Caught

When I picked up Stitch in April of 2024, his previous owner told me that he can sometimes be silly about being caught. Sure enough, when I took him home he was very wary of strangers - which included me - and did the thing where they walk just enough ahead of you that you can't get the rope over the neck. When he would stop and let me approach, I always had to go to his shoulder first and put the rope over his neck before putting the halter over his nose or he would leave again.

I always had a treat with me, that he would get once the halter was on. When I had time, I'd go back out a second or third time that day, put the halter on, give him his treat, walk a couple of steps and then remove the halter and release him. 

About 6 weeks in he started coming towards me when I went out to get him. 

Then he started to come to the gate when I called him.

All winter, he would meet me at the gate when he saw my headlight in the dark.

We had a few weeks this spring when I was apparently in Stitch's bad book after catching and leading him to the vet who rudely jabbed him while in the sanctity of his field, and he was back to the walking just a bit ahead of me, so I started to give him a treat again once haltered. I hadn't been doing that consistently since the fall.

I was forgiven after a few weeks and he went back to reliably walking across the field to me when I called him.

This summer, I added another element to our routine. As Stitch is walking to me, I turn around and put my back to him, hold the halter open to the side of me, and he comes up,  reaches his head through my arms and places his nose into his halter.

It only took about 4 or 5 days for him to figure it out, with a cookie reward as an incentive.

I have tried multiple times this summer to get it on video, and something always seemed to go wrong with my phone. But I finally got it yesterday, by propping my phone up on the ground under the gate. It's not the best video, but better than nothing.