As luck would have it, soon after Spot's downfall at Point Pleasant and not finding his sheep again, we were able to have a lesson with our trainer. I asked to work on this very thing: teaching Spot to spot sheep at a distance. I also asked for help on turning the post, which is quite literally probably another post. :) I have always been a dunce at turning the post, even going back to Bid days. Slowly I get better but it has always been a tough part of the run for me.
But back to Spot and spotting sheep, there are several scenarios involved with a dog finding sheep out of sight or just barely visible. There are sheep that are just a very long way away but visible. There are sheep that the dog can't see, either due to terrain, fog, or other conditions. There are other situations that need redirects. I'm sure there is more. Spot is a babe in the woods on all of these scenarios. He is used to places that he knows, and sheep that he can readily see. It is my job now to change all of that up within reason, if we are to become more successful.
We all worked hard on Spot finding his sheep during the lesson. The sheep were hidden from view in various places behind the little hills. Spot had never done this before. Some of his work (and mine) was not pretty and some of it was very pretty and some was just acceptable. It is all a work in progress. I'm also still battling to get him to stop at a certain distance (no surprise there but it did catch me by surprise me at first). I'm not sure why I thought our good stop from "home" at a hundred yards or a hundred and fifty, would carry over to away from home and three or four times that distance. Duh. It sometimes does but it also sometimes doesn't. I want that stop though. It's important.
Overall, Spot did some big-boy stuff. It was a huge step forward in his work. I think he was starting to get it on finding his sheep. People keep telling me that he is not too far off the mark, for his age. But I keep feeling like it is taking a long time. I'm trying not to compare him to other dogs of his same age group. We will hang in there, and be grateful for lessons as they happen.
Friday, May 29, 2015
Three Hours
Normally, it takes me just two hours and maybe a few minutes plus or minus, to drive to Pt. Pleasant Ranch on a nice weekend morning, early.
On Mother's Day, however, it takes at least three hours to drive home. Oh my. But it's what we do. I am learning that I have to just hunker down and drive if I want to do this stuff. Don't think about it, just drive (safely).
The Mother's Day Point Pleasant trial was a nice opportunity for me to run both Spot and Coal, as both Nursery and Open were offered.
Spot...did not spot his sheep. So once again we walked off from the post. I was not upset. I thought he saw them; the judge thought he saw them. He ran part way out but did not see them. I tried re-directing, but no go. Retire. We need to work on him seeing and finding his sheep. I moved that higher up the to-do list.
Coal had a pretty nice run in open, and it was fun except for when he started sniffing the ground after turning the post. He's never done that before! Once he resumed working, things were not too bad. Dogs!!! :-) Our course ended with a shed of two sheep from two; then pen the two. We almost got it done. If I'd been two seconds faster to open the pen gate, we would have gotten it done. I was not the only one in this predicament. Still, it was fun, and nice to have a creative challenge to work on.
For Mother's Day, they always have a nice potluck lunch, with cake, ice cream and tri-tip. I had never heard of tri-tip before I moved to California. And I've even taken the Animal Sciences classes where they have the beef diagram with all the cuts. I am not sure what tri-tip is in the midwest but in California it is the traditional BBQ fare. I have come to appreciate a good tri-tip, whatever it may be called in the midwest! No cake for me but there was some fantastic berry ice cream. Something to savor and remember on the three-hour drive home!
On Mother's Day, however, it takes at least three hours to drive home. Oh my. But it's what we do. I am learning that I have to just hunker down and drive if I want to do this stuff. Don't think about it, just drive (safely).
The Mother's Day Point Pleasant trial was a nice opportunity for me to run both Spot and Coal, as both Nursery and Open were offered.
Spot...did not spot his sheep. So once again we walked off from the post. I was not upset. I thought he saw them; the judge thought he saw them. He ran part way out but did not see them. I tried re-directing, but no go. Retire. We need to work on him seeing and finding his sheep. I moved that higher up the to-do list.
Coal had a pretty nice run in open, and it was fun except for when he started sniffing the ground after turning the post. He's never done that before! Once he resumed working, things were not too bad. Dogs!!! :-) Our course ended with a shed of two sheep from two; then pen the two. We almost got it done. If I'd been two seconds faster to open the pen gate, we would have gotten it done. I was not the only one in this predicament. Still, it was fun, and nice to have a creative challenge to work on.
For Mother's Day, they always have a nice potluck lunch, with cake, ice cream and tri-tip. I had never heard of tri-tip before I moved to California. And I've even taken the Animal Sciences classes where they have the beef diagram with all the cuts. I am not sure what tri-tip is in the midwest but in California it is the traditional BBQ fare. I have come to appreciate a good tri-tip, whatever it may be called in the midwest! No cake for me but there was some fantastic berry ice cream. Something to savor and remember on the three-hour drive home!
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Washoe Valley Sheepdog Trial
If you are going to put on a first sheepdog trial, you might as well do it up right. That's what the folks did, who pulled together the Washoe Valley Sheepdog trial recently. Held just outside of Carson City, NV, it was a great venue. The trial field was a cow pasture with some green vegetation and not a sticker to be found, anywhere. It's true there were some clumps in the field but as long as you watched out for those, you were fine. It was so nice not to worry about foxtails, filaree or any of their nasty cousins.
The sheep were Nevada range ewes, very fit, healthy, well fed, and super challenging. Every detail was looked after by the super trial hostesses and hosts. Water for the dogs was refreshed every so often, as was water for the sheep. A super handler's dinner was offered --with music and cowboy poetry --, I am told, although I missed it in favor of visiting with long time Reno friends for dinner instead. It was great to see my old friends and the almost ten years that had somehow slipped away between our visits just melted as we walked down memory lane and enjoyed wonderful BBQ lamb.
There seemed to be so many volunteers at the trial, and no job was left undone. I was super impressed by the support received by this trial.The trial field was just minutes away from Carson City so everything you needed was right there: food, gas, motel, shopping.
Coal and I had a decent run on Saturday and I had a lot of fun with it. He did an OK outrun and lift, and the fetch was a bit too fast but we made the fetch gates and got the sheep down the field. Our drive was all over the place, and not good...but we managed to get the sheep into the shedding ring before the timer went off. Whew! It was fun. Range ewes and Coal have never been a good combo...but we tried. Sunday's run was a different story; I just could not get ahold of him, and after a crossover and missing the fetch gates, I RTed. Oh well, another day we will do better. It was still a really fun trial and I am glad I went outside my comfort zone a little bit to get there. I've never seen Lake Tahoe and I drove by it on my way there. Lots of firsts for many, including moi. :) I am really hoping that this group can pull it together to have another trial in the future. I know that trials are SO much work...but it was all very much appreciated!
The sheep were Nevada range ewes, very fit, healthy, well fed, and super challenging. Every detail was looked after by the super trial hostesses and hosts. Water for the dogs was refreshed every so often, as was water for the sheep. A super handler's dinner was offered --with music and cowboy poetry --, I am told, although I missed it in favor of visiting with long time Reno friends for dinner instead. It was great to see my old friends and the almost ten years that had somehow slipped away between our visits just melted as we walked down memory lane and enjoyed wonderful BBQ lamb.
There seemed to be so many volunteers at the trial, and no job was left undone. I was super impressed by the support received by this trial.The trial field was just minutes away from Carson City so everything you needed was right there: food, gas, motel, shopping.
Coal and I had a decent run on Saturday and I had a lot of fun with it. He did an OK outrun and lift, and the fetch was a bit too fast but we made the fetch gates and got the sheep down the field. Our drive was all over the place, and not good...but we managed to get the sheep into the shedding ring before the timer went off. Whew! It was fun. Range ewes and Coal have never been a good combo...but we tried. Sunday's run was a different story; I just could not get ahold of him, and after a crossover and missing the fetch gates, I RTed. Oh well, another day we will do better. It was still a really fun trial and I am glad I went outside my comfort zone a little bit to get there. I've never seen Lake Tahoe and I drove by it on my way there. Lots of firsts for many, including moi. :) I am really hoping that this group can pull it together to have another trial in the future. I know that trials are SO much work...but it was all very much appreciated!
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Mileage
Clearly, blogging has taken a back seat to putting mileage on the dogs and my car recently.
There comes a time when you have to start hauling a young dog out (Spot) in order to widen his experiences...and what you find out is where (some of) the "holes" are in your training...and you try to fill them inbetween trips!
Additionally, there have been some opportunities to get Coal and Ryme out for trials and experience on different sheep, so we were lucky to take advantage of those too.
We went to the RESDA Spring Trial in Boonville, back in mid-April. Ryme was the star of my team for that day, ending up in seventh place on the day with 27.5 points. Ryme gave me some very good at-hand work, including a lovely pen where he convinced three wily commercial ewes to agree to going in so I could shut the gate. Coal and Spot were the also-rans...again nothing to write home about there except for more experience on the white-faced commercial ewes from the Johnson Ranch. Spot did a nice gather for his first-ever run at the Boonville arena, but then got too rattled at the turn around the pen so I retired.
A couple of weeks later, we attended the Barn Dance Trial near Auburn CA. Spot was entered in Nursery. What a nice venue this was for getting the young dogs out! And it was also a great opportunity for the newer handlers to gain some trialling experience. They offered Nursery, Pro-Novice, and Novice-Novice. The sheep were perfect, borrowed white hair sheep from the very consistent Spencer flock. The field was gently rolling to provide a little terrain to negotiate. Spot did a very nice outrun lift and fetch. I was so pleased to find that he would stop for me on a whistle at the top of the fetch. But, like at the RESDA trial, when we started to turn toward the drive, Spot did not want to work with me and take the flanks that he needed to take...so another RT. Since then we have been working on lots of "turning the post" type of manuevers of all kinds, as much as I can dream up. That is just one of the "holes" in Spot's training that needs to get filled up. He needs to be able to do all those things away from home, just as smoothly as he does at the "home" fields. More mileage needed.
And then my car got its oil changed, tires rotated, and so forth, so we would be ready for the next adventure which would not be too far out on the calendar...but that is another blog post.
There comes a time when you have to start hauling a young dog out (Spot) in order to widen his experiences...and what you find out is where (some of) the "holes" are in your training...and you try to fill them inbetween trips!
Additionally, there have been some opportunities to get Coal and Ryme out for trials and experience on different sheep, so we were lucky to take advantage of those too.
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| Photo of Spot by M. Lyons |
We went to the RESDA Spring Trial in Boonville, back in mid-April. Ryme was the star of my team for that day, ending up in seventh place on the day with 27.5 points. Ryme gave me some very good at-hand work, including a lovely pen where he convinced three wily commercial ewes to agree to going in so I could shut the gate. Coal and Spot were the also-rans...again nothing to write home about there except for more experience on the white-faced commercial ewes from the Johnson Ranch. Spot did a nice gather for his first-ever run at the Boonville arena, but then got too rattled at the turn around the pen so I retired.
A couple of weeks later, we attended the Barn Dance Trial near Auburn CA. Spot was entered in Nursery. What a nice venue this was for getting the young dogs out! And it was also a great opportunity for the newer handlers to gain some trialling experience. They offered Nursery, Pro-Novice, and Novice-Novice. The sheep were perfect, borrowed white hair sheep from the very consistent Spencer flock. The field was gently rolling to provide a little terrain to negotiate. Spot did a very nice outrun lift and fetch. I was so pleased to find that he would stop for me on a whistle at the top of the fetch. But, like at the RESDA trial, when we started to turn toward the drive, Spot did not want to work with me and take the flanks that he needed to take...so another RT. Since then we have been working on lots of "turning the post" type of manuevers of all kinds, as much as I can dream up. That is just one of the "holes" in Spot's training that needs to get filled up. He needs to be able to do all those things away from home, just as smoothly as he does at the "home" fields. More mileage needed.
And then my car got its oil changed, tires rotated, and so forth, so we would be ready for the next adventure which would not be too far out on the calendar...but that is another blog post.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Sheep Chores
All of our sheep are up to date now on their vaccinations and worming and foot trimming as of yesterday's all-hands-on-deck session. Kind of like a barn raising, in miniature. :) It is a bit of work to maintain even just a few sheep for dog training. We try to keep them healthy. When you (the handlers) are a bit older, you are pretty careful about getting hurt while doing these chores. None of us wants to get caught by a Scottie's horn or stepped on by a sheep on your bad foot. It took a couple of sessions, because we have sheep in two locations, but now everyone is done. Well, I take that back. One set of sheep still needs one round of the other kind of wormer, but that will not be too bad a chore (no shots, no hoof trimming).
And, the guardian dogs have to have heartworm preventive and flea/tick stuff too..just like the border collies.
I was listening to a conversation a while back, in which one successful trialler was saying how he just rotates sheep in and out. His main focus is on being competitive with his dog(s) in the trials. It is one way to go, that way you have fresh sheep to work, and you avoid the upkeep of maintaining a healthy long-term flock. But on the other hand, as another person in the conversation pointed out, some handlers actually like sheep. :) They are a big part of the equation and they are the basis for the sheepdog/shepherding culture (for lack of a better word) that we enjoy. Two outlooks, two methods, both participants in the same activity.
My dogs are just happy that we have sheep!
And, the guardian dogs have to have heartworm preventive and flea/tick stuff too..just like the border collies.
I was listening to a conversation a while back, in which one successful trialler was saying how he just rotates sheep in and out. His main focus is on being competitive with his dog(s) in the trials. It is one way to go, that way you have fresh sheep to work, and you avoid the upkeep of maintaining a healthy long-term flock. But on the other hand, as another person in the conversation pointed out, some handlers actually like sheep. :) They are a big part of the equation and they are the basis for the sheepdog/shepherding culture (for lack of a better word) that we enjoy. Two outlooks, two methods, both participants in the same activity.
My dogs are just happy that we have sheep!
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
How Did You Get Started with Sheepdogs?
In a few conversations over the weekend with other handlers, this little blog topic floated up to the surface. But to be successful, it will require some participation.
I am wondering how other people got started with sheepdogs. Are you fascinated with sheepdogs and the amazing ability to move sheep around a field or a course? Is it absolutely enthralling to wonder how they can balance sheep on the tip of their nose and drive them?
Here are some of the comments I have heard over the years, but I would love to list more and hear answers from others:
* I was at the Cow Palace with our daughter showing bulls and we saw the RESDA sheepdog trial there and were fascinated!
*I have driven by the Sonoma Wine Country trial every year and by golly, this year I decided to stop!
*I had been raising sheep for years and always went to Sonoma County Fair to watch the RESDA trial. A RESDA handler gave me a retired dog to help me load my lambs into the trailer and do odd chores.
* I wanted a border collie as my next dog; I had an aussie mix who resembled a border collie and the next time I wanted the real thing.
* I was doing agility (or obedience, or......) and wanted to try "herding" with my border collie, and I got hooked when I went to a sheepdog training clinic.
* We were on vacation in (name a state or country) and stopped by a local sheepdog trial just to watch for a few minutes, and we were interested enough to stay all day. We bought a dog on that trip.
* It was a natural progression from being involved with horses.
* I got a border collie as a companion, and wanted to try doing what it was bred for.
* We had some grass that needed eating down, so I got a few sheep to avoid mowing. Then I wanted my border collie to be able to move them when needed, so I called a trainer for a few lessons.
Let me know your story.........I am interested. :)
I am wondering how other people got started with sheepdogs. Are you fascinated with sheepdogs and the amazing ability to move sheep around a field or a course? Is it absolutely enthralling to wonder how they can balance sheep on the tip of their nose and drive them?
Here are some of the comments I have heard over the years, but I would love to list more and hear answers from others:
* I was at the Cow Palace with our daughter showing bulls and we saw the RESDA sheepdog trial there and were fascinated!
*I have driven by the Sonoma Wine Country trial every year and by golly, this year I decided to stop!
*I had been raising sheep for years and always went to Sonoma County Fair to watch the RESDA trial. A RESDA handler gave me a retired dog to help me load my lambs into the trailer and do odd chores.
* I wanted a border collie as my next dog; I had an aussie mix who resembled a border collie and the next time I wanted the real thing.
* I was doing agility (or obedience, or......) and wanted to try "herding" with my border collie, and I got hooked when I went to a sheepdog training clinic.
* We were on vacation in (name a state or country) and stopped by a local sheepdog trial just to watch for a few minutes, and we were interested enough to stay all day. We bought a dog on that trip.
* It was a natural progression from being involved with horses.
* I got a border collie as a companion, and wanted to try doing what it was bred for.
* We had some grass that needed eating down, so I got a few sheep to avoid mowing. Then I wanted my border collie to be able to move them when needed, so I called a trainer for a few lessons.
Let me know your story.........I am interested. :)
Monday, March 23, 2015
Trials
Here locally, we have three open trials in a row on subsequent weekends. This could be a good thing, or a not so good thing, depending on your perspective. Personally I was wishing that the three trials could be a bit more spread out. I only entered one of them, mainly feeling unprepared at the very early date this year when entries had to be sent in. Over the winter I'm really limited on how much I can train or even condition my dogs, so until we change the clocks I only work them on the weekends and maybe squeezing in a very short practice during the week.
Last weekend we went to Zamora to watch the open trial, one day. It was tough going, even tougher than I could remember the four times that Coal and I ran. I was sort of glad I had not entered Coal. I didn't feel prepared enough to enter, when the entries opened, so I didn't. The sheep were fast and didn't mind turning on the speed if the dog took the tiniest wrong move, at least "wrong" in their opinion. It was fun to see everyone, though, and it was interesting being there in person for a few good runs (or good parts of runs) to see them. I like seeing runs where handlers demonstrate good stockmanship (or stockwomanship as the case may be). I'm not sure this is a popular view but it is my view. On the drive home from Zamora we discussed what might have been done to better handle the course from this angle, and that. Even when the sheep are tough, we as handlers still need to try to run with straight lines and tight turns. It's a tall order, I know.
This weekend was Sonoma Wine Country. I had entered Coal in one Open class. We did OK, not stellar, but not terrible. I was happy with the outrun, lift, and fetch but our drive was not so good...we skimmed both panels without making them so our drive point deductions were massive. We timed out in the shedding ring, having got there with only about a minute to go. The sheep were very fit and healthy and moved more off of people than I might have expected. It was a beautiful weekend with some refreshing rain overnight which is sorely needed, but not enough to spoil the trial at all. There were a lot of the very competitive open handlers in attendance at this trial (similar to Zamora) and as a result, there were some very nice runs and some high scores. There were also a lot of uncompleted runs and low scores or no scores so I did not feel so badly about Coal's and my (what I felt was a solid) attempt to attack the flat field course. At least we got the sheep around the course without losing them and I did try for those correct lines and tight turns even if we didn't quite accomplish them all the way around.
Next weekend is McCormack Ranch, which I didn't enter at all. Now I am feeling a bit regretful that I didn't enter Coal in that one. But I didn't enter so I have to live with that. Ahh well it's only a sheepdog trial and we are not that competitive anyway, but since Coal is now 8 1/2 years old I am wondering if I have waited too long to try to get to more Open trials. It's getting harder and harder to get into the trials, too. The waiting lists are sometimes long.
It's always interesting, listening to others' perspectives at the trials. Some of the topics include: working with the dog(s) that you have, vs. ( I suppose) buying new dogs to be more competitive. Another is, those who really enjoy and like sheep and being good shepherds, and in contrast, those who view the sheep (and maybe the dogs too, I am not totally sure) more as tools to a competitive end, a sport, more of a game than it is for me. None of these views are wrong.
Getting a score and looking good to the outside eye on the trial field is not always a barometer of one's success at attaining and working towards goals. There are so many moving parts underneath the surface in this activity that may not be noticed or viewed. But yet they are all important, and for those working on conquering some more private speedbumps and twists/turns in the road, those little victories are something to cheer about. All of this, I do know! And such is my rambling commentary on recent trials. :)
Last weekend we went to Zamora to watch the open trial, one day. It was tough going, even tougher than I could remember the four times that Coal and I ran. I was sort of glad I had not entered Coal. I didn't feel prepared enough to enter, when the entries opened, so I didn't. The sheep were fast and didn't mind turning on the speed if the dog took the tiniest wrong move, at least "wrong" in their opinion. It was fun to see everyone, though, and it was interesting being there in person for a few good runs (or good parts of runs) to see them. I like seeing runs where handlers demonstrate good stockmanship (or stockwomanship as the case may be). I'm not sure this is a popular view but it is my view. On the drive home from Zamora we discussed what might have been done to better handle the course from this angle, and that. Even when the sheep are tough, we as handlers still need to try to run with straight lines and tight turns. It's a tall order, I know.
This weekend was Sonoma Wine Country. I had entered Coal in one Open class. We did OK, not stellar, but not terrible. I was happy with the outrun, lift, and fetch but our drive was not so good...we skimmed both panels without making them so our drive point deductions were massive. We timed out in the shedding ring, having got there with only about a minute to go. The sheep were very fit and healthy and moved more off of people than I might have expected. It was a beautiful weekend with some refreshing rain overnight which is sorely needed, but not enough to spoil the trial at all. There were a lot of the very competitive open handlers in attendance at this trial (similar to Zamora) and as a result, there were some very nice runs and some high scores. There were also a lot of uncompleted runs and low scores or no scores so I did not feel so badly about Coal's and my (what I felt was a solid) attempt to attack the flat field course. At least we got the sheep around the course without losing them and I did try for those correct lines and tight turns even if we didn't quite accomplish them all the way around.
Next weekend is McCormack Ranch, which I didn't enter at all. Now I am feeling a bit regretful that I didn't enter Coal in that one. But I didn't enter so I have to live with that. Ahh well it's only a sheepdog trial and we are not that competitive anyway, but since Coal is now 8 1/2 years old I am wondering if I have waited too long to try to get to more Open trials. It's getting harder and harder to get into the trials, too. The waiting lists are sometimes long.
It's always interesting, listening to others' perspectives at the trials. Some of the topics include: working with the dog(s) that you have, vs. ( I suppose) buying new dogs to be more competitive. Another is, those who really enjoy and like sheep and being good shepherds, and in contrast, those who view the sheep (and maybe the dogs too, I am not totally sure) more as tools to a competitive end, a sport, more of a game than it is for me. None of these views are wrong.
Getting a score and looking good to the outside eye on the trial field is not always a barometer of one's success at attaining and working towards goals. There are so many moving parts underneath the surface in this activity that may not be noticed or viewed. But yet they are all important, and for those working on conquering some more private speedbumps and twists/turns in the road, those little victories are something to cheer about. All of this, I do know! And such is my rambling commentary on recent trials. :)
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