birthday celebrations and complications

I have taken a little break from writing this weekend, enjoying my birthday by celebrating and relaxing. On Friday (my birthday) had dinner with my sister at Mac and Bob's where her fiance was working all night. After we drank tasty dreamsicle cocktails and danced around the kitchen to old old music. Saturday we had a little shindig on the farm, my older sister's family all came to visit (my brother in law, nephew, and two neices.) They brought me two new rabbits as a gift, both bucks and a perfect breed. I didn't have any cages free, but set them up in totes with cage wire over the top held down by a cinder-block.We drank coffee all day, caught up on our lives, talked about farming dreams and ambitions, just enjoyed the company of family. I taught the kids how to play The Sims, which occupied them the entire day. It was a good visit, I don't get to see them very often, and I love them soo dearly.

Remember the cinder block topped rabbit totes? It was not enough. At four am I opened the front door to kick out an obnoxious kitty (Zae is always causing trouble) to find one of my handsome new boys lying lifeless at my feet. In a haste I threw on some boots and a coat, then ran down to the barn to check on the others. The other new boy was gone, but not found. He is out roaming the woodlands, covered in snow and ice. Better than dead, I suppose. We set a trap with hay and food to try and catch him if he comes back. There's not much food in the woods right now with all this snow.

I spent the entire day beating myself up, crying, shaking. I did research and planned and made lists of rabbit cage improvements that need to be done, and equally importantly, dog training that needs to be done. I have always needed to work more with Trilli, and I started several weeks ago, but picking up another cold dead animal whose blood is at least symbolically on my hands, I guess I reached a breaking point of some sort. I read up on keeping dogs with poultry (rabbits are the most similar livestock, plus she loves those too) and basic obedience training. I worked with her five times yesterday, and several more already today. Practicing sit, stand, down, stay, leave it, shake. We're also learning jobs she has to do, like sitting before going outside, or a handshake before playing with a toy. She's a smart dog, she will learn fast. I have confidence in her. I just need to have more confidence in myself. More determination. This is my challenge, not hers. How patient can I be? How persistent? I read in one of Jon Katz's books that dog trainers believe it takes about 2000 repetitions before a dog fully grasps a command. Two thousand. Wow. The most useful tip I found so far is using "rapid-fire training", where you have the dog switch between sitting and standing as quickly as possible for a minute or two at a time. It gets in the repetitions. 

I just cannot have a dog that kills every farm animal it can catch. 

It's unacceptable, and way past time to work on it.

Until next time,

Angela Kelly