the little piglet is training with the dogs

I've posted previously about the little pig who was to train at Kintala, the dog club where Penny first trained. I'm so glad that we started off at Kintala, because they train off-lead from the start. So Penny has never associated dog activities with being on a lead, and has had a good recall from early on.

Today there's another article in The Age about the little pig, and it's good to see the training seems to be going well. (However, I notice the pig is on lead.)

And this time there's the cutest photo!

a pig is training at Kintala, where Penny used to train

A pig amidst the puppies? Will it work? Only time will tell. But the committee of Kintala, the club where Penny trained for a couple of years, from puppyhood, has accepted a pet pig for training. Kintala, as I understand it, was the pioneer in Australia of the Gentle Modern method of training dogs (ie reward-based). I am thankful that we started there, because training is all off-lead, and I'm sure that gave Penny a good start in life.

The club's senior trainer, Katarina Behan, say that seeing food is used as a means of inducing behaviours and rewarding them, the method should suit a piglet. At first the little piggy will train independently, but eventually it will be introduced to dogs, starting with a gentle rottweiler-labrador cross.

If you'd like to read more, here is a link to Carolyn Webb's article in The Age newspaper.