More Long-Lines

Yesterday I took Devlin and Ellie out for one of our daily walks at the big park near here (4200 Acres big!). We decided to forego the normal walk on six-foot leads and do some long lining. I put each dog on a 30 foot line and off we went! We checked out all the meadows for rats, ground squirrels and other varmits! It was so much fun to watch them scamper through the tall grasses and brush and turn on command (they know "Left" , "Right",  "That's It" (end of line), and "Here") at a distance from you and somewhat in sync! They had a ball and so did I. We all were exhausted in about 40 minutes!
If you are going to try long lining two dogs, practice first with just one to get your line handling skills refreshed and up to par. With two you can't reel in the line like you do with one dog as you have a line in each hand. I either move back and to one side to take up slack as they approach me or simply drop the lines and pick them back up as the dogs go past me. Most of the time while you are out long lining, you will have both lines dragging along the ground behind you, played out to some distance.
It takes some practice to handle two lines and you will occasionally get them crossed up or a dog with a line underneath, but that's when a good "Wait" command comes in handy while you get yourself or the dog untangled. And getting tangled up now and again is part of the fun!

Talk Softly.....You'll Be Amazed at the Results!

Our dogs have a great sense of hearing. They hear much better than we do. I have been amazed lately how well they respond if I talk softly. Even if out on a walk on the trail, while they are looking for varmits, a stage whisper works wonders! A soft call of one's name, or a softly spoken "Right Turn" seems to trigger almost an immediate response. Much more so than if I talk loudly, harshly or, worst of all, yell. And the response is ALWAYS positive and expectant! Try it yourself!