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| Cairo in the lead, Surprisingly Chill Arab Mare in second place, and Lucy looking annoyed that she's last. |
-we didn't ride out until almost 5pm and I knew we were racing against the waning daylight
-I had never ridden Lucy in the evening when it was basically dark and basically expected her to be a total freak
-I am personally a huge chicken and the idea of being in the woods in the dark is not something I would normally sign myself up for
-I had no idea how the other mare would be with the dog
-Cairo had been cooped up all day and was WILD
-Cairo had also left her listening skills at home and wasn't really interested in paying any attention to me, which is not like her. Usually she listens well, even when I'm on a horse.
-I forgot dog treats at home and so I didn't even have a way to bribe the dog to listen
So, I spent most of the ride waiting for a huge explosion that never happened. Yup, the Arab mare was totally cool with the dog, even when Cairo stupidly went right up to her hind end and licked her hocks(!!!). Cairo did not listen as well as I would have liked her to --I yelled "LEAVE IT!" when she went up to the Arab's hind legs and she licked her hocks anyway, little brat--, but she listened well enough and stayed in front of the horses for most of the ride. We even tried a bit of trotting and
Cairo loped out in front of the horses, glancing backward every ten feet or so to make sure we were following and she was not about to get run over.
Thankfully we didn't encounter any deer and both horses behaved very well. I was waiting for the ghosts to jump out and scare the crap out of all of us but Lucy was like, "no worries, mate". My friend wisely assured me that horses can see better than humans in the dark so I had nothing to be worried about. I have no idea if this is true or not but it sure sounded good at the time, so I chose to believe it ;)
Anyway, I think Cairo still has a ways to go before she is the perfect Canine Companion out on the trails, BUT for being not even two years old and a breed that is known to be quite wild/free-thinking, she does a pretty good job. I will be more diligent about bringing delicious doggie bribes (i.e. treats) with me from now on and I bet she'll listen much better if she knows food is up for grabs. I encourage her to be out in front of the horses for a few reasons: a) if a horse spooks, it usually spooks sideways and I do not want my dog to get tangled up in that mess, b) I also don't want her behind the horses in case they kick and c) she will alert us to things up ahead, like if someone is approaching from the opposite direction, or if deer are lurking in the woods.
Who else brings their doggies out on trail rides? Do you have any helpful training tips?
Crazy Kenai husky dog comes with me - or is starting to. He turns 2 on March 5. We have a remote collar with tones and shock options that are on the remote I wear around my neck on its lanyard. Its just a little more incentive to stay. The tones are all he usually needs to encourage him to turn around if my whistles and calls don't work. I do plan on wearing an old rock climbing chalk bag w/ treats in it as our training continues. Further encouragement.
ReplyDeleteJust finished reading your archives! So great how you have documented all of this, what a resource!
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentines Day :-)
that is a lot of reading! :) but I am glad you enjoy the blog.
DeleteI WISH I could bring my border collie along when I ride. But there are leash laws where I live and though my dog does very well off-leash, there are dogs in our area that NEED the leash law (oh the stories I could tell, but use your imagination and you know what I mean) and so I feel I should obey the law too. *sad sigh* So. I'm happy that you get to do this with your sweet doggy at all! Enjoy! (And thanks for yet another great post! I love your blog!)
ReplyDeleteCairo should technically be on a leash, too, but I bring along a leash and tie it to the saddle. Everyone lets their dogs off-leash and it isn't abnormal to come across two people who have stopped to chat, and their dogs are playing off to the side.
DeleteCairo sounds like my dog Latch! haha!
ReplyDeleteLatch will hardly even go on a trail ride with me anymore. He is so sensitive. Cutie pie, my 13 year old faithful trail riding friend, has given out on me, but still goes occasionally. I didn't ever really make my dogs get in front or behind.. they just always stay in the back! I feel like they are pretty safe back there. Once you start working with Cairo on the trail she will start learning certain words! Even though Cutie pie is deaf as a doorknow now.. she even knows hand motions! She knows 'Get off the road' with a swift hand motion of 'move over that way' haha and a few others. It's fun training a dog to trail ride! Only if I could get Latch on the trail!
I take my dogs all the time...but it took training. First we would go on 'horsie walk' where I would lead the dog and the horse (not riding). I kept them on leash at first for 2 reasons: 1) in case we encountered other horses on trail 2) so that I could get the them used to walk around a horse and guide them as necessary. If that went well then we did horsie walk off leash. Next stage was trail walk- I rode and my boyfriend would walk on foot. After a few good trail walks we graduate to full trail ride. It's a formula but it works!
ReplyDeleteThose are fantastic training ideas. Getting the horse used to the dog walking beside him/her, and visa-versa, is half the battle.
DeleteI take my Broo Broo with me, but he has a pretty good call back and generally a chicken so doesn't leave my side too far. The more you do it, the more they know what the deal is and stick close, generally speaking!
ReplyDeleteI'm torn...jealous because I wish I could do this with my dog (although my horse needs way more trail work than anything!) but because my dog is a rescue who is not stranger friendly he must always be on a leash. So even though we walk in areas sometimes where dogs are required to be on a leash when people have dogs off leash that start running our way it is very frustrating. They yell "he's friendly, don't worry". Well, mines not(!) so that can be a problem and sometimes really stressful. I do wish people would think about this more.
ReplyDeleteI have this same problem with my rescued Norwegian Elkhound. She freaks out when loose dogs come toward us, and then I'm the one that ends up looking like a jerk even though *my* dog is the one on a leash! I also have a canine good citizen that is well-socialized and gets to go the barn, though I am very careful to make sure that no one minds if she is running around.
DeleteHow fun! When I worked at a Dude Ranch (for reals) for a summer, we rode EVERY night..pitch dark, from rodeo's to sunset trail rides, etc. It would be so dark some nights that I was convinced it was suicidal BUT swear, the horses could see great. We always said, if you can't see it, trust that your horse can. It was scary, no lie. I've yet to do that with Laz b/c I'm a chicken little too!
ReplyDeleteRegarding dogs on rides; I haven't taken Mason out on trails and won't b/c it's not allowed, BUT we road ride together. Some days when he's being a BRAT and won't listen, it makes me want to dismount and grab his scruff b/c I worry he'll get hurt. I've found what works, is having him SIT for a minute, while we stop as well and re focusing the attention. Another friend of mine used a training shock collar for a few rides and when the key word was used like "STOP" or whatever you want, and if her dog didn't listen..SHOCKZAP. I can't do that, BUT it worked for her and her dog really great...and he was young like Cairo. :) I would worry the yelp would scare the horses..and I can not actively shock my dog by choice..but for others; it worked.