Skye & The Quad Bike
Last night marked the latest step in building the bond with my sheepdog, Skye. Like most farmers, I use a quad bike to get around my land. It saves time and when you have a bad foot like me, it saves your legs too. Quad bikes are essential but also dangerous – in fact the whole farm environment is full of hazards. Agriculture has the worst rate of worker fatal injury of all industry sectors, with transport – overturning vehicles or being struck by moving vehicles – causing most deaths.
Of course I want both myself and my dog to be safe when we travel. I have a bespoke dog box on my quad bike for Skye. I have trained her in this up and down the farm lane. Last night, for the first time I took her through the village to another area of my farm on the quad. While travelling on roads she is tethered, whereas on the farm she is lose. This is so that if an accident did occur, she could quickly jump out of harm’s way.
Skye travelled perfectly with me last night through the village and it was another step in our bonding journey. When I arrived at the fields, as I got on and off to check livestock, she stayed sat in the quad box. There was no need to over communicate with her, she knows to sit and wait until told to do otherwise.
I’m delighted with how Skye is progressing and look forward to continuing her training.
Posted: September 21, 2021