Spot Shedding Plan...In the Works

Here is a little video of shedding practice with Spot tonight. He has been a little reluctant to come through lately, which I attributed to some lack of confidence. In the past he has mostly been a good shedder. Sometimes he doesn't like to come through, whether it is too much feel, too much eye, or just that he is worried or anxious. It has happened in the past when a sheep has gotten away with beating up on him.

I am trying to work out a new plan for strengthening his shedding skills for trials. The shed always comes near the end of the run, if not the very end. By then the dog has run the whole course. He may be tired or running out of "gas". We need a good, clean, quick shed in order to get a good score, and go on to the pen if there is one, or just to finish before the clock runs out. And showing good stockmanship too, all at the same time. Whew...no pressure whatsoever!

In this video I took Spot out only to shed. I didn't use him to set the stage for this exercise. That is the advantage of having two more dogs who want to work. Believe it or not, it was young Cap who set up this situation. At evening chores, the sheep are very slow and just want to go in for the night. I have other plans, including some dog work on them. They are very piggish and slow... but might be good, so I thought, for shedding. Cap helped me to set the stage. I went back to the truck and got Spot, who was fresh and ready to go. We walked into the field and worked on shedding.

Now my goal is to somehow build up the time that he can work before shedding, and still complete a good, clean shed, without getting too anxious. Also, he has to flank cleanly or we can't shed at all. In this video he is flanking very cleanly. As time went on we did four or five more cuts on this group and it started to deteriorate. His flanks must be clean or we can't shed. I will chunk all this down and come up with a plan that we can practice on. Like any muscle, or skill, it will need to be built up in small stages.

Today's theme, Wednesday, was Be Happy. I tried my best!