Cats. May be done with Mikey in his cage, cats let into room. Mikey doesn't seem to mind cats and actually will try to herd them. By introducing them this way we can watch to see the personalities or vulnerabilities.

I hope you have the time, so I can stay for awhile and help with the adjustments. I want to make sure you all are able to walk him properly on a leash, go over the book I am preparing, etc.
I am sure you miss him terribly and are excited to get him home.
Mikey is an awesome dog! I know I will need time to adjust to him not being around…….

Blunt conversation.

I hope I do not offend anyone:

Yesterday at the dog park I was observing this calm, happy dog. I took the time to compliment the owner. "He's so handsome and such a good boy. What is his name?"
"His name is Rosco. What breed is your dog?" she asked.
That opened the whole 'he is not my dog-I am training him' story.
She was very interested and asked a lot of questions. I will summarize my answers to basically this: "I worked at the Humane Society. They are ALL overrun with unwanted dogs. I believe that proper training for both dogs and humans is essential. A responsible owner wanting proper training is taking a proactive step towards one less unwanted dog!
She thought about it long and hard.
"That is so cool." Long pause, "But isn't it so hard to give them back?"
"Yes" is what I said.
But what I really wanted to say: "It's a lot harder to euthanize them......."

Dog Parks

Dog Parks can be great, but they do need to be attended with caution.
Knowing how your dog reacts with other dogs is a MUST before you go, but also watching your dogs reactions the whole time there is equally as important.
Mikey needs to learn how to 'play' with other dogs. So far his socialization has been confined to situations I could control: my dogs, a neighbors dogs. This was a big step for Mikey and I.
Most parks have a tight dog community that frequent there. It is a great place to run and exercise your dog, meet other dogs, interact with other dog owners. However, there are those irresponsible owners that can ruin it for the rest of us. The dog park is not a place to just drop off your dog and talk on the cell phone, hoping others will control your dog. There are many dogs there that are stressed out, and don't want or shouldn't be there. All these situations combined can make this a dangerous place.
Today, it wasn't that. Mikey had 4 big dogs to play with. The dogs and their owners were patient with Mikey. He did try to nip a few dogs, One dog put him in his place with a quick growl, and one dog refused to accept Mikey and ignored him. My main plan today was to see if this was a good choice for an outlet for Mikey. Indeed this is the perfect choice. Mikey is mostly Pack orientated, and in this environment it was so obvious! He was not interested in any of the toys or sniffing all the smells. He wanted to be part of the pack. He wanted to run with, play with each and every dog at once! He was so happy and so tired by the time we left.
Not every dog will enjoy this environment, but I believe it is a must for Mikey! Know your dog park.Watch him, be aware of other dogs, look for signs where things could get out of control, but mostly...sit and watch Mikey be a dog! It was awesome.

Pictures:
Mikey sitting nicely before being allowed to enter. This took 5 minutes, but we were patient!
Mikey with a German Shepperd. It looks like he is looking at the dog thinking..
"My, what a big tongue you have...."

Know your Breed!

One of the first things people should do before getting a dog, is research the breed. Domesticated dogs were breed for a purpose: working, hunting, guarding, etc.Those traits define the dog, and some are stronger than others. Finding a breed that matches your lifestyle and household is the first step. I have a lot of experience with numerous breeds and mixes but this is my first Australian Cattle Dog. Here is a conclusion of my research and the area's that are specifically strong in Mikey.

Three Main Concerns when raising a American Cattle Dog

Exercise:
These dogs are happiest in wide open spaces.
Cattle Dogs have high energy levels, they need plenty of exercise and a job to do!
Cattle Dogs who do not receive the appropriate exercise and entertainment will invent their own, often destructive, activities.
Australian Cattle Dogs are highly intelligent and can be very bossy, especially when not active, (can be kept occupied with mental puzzles.)
Great at Agility, Frisbee, herding competitions. etc
Mikey is all these combined and more. He is still a puppy so he has even more energy. There is a big commitment to exercise him. It isn't a choice but mandatory.

Training:
It is important for an owner to quickly establish they are the dog's pack leader, otherwise a young Australian Cattle Dog will take over. Once this hierarchy is established however, the dog will bond very closely to its owner, typically resulting in the dog never being too far from the owner's side.
Many find training this breed to be challenging. Australian Cattle Dogs thrive on change and new experiences.They have an independent mind of their own, willful, obstinate, and dominant (they want to be the boss) and will make you prove that you can make them do things. You must show them, through absolute consistency, that you mean what you say. You will need a challenging combination of intelligence, cleverness, and hard-hardheadedness. Australian Cattle Dogs will test members of the family during adolescence and must be handled with firm, consistent leadership.
This is very true with Mikey. You have to come on strong,and stay strong. Everyone in the family needs to establish that dominance and control over Mikey. Everyday. Mikey does love to be part of the family or 'pack'. He loves to follow you around and can become anxious if he can't be in the same room. His time in his crate helps give him alone time, kind of like "Off Duty". Always use Positive reinforcement, praise, petting or treats as rewards.

Nipping:
Cattle Dogs were breed specifically to bite/nip. They drive cattle by nipping at their heels or tails, but can also to round up other animals. They have a strong need to chew, and not only as puppies. To relieve the urge to nip, always have chew toys available for them. Many different kinds to stimulate them mentally as well as relieving the need to chew. Any toy left with him needs to be extremely robust if it is to last.
Mikey can get very mouthy still. You can not let any nipping be permissible, no matter how light he is being. He nips more st play time, by watch him closely and the second he starts, I give a correction (eh!) and I stop playing, or petting. Sometimes it will take a few times and he will stop and we continue to play or rub. Other times he doesn't stop and after two corrections I quit. Get up and leave.

Because of Mikey, I am a huge fan of this breed. He is smart, loving, and a trickster all wrapped up in one! Mikey is so darn handsome: his markings, size, coat, color and has the most remarkable eyes. I look forward to watching him grow and hope to continue to be a part of his life.
I also cant wait to get my hands on another, to train or maybe keep.
Thanks Mikey for my new love of the Australian Cattle Dog!

Walking Mikey on a leash.

This post is very important. I will take a lot of time when we are together to go over this again step by step. It has taken almost three weeks to get Mikey to where he is. Consistency is really what it is all about at this point. Mikey is very intelligent and he knows when you give him an inch and he WILL try to go for the mile. Knowing this helps. Having a strong hold and leading the way on his walk helps to maintain your leadership role. Taking him for a walk is his 'job' and treating it like one will do the both of you good.

Collar: I started out with a 'prong' collar. This collar fit's snugly and high on his neck, when he runs or pulls away from you, it squeezes the prongs together, causing it to pinch him. This simulates what his mother would do when he misbehaved as a pup. This will not cut him or hurt him physically. As soon as he stops or releases, so will the prongs. Dogs do not know you are actually at the end of the leash, or think that you are personally hurting them. So please do not feel guilty. They teach themselves (some faster than others) that they are in control of hurting themselves. It took Mikey two times. The first jolt sent him high in the air with a yelp. He turned right around and did it again, same result. He stopped, looked up at me with his eyes the size of saucers. I said, 'OK lets go' and we did just that. He has not challenged me since to try to take off on leash. Step one: Completed.
Never leave collar on him! Leave the leash attached to the collar so that wont happen. Use Prong Collar only for walking!

Leash: I believe there is a time and place for the 'retractable' leash. Those are the ones that give the dog free reign to go where and when they want while you hold the base. I will use this when I go to the park, river or a public place where I want him to roam a bit but where I can still control him. These leashes are a big No No for training them to walk. It leads him to believe he is in control and you do not want to set those expectations. I hold a firm close lead. The leash is kept short, forcing him to stay at my side. I give a very loose leash so if he tries to pull- it corrects him immediately. Stop immediately if he is getting frustrated or trying to pull. Make him sit, wait until he is calm and then proceed. Sometimes we only go 2 houses and it takes 10 minutes, but he gets it and will give in and work with you. You have to make sure this happens. Knowing your dog, seeing distractions and being aware is the next importance. Correct him immediately with a tug on his leash if he: stares to much at a passing squirrel, wants to stop and smell the pole, etc. Stay in control for the whole walk. Keep him focused on the job. There will be plenty of time for rewards after the walk!

Sit: I make Mikey sit every time I stop. I stop on purpose often to reinforce this. This is just good dog manners. This helps when walking in a crowd, when people approach, when you need to do something, etc. This also reinforce the sit command. Which is imperative to stop his jumping on people. This was one of your main concerns with Mikey and a great way to stop it! When people approach him and he starts to jump, or get to excited, I tell the people to stop. I gain control of Mikey by making him sit while telling them to not acknowledge Mikey until he does so. Sadly to say I have had to turn people away because Mikey wouldn't cooperate. Again, you can't give him an inch. It can not be acceptable sometimes to jump up and other times not. Consistency: he sits, he gets attention.

Summary:
Walk him everyday. It is his job, treat it as one. This will bond you together and confirm the pack.
He needs to walk to release energy and for exercise.
You lead. Head up, strong hold with slight loose leash.
Give consistency. Apply a tug on the leash when needed.
Make him sit when you stop. (Reward with a treat if needed, I still do this)
No matter who walks Mikey, you all need to do this same routine!
It is a awesome accomplishment to be able to take your dog anywhere. To know he will behave. To know he will listen to you. Follow those steps and you will be able too. He is well on his way.........