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!

Celebrating Today

It's not often that one really nice thing happens in a day, but two really nice things, well that is downright unusual! But since Tuesday's theme is "be in the moment" I am taking it in stride that there are two nice things to celebrate, today.  Trying to stay in the moment and enjoy both, for today.

First, I have been following the USBCHA results page to see if Spot really did place at the last Pt. Pleasant trial, and he did! Spot was sixth! This meant that Spot received his very first HA points. That is a milestone for him that has been a long time coming. And that is with missing a drive panel (my mistake). I was very happy to see this posted today.

And second, Coal's veterinarian phoned with his biopsy results today which were good, positive results. The castration surgery should have taken care of all of the issues. There was actually a tumor in each testicle. And each testicle had a different type of tumor. It's a good thing this was caught and taken care of. I told the vet how much more lively and happy that Coal has been after his operation. Even the next day, he was woo-hooing all over the place, as much as a 12-year old dog can be. I don't think it was just the pain drugs (although that may have had something to do with it). He continues to be happy and wants to play even though he has taken all the pain drugs and has been off of them for a few days. The tumors must have been bothering him in some way and now they are gone. I was super happy to get this news today. A big weight is lifted. :-)

NCWSA Workday February 2019

A fun time was had by all at the recent NCWSA workday...we were welcomed so graciously by the hosts. Nice field, nice sheep, good cameraderie. There were some new faces and some familiar faces. We had eight minute runs to work on what we wanted to focus on in our turn with each dog. A few people paid for a second run but most were satisfied with one run. I was happy with both my dogs. I ran both Spot and Cap and tried to work on what we need to improve. I'm super grateful for this opportunity!

A course was set up for those who wanted it. I ran the course (mostly) with Spot, but not with Cap. Spot ran out well and lifted beautifully; no help required. I am working on his steady, down, and flanks on the fetch -- I want him to be more responsive there, and so that's what we focused on. I drove the drive twice, as we never have a chance to run a set course with panels. I did not make both panels either run! OMG we (I) need more practice judging where he needs to be on cross drives...
I also tried to single a ewe and while I had a couple of nice openings, Spot is reluctant to come through...which I already knew but now I know that's what we will really be focusing on when we have a chance to practice in upcoming weeks. He has so much feel that sometimes he is reluctant. We will work on it. Keeping his flanks open and clean is also a constant upgrade/process. Overall I was very pleased with Spot though.

When it came Cap's turn it was starting to rain. He worked like a champ though. I focused on short gathers for him and just general obedience and things we've been working on. Cap is a listener! He wants to please. Some of his flanks are still tight along the sides but they are improving. His at hand work is lovely. He is getting an inside comebye flank but has yet to be convinced of the necessity on the away side...we will get it. I am using the whistles when he has already taking the flank and/or blowing the whistle when it is an obvious flank to one side or the other... the so-called "natural" flank by some. Overall I am super pleased with Cap and he got some nice compliments from the crowd.

NCWSA is trying to revive itself and I am trying to support that effort in any way I can. There were some new folks there, at least one person was there for her very first outing with her dog away from either home or lessons. This is where the club can really shine -- to bring on new folks who need support, as well as to support the long-timers in their new dogs and puppies to get them out. And for a dog like Spot, I need outings on different sheep in different places.

While the weather looked very iffy for the day for most of the work day the skies held off. It was only on our drive home from the event that the skies opened up.

A BIG thank you to everyone that made this event possible! :-)

New Year's Pt. Pleasant

It was the weekend, so I was supposed to Find Awe, and find awe, we did. On the drive over to Elk Grove, there was the most fantastic sunrise that I have seen, maybe ever. It lit up the whole eastern sky when I hit about Napa...others at the trial commented on how beautiful the sky was in the early morning...one of the rewards of getting up so early to get to a dog trial, I imagine!

The first day of the trial, felt like we were very "cobwebby" for lack of a better term. It was our first trial of the new year. Spot did "OK"... we got the sheep and never lost them, and got a score, although it was a low one. I felt good and happy. It was a nine minute course on a beautiful sunny day...  it was wonderful to sit in the sunshine and enjoy the dogs and sheep. Left hand drive, split the four sheep into two and two in the shedding ring, and then a freestanding chute with an immobile wing, and a rope to hang onto...always an inventive obstacle at Pt Pleasant! But fun.  We were up dog #5. No time to get nervous! I sent Spot to the right, which seemed to be the way to go, and that is his more open, flowy side. I did not blow any keep-going whistles, which in retrospect was a mistake. He got to about one o'clock and stalled. It took four Away whistles to get him over behind the sheep and then he was a freight train on the upper half of the fetch. Finally I got ahold of him just below the fetch gates... whew! As someone I know would say, "within rock chucking distance" (or for us, about the maximum distance of our practice field... sigh...). From there the drive was choppy but we managed, we got to the shed ring and I could not shed. The sheep are always hard to shed there and while we have done it in the past, I couldn't do it that day, and they were probably a bit boogered-up due to being run on the fetch. So the clock ran out on us. Still, I was very happy.   We didn't lose the sheep and there were two really good chances to do that...on the upper part of the fetch, and turning the second drive panel. In both cases they really booked and Spot was not covering the best. Spot tried hard and I would support him more, the second day.

 On Sunday, we were up dog #17 after heavy fog delayed the start of the trial for over an hour. The course time was reduced to eight minutes. It was a right hand drive, the unusual chute, and then a single in the shed ring. I sent Spot away again, and this time I blew one "preemptive" whistle about 3 o' clock to say "keep going, keep going, you are right" and it worked. The top end was much better. I had to work hard to get ahold of him but that I did, we made the fetch gates and the first panel and barely missed the second drive panel (too bad!!!)... not his fault, mine... then the chute nicely done...and a single (which felt like a Hail Mary to me, but others said it was OK). A completed run! Oh my!! 72 points for (I think) 6th place...to be confirmed. I am super happy with how calm and relaxed Spot was the whole weekend...which I attribute to him getting neutered in December. It's a very significant change in him. He was still fairly hard to stop, especially at distance...so I have to continue to get out of the comfort zone and work on that.

Hello Spot! I am happy with you!

After a lot of talk on the internet about us losing so many trials in our area, and how expensive they are to put on, and how I would like to have more in our area, and how we can support them... I volunteered myself that day to two trial hosts. I'm going to be busy at a couple of the upcoming sheepdog trials...which could not be better for me! :-)

Cap 1-24-2019

Here is a little video of Cap from this past week. He is tighter on the bye side, so I set it up with sheep held on hay so that he would have to run out around the vernal pool on the bye side. The only intervention from me is that I am walking forward up the fetch line a little bit before I send him. My body pressure must be different when I am videoing, because this was the worst outrun of the three or four that we did in that session! (LOL) I'm really happy with Cap and he is super fun to work with. He's a very willing partner and wants to please.

This Week's Themes

For the past week, I posted a favorite book for each of my daily themes.

Monday - Be Positive - was Vergil Holland's The Handler's Post
Tuesday - Be in the Moment was Jack Knox's new book, Learning Life's Lessons with Stock Dogs
Wednesday - Be Happy - was my all time favorite, Derek Scrimgeour's Talking Sheepdogs
Thursday - Be Kind - was Top Trainers Talk about Starting a Sheepdog
Friday - Dream Big - was A Way of Life, by Glyn Jones
Saturday- Sunday - Find Awe - was One Man's Way, by Austin Bennett, my second most favorite book

Wednesday, my birthday - I got to take 12-year old Coal to the veterinarian. He has a testicular tumor which needs to be removed (it is a neuter surgery).  This was not something I was planning so it's a shift in our pathway that was unexpected. I am concerned about him handling the surgery and recuperation at his age, but everyone tells me it will be fine. I hope so ! His surgery is Monday. I would appreciate good vibes for him. The tumor was not there a month ago; it has come on really fast. We did a blood panel on him and a chest xray and all looks clear. I feel badly doing this to him, but I also can't leave it the way it is...the vets I know are all saying once it's gone, it's gone; that this type of tumor doesn't normally go into the rest of the body. I am hoping for the best, despite his age. So that's how I spent my birthday...wrapping my head around that. As a result I am going to pass on some of the dog events that I had planned for this spring in order to be able to pay for the surgery.  Life takes a turn...and we roll with it.

Working With Spot

Here are some pictures of Spot and me working lambs in a very muddy field recently.  He's not sure about these lambs and they like to stand and stare at the dogs. I'm working on building Spot's confidence with them.

We have shed these two lambs away from  four others. They are starting to turn to move away from Spot.

Spot moving the two along nicely.

I like the 'happy' in this photo, even though it is not well-focused.

Ryme will walk right into these lambs and they move right off of him. I wish Spot had that kind of authority and it is too bad that Ryme is now ten years old...sigh. I used Ryme to work them around a little bit first and then sorted some off to get down to six, to work with Spot and Cap. We had a good session. I made sure Spot was giving me nice open flanks, but also worked close at hand with him so that he felt encouraged to walk into their faces and turn them. With Cap, I am forgiving him a little on the fine points with these sheep because I want him to gain confidence in moving them. It is one of my main goals to get the dogs out on different sheep and not always on broke sheep. Working only broke sheep for so long is the source of many of our troubles. I'm doing all I can to fulfill that goal.