26/05/2025
Something really embarrassing happened yesterday, and while I cringed all evening about it… I’m sharing it here. Why? Because social media is full of trainers with “perfect dogs” who never mess up and that’s just not reality.
So here it is: yesterday morning I took Zorba, my cattle dog, for a walk past some cows. He started showing classic herding behavior (mistake #1: yes, I own a working dog who hasn’t been getting enough mental stimulation lately). I thought, "I know the cows, I trust my dog... let’s do a little stock work." And honestly? It went great. We worked on 'stop', 'come', and even got to do some controlled pushing. Felt like a win!
Fast forward to the afternoon… the farmer asked if I could help move the cows between paddocks. Sure! I parked my car to block one side of the driveway and stood on the other to help guide the herd.
Mistake #2: I left Zorba in the car. Window open.
Mistake #3: I saw potential chaos brewing and didn’t communicate with the farmer. I just hoped for the best.
Well… the cows came, and Zorba launched out the window to live his best herding life. Sixty seconds of absolute madness. No harm done (except to my nervous system) but still, it was a serious wake-up call.
After a day of self-pity and chocolate, I sat down and asked myself: What did I do wrong?
👎 Understimulated working dog.
👎 Not properly restrained during high-arousal situations.
👎Failed to plan, manage, and communicate clearly.
And the plan moving forward?
🤘 Daily mental work and fulfilment, no excuses.
🤘 Tighten up impulse control training.
🤘 Practice recall under pressure, with tools to support it.
🤘 Strengthen focus and engagement, especially around livestock.
We ALL make mistakes. Even trainers. But if we take accountability, learn from them, and keep showing up with a plan, progress is inevitable.
Zorba will be a brilliant working dog, I just need to do my part.
