Change as a Constant

Kensmuir Star

I am going public over at The Real Time Canine, (RTC,) the training blog I have been posting every week since November, 2008. For the past 2 years, the weekly journal was emailed to subscribers only, with excerpts published on the blog and The RTC FaceBook page. It is now available in complete form for everyone and I will continue to publish every Sunday with a complete breakdown of Star's progress and how I acheived it. 

The RTC was originally conceived as a subscription-based way to help others start and train their own dogs. I am often asked how I train my dogs, and learning by example seemed the best way to go. I began writing about Star's progress from the tender age of 10 weeks on the very day I picked him up from the airport, with how to introduce a collar and leash occurring in the first few minutes of our introduction. From there I moved on to crate training, learning to tie out, walk on a leash, a good recall, good manners and becoming respectful. Occasionally, I got sidetracked with things like my feeding preferences, vaccination protocols, and life on the road, so there was something there for dogs of all types and ages.

At 7 months old, Star was introduced to sheep, and since that time, I have documented the ups and downs of training a successful stockdog. If you want to know exactly what it's like to go out almost every day and work with a young border collie on sheep, it's all there in the RTC. I have left out nothing, including my mis-steps as well as Star's and how we overcame them.  From here on out it is available for everyone with my thanks for taking time to have a look. Over the last couple years, I have enjoyed my readership more than I can say. I have made new friends and been overwhelmingly encouraged. I appreciate that very much. Most recently Janet Beale has this to say:


" The Real Time Canine blog spot is the best training article I have yet to come across.
If you have anythng to do with the Border collie or indeed any breed of sheepdog, whether you work the dog on stock or not. You should visit this site and read it over and over, just wish there were video's to accompany the great dialogue. Well done... Amelia."

OK, so that felt good and pushed me to my decision of writing for everyone. I know I won't please everybody, and that is certainly not my intent. I suggest you do what I do; take what you like and leave the rest. I sincerely hope I can impart something of value that will help you and your dog. It is my way of giving back to the community who has been so forthcoming with me. I would still be struggling needlessly if not for those that are smarter, more experienced and talented than I, and I thank those folks endlessly for their time and trouble.

Cheers all!