- Thread starter
- #201
Beekissed
Herd Master
Lately I've noticed that Ben no longer grows impatient when I spend a long time in the coop, no more yipping at me impatiently, etc. Now he will lie down and watch the door, waiting calmly and steadily until I emerge. He's also using this tactic for when I'm getting ready to walk up to do the feeding, whereas before he would dance around and sometimes would yip impatiently at me if I paused and waited to approach their boundary, now he'll lie down and wait.
He's so intuitive in many ways, as he has worked out this all on his own~what I like best in his learned behavior~lying down and waiting calmly~ and so now he repeats that "best" by applying it to other areas of his life. I didn't teach him that part and neither did Jake, that's all Ben. I make a big deal of it each time I notice it because he's so eager to please.
He's grown big enough now that I think he can no longer fit through the back pop door on the coop, so I'm thinking of removing the hot wire on the front pop door and shutting it, as per normal this time of year.
He's got two bedding areas available and, depending upon the weather, he switches back and forth between them~his dog house and his open dog lounge. Smart dog.
Going to drop to single digits the next couple of nights, may dip into the negatives, so I'm thawing out deer scraps tonight to go along with regular food tomorrow and the next day. He's been enjoying the stored and fermented pumpkins along with the chickens lately and every scrap gets licked off the ground, and has been using rotten oranges from the scrap pile as dog toys. I keep finding them all over the yard and even one in his bedroom. Silly pup.
All in all, I'd say Ben is still doing most excellent in his training, having reached his 7 mo. birthday today. He knows scads of commands and learned behaviors, is trustworthy around the chickens at all times, responds like a dream to training, is humble, but confident, and sweet and smart as a tack. He's quiet, which I love very much...I've only heard him bark a handful of times since he's been here, other than the little yips he used to speak to me. He's responsive to my body language and voice, and is sweetly affectionate to us all. He's quite the blessing to this homestead.
He's so intuitive in many ways, as he has worked out this all on his own~what I like best in his learned behavior~lying down and waiting calmly~ and so now he repeats that "best" by applying it to other areas of his life. I didn't teach him that part and neither did Jake, that's all Ben. I make a big deal of it each time I notice it because he's so eager to please.
He's grown big enough now that I think he can no longer fit through the back pop door on the coop, so I'm thinking of removing the hot wire on the front pop door and shutting it, as per normal this time of year.
He's got two bedding areas available and, depending upon the weather, he switches back and forth between them~his dog house and his open dog lounge. Smart dog.
Going to drop to single digits the next couple of nights, may dip into the negatives, so I'm thawing out deer scraps tonight to go along with regular food tomorrow and the next day. He's been enjoying the stored and fermented pumpkins along with the chickens lately and every scrap gets licked off the ground, and has been using rotten oranges from the scrap pile as dog toys. I keep finding them all over the yard and even one in his bedroom. Silly pup.
All in all, I'd say Ben is still doing most excellent in his training, having reached his 7 mo. birthday today. He knows scads of commands and learned behaviors, is trustworthy around the chickens at all times, responds like a dream to training, is humble, but confident, and sweet and smart as a tack. He's quiet, which I love very much...I've only heard him bark a handful of times since he's been here, other than the little yips he used to speak to me. He's responsive to my body language and voice, and is sweetly affectionate to us all. He's quite the blessing to this homestead.