Old Hillwalker
11-15-2011, 09:00
After reading about Drake's rescue I am prompted to talk about another rescued fellow, Emerson. He is a Senior Yellow Lab/Great Pyranees mix that I found through Petfinder. He was in a kill shelter in Tennesee when I adopted him and got shipped to New Hampshire by "Friends Fur Life". He is a big fellow weighing in at 109 pounds, but with absolutely no understanding of commands. He has the mellow characteristics of Yellow Labs, but with the size and double dew claws and conformation of the Great Pyranees.
I live about 20 miles from the AT in Maine (Saddleback, Bigelows, Mahoosucs) on 25 acres of heavily wooded ridgetop homestead surrounded by thousands of acres of woodland. Consquently, since arriving here, he has been on leash whenever we are outside. I'm pretty confident that once he is fully bonded to me and the property he will be allowed off leash at home.
After being here in Maine about a month, and a lot of effort, he now understands "sit", "no", "OK go", "easy" and "whoa". We are currently working on the commands "haw" and "gee" to get ready to attempt Skijoring this winter.
Yesterday we had a training day and went up to the AT crossing at ME Route 4 and headed south for several hours to accustom him to walking on 25 foot retractable lead while climbing and descending bumpy terrain, rocks and ledges. He quickly picked up the need to stop and wait on command before going up or down ledges that were more than 25 feet high so that I would not be pulled off balance and come crashing down by his weight and enthusiasm. I now have him slowing down on "easy" and stopping on "whoa". We were out for five hours on the trail, and the behavior difference between starting and finishing our session was remarkable. Several of the other dogs (mostly Yellow Labs) I have had on the trails over the years have not liked bog bridges and puncheons. Emerson immediately took to them even balancing on a single four inch wide puncheon as he made his way across a section of bog bridge.
I am extremely happy to have adopted this old guy who is bringing a lot of sunshine into the life of an old widower who lives like a hermit in the mountains of Maine.1439014391
I live about 20 miles from the AT in Maine (Saddleback, Bigelows, Mahoosucs) on 25 acres of heavily wooded ridgetop homestead surrounded by thousands of acres of woodland. Consquently, since arriving here, he has been on leash whenever we are outside. I'm pretty confident that once he is fully bonded to me and the property he will be allowed off leash at home.
After being here in Maine about a month, and a lot of effort, he now understands "sit", "no", "OK go", "easy" and "whoa". We are currently working on the commands "haw" and "gee" to get ready to attempt Skijoring this winter.
Yesterday we had a training day and went up to the AT crossing at ME Route 4 and headed south for several hours to accustom him to walking on 25 foot retractable lead while climbing and descending bumpy terrain, rocks and ledges. He quickly picked up the need to stop and wait on command before going up or down ledges that were more than 25 feet high so that I would not be pulled off balance and come crashing down by his weight and enthusiasm. I now have him slowing down on "easy" and stopping on "whoa". We were out for five hours on the trail, and the behavior difference between starting and finishing our session was remarkable. Several of the other dogs (mostly Yellow Labs) I have had on the trails over the years have not liked bog bridges and puncheons. Emerson immediately took to them even balancing on a single four inch wide puncheon as he made his way across a section of bog bridge.
I am extremely happy to have adopted this old guy who is bringing a lot of sunshine into the life of an old widower who lives like a hermit in the mountains of Maine.1439014391