This morning, I am especially reminded how helpful it can be to have had some farm-animal experience, behind dealing with housepets. It matters so much what order I do their chores in-- if I have set up the environment smartly, their behavior is not in need of immediate modification at all.

We human beans have the brains and the opposable thumbs to prevail, even if the dog does have more pulling strength that I do right now! :~)

Farm animals teach us that we must use our minds, because they almost always out-power us. Take sheep for instance. If you have ever tried to catch a single sheep, you know how hilariously they can run off, breeze past you without being catchable, jump fences that usually hold them, etc. And if they get outside the fences entirely, good luck as they lead a "merry" chase!

But their instinct to flock is so strong-- so if you follow behind a flock madly running away from you, toward a narrowing passage, soon you will have them in single file in a narrow chute made of fencing. Since the one in front is stopped against a closed gate, you can easily tether the one you want from among the single-file group, and then let the rest go on into the next pen. Or you can take the ewes one at a time in their single-file line, gently compress her into a levered press, and tilt her over on her side to work on her feet. I've seen similar lifts in vets offices and large-animal ORs, kingsized for horses and cattle.

So it is with dogs. I don't need to work on her feet yet, and I have no lift (so I'll have to make another plan eventually for her foot care). But I do have a multitude of gates and doors at my disposal in this odd old Victorian house.

In many ways it is an ideal dog-fostering layout. Sadie will already follow F anywhere, and the various doorways and gates that lead to and from their dog corner make her quite easy to catch. Once I have her and get her attention, I work with her on increased management commands. By the time her nails need to be trimmed, she should manage nicely.

~Susan