DAY 9

DAY 9: We did our walk this morning, and Crosby was full of energy! It was cool outside (if I didn’t live in Montana I’d call it COLD – 41°!) He responded perfectly to EVERY random come and random sit. No limping or favoring of the foot, either.
I saddled Pate (the Appaloosa), and took all three dogs for a ride. I didn’t ride on the property today. Today I crossed the highway and headed through the small town (VERY SMALL TOWN) of Crane, to go to the public game preserve – here they call it a “Recreation Area”. It is about 1 ½ miles from my house to the Seven Sisters Recreation Area which runs along the Yellowstone River. Once you get inside the recreation area, there is a nice ride through the woods, but I didn’t make that loop today, because I knew there would be bow hunters out there, and although they probably weren’t hunting at 9 AM in the morning, they probably wouldn’t appreciate a horse and dogs crashing through the woods.
The trip to the Recreation Area is along gravel roads, lined with a few houses and mostly farm fields. About a mile into the ride, there is a long straightaway lined by a tall corn field on one side, and a ditch and thick brush on the other. Crosby had been hocking so nicely on leash all morning, that I decided to drop the leash, let him drag it, and let him “run” for the first time. This portion of the road is a low-risk area, because the dogs have plenty of smells right at the edge of the road, and the corn and brush keeps them from running off in a perpendicular direction. So I let Crosby go (dragging his 6 foot leather leash behind him), and I gave him the command “Rest”, which means “run free! Do your business!” Crosby knows what the command means (I use it on the flexi and on the 6 foot leash), so he looked up at me like, “Really?” Then he trotted a little faster, crossed in front of the horse, and began to sniff and run like the other dogs. When he got a little too far out in front, I trotted the horse to keep up with him.
After about a minute of “free time”, I called Crosby to “Come”. He responded immediately (as did the other dogs), but he only ran most of the way in, looked at me, and then turned away again. He didn’t even come close enough to get his treat! So the other dogs got their treats, and I spurred the horse toward Crosby. Crosby wasn’t running off – he was just too busy sniffing to bother to come to me. When I got next to him with the horse, he looked up, and then sat, like –“Oh, yeah. This is what I do for a treat, right?” So he got his treat, and I leaned over and grabbed his leash (I’m long-armed enough to do that), and we proceeded on.
Later, on the dirt trail inside Seven Sisters, I let him loose again, but this time I told him to hock, and I kept the horse at a trot. He hocked perfectly! I stopped the horse after a time, and told Crosby to sit (off-leash command), and he did! GOOD BOY! I worked him aother time on the road off-leash (actually, dragging the leash), and he came when called, and then I called him again when he was very distracted (obviously going for a scent), and he did not come, so I ran him down on the horse again. This may take a while, but he will learn he must obey when I give a verbal command – if he doesn’t, I can catch him! He is learning that! He hocked again off-leash very well. As we got back toward the houses in Crane, he was back on-leash.
I’m so excited! He did so well! Probably 5 miles today, and he is moving soundly and full of energy still. This dog is in great shape! This might work!