I have put some pictures in another thread but thought it was about time for an Angus update.
For those that don't know, I got Angus at the beginning of March as a 10 month old to be a companion for Epic after very suddenly and unexpectedly losing Yogi. While not a 'spur of the moment' acquisition, he was not the usual long researched baby pup that I normally get after months or even years or planning. I've never taken on a dog that was older than 8 weeks either so this was a whole new experience. I was extremely lucky to get him, his breeder had just decided to let him go, having been running him on for the breed show ring.
The first month of having Angus was interesting, just really getting to know him and integrating him into the household. After a couple of weeks he and Epic were getting on pretty well, although not playing and Revel had really taken to him, so all was going well.
It is weird taking on an older pup when you are only used to babies. Rather than seeing his personality develop and moulding his character, Angus was already a personality and it was a case of leaning about him rather than training him. Because he looks quite mature too (he has a huge coat) I find it hard to think of him as a pup and tend to forget and treat him more like Epic. Hence there have been some regrettable chewing incidents - most memorable being the internet cable and another (unattached) cable which he chewed into several pieces. Goodness only knows why he enjoyed that as the copper wire was really quite sharp and it must have been most uncomfortable. Pencils and pens have also fallen victim to him and he has had a munch on the coffee table and pulled some threads out of the carpet. I make very sure to hide all the computer wires now and the new internet cable is housed in some piping . Lesson learned.
He has struggled somewhat with housetraining. Now the weather is better he usually goes outside but if he has no access he doesn't seem to ask like the others do - by standing at the door. You just have to watch Angus for signs and pre-empt an accident by sending him out. I hope that he will get the idea and accidents are becoming less frequent...
I have done very little training with him, apart from recall training which I have done to excess. I would think that so far he has done a couple of thousand recalls in as many different locations as I have been to. Like I did with Epic as a baby pup, I let Angus free very quickly on walks just with a spare lead attached to his harness and I recalled him over and over giving him a treat or two and taking hold of his harness and letting him go again. To start out I was calling him when he was quite close and doing it very frequently then I gradually built in distance and lessened the frequency plus added new locations. It helps a lot that Epic has a super recall so that was added incentive to race back with Epic. Having now had some proper distractions to 'test' (people, birds, dogs) I am very pleased that Angus' recall is near enough 98% fast response on the first call under almost any type of distraction. :smile2: I will just mention that in the beginning I was walking in a very quiet area with no people and it was fenced so low risk. I would have been much more cautious about training this way in a busy park where I didn't have the same control over the environment.
I have done a little clicker training, really just to introduce him to it so I taught him a little send away to a mouse mat. Unlike Epic, down' is his default position so getting the drop on the mat was relatively easy. He is a very quick learner, rather surprisingly. I will start on doing some foundation training now as I definitely want to try agility with him. He looks as if he has a lot of ability but so far has little inclination to play with a toy so that needs some work. I suspect he will be quite a 'soft' dog and not one that will repeat things over and over. Epic has a border collie mentality and will carry on doing something endlessly but Angus I think is more of a typical sheltie and after a couple of reps he will be less keen to try again. We'll have to see how it goes....
Although I certainly didn't buy Angus with showing in mind, he is a nice dog and has been carefully show ring trained by his breeder so I thought I would have a go at trying to qualify him for Crufts 2016. I took him to a busy open show for a first try out and he was a respectable 3rd and coped very well. I worked on his ring training for the next couple of weeks (trotting up and down on a grass verge just down the road - I've given up worrying what people might be thinking as my reputation as a mad dog lady is already well established!) At the end of April I took him on a long (400 miles) round trip to a lovely championship show at Malvern, a beautiful area. It was worth it because he placed third and thus gained the qualification for Crufts! :biggrin2:
He has since had another open show third in a class of older dogs but that is all the breed showing I'll be doing for the moment as he is dreadfully out of coat and looks like a waif. I've had to weight his ears too as the lack of hair has cause them to be prone to pricking. Also as I will be doing a lot of attention training he will be looking up a good deal so the ears need to stay over!
He is jointly registered in Jessica's name and she has done a bit with him too although he lacks a bit of confidence around her at the moment. They did the Puppy Foundation training together which was nice and hopefully will grow up together and perhaps in time participate in breed or even agility one day...
I could go on, but that will do for now. I am just so delighted with my new boy. :biggrin2: His temperament is 100% perfect for my pack, fitting in with Epic was always going to take a special dog and he is that boy. He is not an angel and of course there are some naughty aspects but in the areas that really matter, he is more than I could have hoped for. Interestingly, I think his character most closely resembles Yogi's. Through necessity Angus is using Yogi's things (crate, food bowls etc) so I wonder sometimes if Yogi is keeping an eye on his successor and perhaps just a little of my 'orange boy' is rubbing off onto Angus McFly.:sadsmile: