The poor performance at the stock test was a bitter blow, and for a day or two it felt like the end of the world. That was of course just before things got to really feel like the end of the world.
We were due to disappear for 10 days on a camping trip to Yorkshire shortly after the disastrous SARDA training weekend. Suggestions from the SARDA trainers was to consolidate commands to eliminate Venn’s uneven performance, and to proof those commands in as many new environments as possible. I figured that a week or so of wandering around the towns and hills around York might just be the ticket to start addressing this challenge.
The day before we were due to leave was the day that the first of the Coronavirus restrictions was announced, so we stayed put. Treating it very much as a staycation, the (endless) jobs list was put on hold, and we spent our days reading, watching films and chilling, much like we would have done if we were away. And, of course, dog-training.
Our access to the sheep fields remained open, so we continued doing what we could in preparation for the stock test. I had a lurking suspicion that the long-line, and to a certain extent a normal short lead exerted an influence on Venn’s behaviour, even if the other end was not being held. At the assessment she was required to be off lead completely, and I had a nagging worry that this sudden sense of liberation might have influenced her behaviour for the worse on the day. So, with the farmer’s consent, she was let off the lead completely at the field gate, and we have done all our subsequent work free of any calming influence that the trailing leads may have had. There has not been the opportunity to drive the sheep as close as we did on the pre-assessment day because of the need for multiple people, but with those sheep, in that setting she seems fine and uninterested. Or at least under control.
Through this period, the Coronavirus lock-down measures got more and more restrictive, and looking forwards, it is hard to see when the opportunity will come to get out and have another go at the stock-test. In the meantime we are stuck in a limbo of not being accepted as a trainee team, and so unable to formally proceed with any scent-work training. Ironically, this comes at a time when I find myself with a bit more time than usual on my hands……..
Somewhere amongst all this, Venn started being sick. She didn’t manage to keep anything down for a day, though she seemed bright and active throughout. However, the following morning she kept sitting and lying-down during our walk. This was MOST unusual for her and set alarm bells ringing.
A trip to the Vets confirmed there were no obvious signs of infection, leaving the suggestion that she had swallowed something she shouldn’t have. She was kept in to be sedated for an x-ray to try and identify the problem. Sure enough, a little rectangular opaque object showed up on the film of her gut. It was thought that this had been irritating the stomach, but had now passed into her small intestine, and she had kept some food down at the Vets. It was then a matter of waiting to see what happened. The next day she was reported as being brighter, and a second x-ray confirmed that the object had moved through her system into her colon. With that, she was sent home with some bland food to help her stomach settle and a watching brief. I did some fairly detailed “assessments” but never did find the culprit.
Anyway, the next day she came into season. Aww, our little girl’s all growed-up; three weeks of fending off the neighbours’ dogs and lock-down for her as well as us.
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