Penny goes to a pet expo in Ferntree Gully

Yesterday was a fun day. Penny joined a group of dogs from a cross-section of Melbourne flyball clubs to demonstrate the sport to the public at the Ferntree Gully Pet Expo.

While Penny was resting in her crate, I went for a stroll around and watched a demonstration of gentle horse-training techniques by Wrangler Jayne.



Since I've learned about gentle, reward-based training of dogs I've wondered how it applies to other animals, and at last I had the opportunity to see it in action. Wrangler Jayne's horse was exquisitely beautiful, standing free and unafraid in a small enclosure right next to our dogs, unfazed by the people standing around and admiring him.

As she rode him around the area, guiding him with gentle pats and the movement of a long stick, his ears were pricked and you could see he was attending to her with interest and with confidence in her and in himself.