17. September 2010 by admin.

I was up bright and early - except that it was actually still dark. Dang! Autumn is coming. I drove up to the farm to feed and start bringing horses in and turn out those who are stabled overnight. Toto has changed the angle of his leg so I have called the vet. His left fore coronary band is a little warmer than the right and he is a little sensitive in the shoulder which is highly unusual. He is definitely worse than yesterday. I am meant to be leaving this afternoon as I am away doing more dog demos over the weekend in Kent but I want to be here when the vet arrives so will probably not get away until this evening now.

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

17. September 2010 by admin.

9th September

Hurrah! The mare passed the vet yesterday morning. I have always loved Cobs and now I own one! Yipppeeee. She is a poppet. Lucinda and I were going to ride out together this morning but my old boy Toto is lame, lame, lame. He always comes out a bit stiff as he has arthritis in his knees but today he felt terrible under saddle so I dismounted. Lucinda schooled Miss Myrtle in the flat field whilst I watched and there was something poignant about watching the new mare working whilst standing next to my dear old chap as he grazed.

This mare is so similar to Toto in terms of her temperament and attitude and has so many similar qualities to my fabulous horse that I now wonder if this is why she has come to me. I really hope that the lameness is something that can be addressed and I am praying that it is simply an abscess or a pulled muscle in the shoulder. I have turned him out to see how things develop but if he is the same in the morning I will be calling the vet.

More horses have arrived for the clinic and we all knew when the Friesian Stallion entered the property as the Friesian mare became rather excited! He is pretty stunning so I totally understand where she is coming from but the only things that will be ‘covered’ on this clinic are ground work and body work so I am afraid she is out of luck!

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

17. September 2010 by admin.

I am now in Liverpool with my colleague Tina. We left on Wednesday and drove up to Cheshire to spend two days working with the sniffer dogs again and will be teaching a two day workshop at Dogs Trust in Merseyside over the weekend.

The sniffer dogs were totally and utterly brilliant again and we have had great fun. I am so lucky working with such a variety of dogs as I love the versatility of these incredible animals. The sniffer dogs do detection work looking for people, drugs, illicit tobacco and wild life and the trainers showed me an article from the Daily Mail reporting the successful find of four illegal immigrants trying to gain entry into the UK. They were stowed away in a small compartment in a new yacht on a trailer. The yacht was one storey high and the vehicle was three lanes away from the dog and its handler amongst other traffic waiting to board the ferry. The dog pulled its handler over to the yacht but the officials didn’t believe the dog and weren’t going to search the yacht. The handler explained that he trusted his dog implicitly and insisted that the search took place. The four stowaways were found. This just goes to show how incredibly well trained these dogs are and I am so proud to be working with the company that trained this dog. I still can’t believe that the dog could detect these people from such a distance away.

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

17. September 2010 by admin.

A lovely client with an extremely nervous dog came for a second session today. Although the owner told me that the reactivity towards people and other dogs had increased, I noticed huge changes in her dog. She didn’t fly at me at all this time and we went for a walk around the farm.

When I am working with a reactive dog I often ask the owner to attach a long second line to the harness so that I can start making contact with the dog through the lead line at a reasonable distance. Stroking the lead gently sends a light vibration down the line which the dog feels without being threatened by direct contact and it worked a treat. The dog began moving closer and closer to my side and I was able to shorten the line. She brushed past my hand several times and I was able to stroke her several times without triggering any unwanted response at all. I asked the owner to remove her lead and the dog was totally and utterly brilliant. She didn’t harden her eye and responded beautifully to my voice cues.

Stroking the lead line when handling horses can help to teach them to lower and release the top line. As there isn’t any resistance on the line the horse doesn’t brace in the poll or back. We also use the same technique on the reins when riding to help the horse accept the bit and work in a soft, correct outline.

It was such a lovely morning and I am happy that I gave up my bank holiday to help them. My client is thrilled and the dog was calm and content. Perfect!

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

17. September 2010 by admin.

I am sitting in the stunning Covent Garden Hotel in a beautiful suite with Tony, Emily and Daisy. We all travelled to London last night to watch Daisy’s film ‘The Last Seven’ which was screened at the Odeon Covent Garden. Whilst there are a few holes in the film, Daisy is spectacular in her first movie role and although I am naturally biased, I can honestly say that the camera loves her! We had great fun at the after party and left the girls celebrating with friends. We are moving to the Haymarket Hotel this afternoon and it is fantastic having a short break with my family. I love our little jaunts away and as the next month is packed full I am relishing having a lazy day.

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

17. September 2010 by admin.

My weekend has been filled with dogs as I was doing demos at All About Dogs in Norfolk with my friend and colleague Marie Miller. After the demos in the main ring we worked with lots of dogs who came to the stand with their owners who were seeking help and advice with a variety of issues. The common theme though was noise sensitivity and as one of the other exhibitors in the main ring was using firearms with police dogs we were rather busy!

One dog was a young pointer who had been rescued from Greece. She only has one eye as she was shot as a youngster, so she was pretty traumatised by the gun fire needless to say. I fitted her with a Thundershirt which is a great new product for dogs that are frightened of fire works and thunder and it helped her enormously. She actually stopped shaking and spent some time sheltering with us and her owner whilst I did TTouches on her to help her to remain calm.

It was a glorious weekend weather-wise but the journey home was hideous as the heavens opened. I think I am getting too old to drive in the dark in heavy rain, which was exhausting!

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »