Sally's work, Abby too

I did as I promised and took some ducks out to work Sally today.  I took them up to the roundpen field, where they've never been and let her work them in and out of the roundpen there.  I got two hens that were awful in this group so they made things rather difficult.  Sally was her usual pushy self though so that didn't help our hen issue!  She did very nice driving on them, outruns were acceptable though not great.  Her fetches have never been good, there were some that were ok and others that weren't .   I am also taking her south this weekend to work on the Call ducks, which she seems to like.  As well as working the trial course too since I don't have one set up yet!
I also worked Abby this am while I was feeding everyone.  We are still fighting about the drive but it seems to be getting better in small areas.  She looses confidence again when she gets further so that will be a work in progress.  Her walk up when she is using her brain is nice and somewhat straight; when not she still wants to roll all over the place.  I worry that her outruns are going to be crap for the trial next weekend with all this drive work...  She will also get work down there this weekend, I sure hope it helps!

Christmas work

Well I stayed home from NC to rest and work dogs, so I'm glad I got some done.  Really should have done more but I was just too tired!  With trials only 10 days away I should be working daily:-)
Abby I am still working on a better drive so I used the goats and made her drive them corner to corner in the big field, driving all the way into the corner.  There was a lot of fighting and improvements; so not too bad.  I just don't want to fight to get her to walk!  After a brief rest I took three sheep, two ewes and a ram lamb; we drove them up the field and then shed a ewe off and took her to the upper pasture.  With her off Abby did an outrun to the bottom and picked up the two extras and we shed them.  Drove the ram to the top and did a look back on the ewe.  All that work was pretty good; I could definitely see improvement on her drive and the sheds were very nice.  That was all we got done with Abby, we were both mentally drained.
I took Patsy out too.  We worked the single ewe back down the field to the barn, then we worked in the stalls.  She doesn't really understand the stall work yet but she will.  Nice work on the single and then we put them all together and did some driving and fetching on them.  A couple of decent outruns; way is definitely her bad side, will work more on that.  She is good at hunting balance though doesn't always stay and hold the pressure yet.  I'm looking forward to trialling her this Spring!
Poor Sally didn't get to do anything but chores!  I really need to get some ducks out for her but I just haven't felt like it...  I will give her some time tomorrow, I promise:-))

Week off:-))

Well we really haven't done much training this week.  Little bits here and there...  Abby I am working on improving her driving "lift".  I've always had some issue with her drive but can handle her through it on A course.  At home I don't usually have a need for a long drive but, it doesn't make a well rounded stock dog!  So we try to fix it, she needs a better drive; thats all there is to it.  She seems to be improving so we need to keep it up.  I have a trial first of the new year so will hope that we see some solid improvement by then.
I did get some good work on Patsy this week.  Here is a video of the little urchin:-))  She gets better and stronger with every workout.  I like that she does not back down from anything.  Can't wait to try her on cattle!

Trial weekend- Malabar

Well we are home and trying to recover.  I am uploading videos from my new camera now, hopefully will post tomorrow.  We had a great weekend!  Both Bubbles and Tulip (Rosy's sis) finished their PT titles, nicely done on both their parts, two more points for Beli's ROMS!! Woohoo:-))
Abby was pretty good both days.  The first day was a beautiful run, nice outrun, good fetch, ok drive/ pen and then the SHED.  I screwed it up!  Damnit...  I didn't settle the sheep or take control on the way to the shed and we just couldn't get it.  I called the run, heartbreaking really since the rest was so nice.  Sunday went in with a plan, or a better one...  Outrun wasn't as good, actually was pretty bad and the sheep left early, she picked them up and finally got back online, drive was ok; she wasn't really hooked to her sheep properly.  Got the pen, settled the sheep and approached the shedding ring.  So I got a little nervous and called her wrong but we got settled again and got a very nice shed.  Finished 3rd of 4 but more importantly; I'm really happy with how Abby worked over the weekend.
The trial was really nice.  Good to see friends and relax.  Nice runs, good stock, great handlers and nice dogs.  The sheep and ducks were both very nice and gave the dogs that were talented enough chances to fix one mistake but would take advantage of mishandling.  My ducks did really well!:-))  I got to watch most of B course Adv/Int both nice on sheep, ducks had some really great runs too though I set for those so couldn't watch as easily.

Finally got the vids loaded, you'll have to excuse the bobbles since I was just handing the camera off to whomever was available; they didn't get much in the way of a lesson on how to use it.  Enjoy!!!!

Duck course and work

Got to drive south today and build the duck pen for our club.  Took a couple hours to build, didn't work any ducks on it today though.  My ducks will get their chance on Friday, I hope they pass:-))
Bubbles, Patsy and Abby all got to work; got too dark for Sally though.  Bubbles did pretty well, though she was blown up a little.  The start was not really good for her cuz we were trying to catch the BC puppy that split the sheep for us.  Once started she was pretty good.  I hope the judges will overlook a little heeling here and there:-))
I just wanted to show Patsy to someone so she got a quick go in the roundpen.  Very nice quiet work and so calm!
Abby, first workout was glorious!  Beautiful outrun, lift and fetch; turn at the handlers post very nice drive gates weren't set out but were about 250yds each leg.  Her drives were nice though I didn't stay at the post.  Pen was picture perfect, Shed was VERY nice.  I was so proud.  Round 2, well not as good on the outrun, actually just not good period.  She would have gotten away with the outrun but I know she does so much better; I wish she would show someone other than me!  These sheep are pretty forgiving on that as long as the dog takes control of them so we will cross our fingers and pray.  More later in the week...

Pre trial stuff

Well not much work for Abby since the trial.  I had to run through my ducks and try to figure trial groups for them since they'll be used next weekend.  Sally and Patsy got to work them.
Sally was PUSHY!  Geez, who knew:-)))  Anyway, she worked them ok once we were on the same page.  Nice gathers and drives, my ducks don't really like to fetch cuz of the human pressure so they need to be handled softly on the fetch.  She was good at breaking them from the corners; grabs their little butt feathers one duck at a time.  Out they come!  The ducks need some training, since Sally is the only one working ducks right now she's it.
Patsy did some work on them too.  Go figure, she was also pushy:-))  Second group of ducks was a little less likely to stay together so it didn't help that she was pushy on them.  Work after that was good though.  She does a nice job usually on ducks just needs some miles to settle on them.
So I think I have two decent groups of trial ducks.  They aren't great ducks but they are surely workable if the dog handles them right.  I'll be selling them after this trial anyway, I just don't use them often enough...

Sunday trial day 2

Day 2... Abby was much better today, more settled.  Outrun still tight but good otherwise, missed the cone, didn't want to mess with the sheep to get it.  Y chute, very nice, Z good; sheep were pushing on her pretty hard but she handled them nicely.  Pen was good, exit very nice.  Turn at 4 was good and across to the 5; I had her hold them there and gave the flank to set up the pen well she didn't take it.  So more offline but down to the exhaust was good.  Both day she had a sheep try to run through her and caught them but still a split.  So I'm very happy with her and though it didn't change our placement I liked our work today.  So two more points, only a couple more to go now!

Sat trial

Well only Abby trialling this weekend. She did a pretty nice job to start, rushed the sheep at the turn around the post and buggered 'em. Rotten beasty:-) The sheep slipped past the Y, dumb handler decided to push it and mucked around a bit... Rest of the run was ok, Pen-4 Abby pushed too much... turned early and the sheep were so settled that they just turned nice but too early. Still of 15 dogs Abby was 3rd and got 2 more points! Yeah Abby:-)) Tomorrow will be better I hope!

Trial work

Well Abby got to work on the trial course today for the last time before the weekend. Wow did she do a nice job! There were a couple really small mistakes but the pace and movement of stock was perfect! Her outruns, there were 3, 2 good one not great. Pen work was really good, drives were nice though could have been more direct and slower... She got so much work yesterday I wasn't sure she would be sound today; she was slower than normal but sound. I think I'd better make her a chiro appt after this weekend. I hope that she shows up for the trial!

I took Patsy for a field trip too. Her work was very much improved too. Not nearly as pushy, nice slow work, very thoughtful about their movement. I'm very happy with her today as well. She completed the started course in a very clean fashion, nice outrun with minimal help. Maybe she'll get a chance to trial next Spring once I've gotten a couple other dogs finished up.

Polish...

I got to work Abby, Sally and Patsy today; though only Abby is trialling this weekend. Sally did the set up work, Patsy did lesson work and Abby was polishing...
Sally put the lambs out, split the pregger ewes off and took the working sheep out. The school ewes don't usually go out to the neighbors but I wanted more draw in a different direction. I also needed to take out a couple of ram lambs who are getting too big for their britches. So two lambs and the ram and one ewe were our working group. Sally was kind enough the take them out and put the goats in the paddock so Abby could work.
I set some sheep out with grain at the bottom of the goat pasture and sent Abby from the roundpen field with the gates opened up. She did a beautiful "come" outrun, the lift could have been more slow, fetch was nice, drive was pretty good and she did a nice split on the 4 we had. I drove those 2 around the triangle and then shed them too. All pretty good work. Then I sent her on a "way" outrun was bad... So we did quite a few more after allowing her to rest for a couple minutes. We finally quit on a good one or two. I hope the "come" outrun holds out for her B course runs in a couple weeks.
Patsy got to put the sheep up for our lesson and then help our student figure some things out. She did a nice job in the roundpen, taking pressure off and coming in when asked. I even got a tiny drive from her. All in all she did a nice job; we even got a great lesson in patience for her.
Abby got to do the evening chores so got some more opportunities for training. First I had her drive the ram/ewe back down the goat pasture and out the gate towards their pasture up front. She did an ok job since she had to drive them past/through the goats. Got them settled somewhere outside the gate and I brought her back up to take the ram lambs down through the goat pasture which set up a great fenceline drive to emulate the pen to 4 drive. She wanted to be pushy and squeezed them a couple times but managed to bring them back nice. Then we had a chat and she went off nicely and drove them really well. We made a turn across and then I came in and set up a shed. The first one was nicely set up except that one ram was standing her off and she had enough. She blew up on him and had to put them back together... Next one was a beautiful set up and then I got a phone call I couldn't ignore...

So really some good polishing work for Abby; regardless of what happens at the trial this weekend her work here at home has been pretty nice overall.

Trial weekend

Finally I am getting to report on our trial weekend.


First up is Sally, she ran on Adv A ducks. She did a great job, very dependable:-)) First day she laid down a nice run and was first in her class of 11. Second day she was a bit more pushy, as were the ducks; still she was second place and the only other qualifier. Not too bad for the Sally monster:-)) She managed not to lay a single tooth on any duck!


Second Abby, first day same old problem. My nerves unnerve my dog. . . Bad run though had some good things too. Came home and worked no problem... Got to be me. So back the second day and the trial was moved to the maximum field. Yikes:-)) Abby did a bang up job! Outrun could have been better but still acceptable. Everything else was nice, one small snag at the pen, they came out so quiet that they went right back in; otherwise a VERY respectable run. Of 9 dogs in the class Abby was 2nd, only 2 dogs Q'd in A sheep of 9 entry. The winner was a very nice open BC already finished with his HC; problematic part is that we were running against A, B and C course sheep as well as A and B ducks. So I will just be happy wtih the run Sunday and Sally monsters duck legs!

Travelling work

While I haven't posted here in a while, I've been diligent about training the dogs. I've gone to a couple of sites to try and proof Abby a bit, since we've had such outrun woes. Seems to be paying off, outruns have been improved even at other venues. We'll see if trial day it sticks now. Her other work is also indicative of the hard work we've put in. Drive has been better and more direct, drive to the 4 still needs work but there is always something to work on!
Sally was introduced to Call ducks, that was interesting:-)) For all the lack of work on ducks, she did really pretty well. It still may be the shortest run ever on ducks but I was pretty proud of her pre-trial work... If I hadn't been feeling ballsy the day I sent in Adv. entries; I would feel a bit more confident about it... Oh well, jump in with both feet and see what happens:-)))
Patsy tagged along and got some work at different spots too. First she was good, then she was bad... More miles, it will get better! Worked on ducks and that wasn't bad, just some reminding and then all was well!
Rosy got to meet ducks for the first time as well, she isn't completely disgusted... A couple more times and she'll be a pro, I'm sure:-)))
So a trial this weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends and visiting as well as running dogs!

Lots more work!

I've been getting the dogs worked about 4 days a week, sometimes a bit more! Wow what a difference:-))
We helped set sheep for a trial over the weekend and then got to work at my friends house on Sunday. Great work for the dogs. Sally, Bubbles and Patsy all got great work there; Abby set sheep Sat and was a bit tired. Abby was worked Tues-Thursday last week; I really have been pushing her now. She is experienced enough and needs to be held to a higher standard. Her outruns have been dismal at trials in particular but not great any where so those were the first thing to work on. They have been improving, I'm seeing her making some good decisions on her own without correction on my part. Today were the best outruns I've ever seen her do.
I rarely set me sheep for outruns, I usually just pick them up where they lie... Today I set them with grain and they are HUNGRY. Abby had nice outruns, lifts were still a bit rushed on the first one but the second I stopped her and it was beautiful!!! Drives were nice too. Now I'll be working on her flanks with running sheep again. She doesn't like to continue the flank when they want to run... So much better work overall though!!
Sally was great on Sunday and did pretty well with the grunt work today at home. She is so easy to do chores with her here at home. I think my friend Debby got some video of her work at her place.
Bubbles was much better this week too. She is starting to take stick pressure and not be as grippy on heels. Patsy had her hands full with some VERY light sheep that did not want any part of me or her! It was interesting to watch her think it through and figure it out!

Training videos

Ok first is Abby, the first minute or so there is nothing to see. It is a true blind outrun, I didn't know where the sheep were either! She did ok, the sheep got to my feet in a pretty straight line from what I could tell:-)) The lambs are just being broke to drive so the drive is pretty squiggly but its ok.





Second is Sally taking the school sheep up for lessons yesterday. Not her best work, she was being a bit of a pill actually! We got through it though.




Lastly is Bubbles, pretty shoddy to start. This is probably her 5th time on sheep or so, we are working on her not shutting down from the stick. You can see the sheep leave on her, takes a couple seconds to figure it out. She also did not like the line that was left on, it fell off as she finally decided to take after the sheep.

I have another video of Abbys work today but forgot to include it in the download so that will be posted later...

Wet and soggy work

Well we got work this weekend too but boy was it miserable! Rain, rain and more rain. Rain jackets didn't keep us dry or stop us working but icky!
Abby did some really nice work. Good outruns, driving was pretty good; though she was rolling off a little( I think cuz the sheep did not really want to go anywhere). Did a couple nice sheds and regather(lookbacks). Stops are better but still have to really get in her head to start, she just wants to rush through work! Really pretty happy though; mostly about her outrun improvement here. I am strongly thinking about entering her in the AHBA trial this weekend, it would be a good thing to see where we are for the upcoming Fall trials!
Sally did some work though not as much and she was PUSHY! Good work ethic as usual but boy she is like trying to slow down a Mack truck! Outruns were pretty good, still could have a better lift, fetch is really good though. Drives are better, though the flanks still need to be more square. Glad to be making the time to work dogs and now being able to see the results!

More work

Wow I got even more work on the girls this week.
Abby got some really good work on Monday and Tuesday. Below is a dogs eye pic of the tree field next door. So the dog has to be in the trees though the sheep are next to the fence where the pic was taken. It is a blind outrun once the dog leaves my feet. The trees are easy to get lost in too, but outruns even in here have been better this week.


Here is a human view of the same field you can see the grass strip on the fence where the sheep would be set. It is impossible to get pics of the dogs working in here though, I've got a hard enough time keeping track of where they are without looking through a lens:-))

I got a set of 5 ducks out for Sally this afternoon too. She did really well since we had a couple that didn't really want to play. I don't have any courses set up but I made a makeshift course with pipe sheep feeders. She did a nice job fetching, non-fetching ducks. Flanks were pretty good and the drive was nice. Funny enough she is much softer on the ducks then on sheep or goats. Even when they sull up she is soft about putting her mouth on them, I'm happy for that:-))

Life feels so much better when I can work my dogs!

Wow long time no post

Yes it really has been a long time; though the dogs have been getting worked thankfully. Lots of good work really. I entered a trial this Fall so figured I'd better make sure and fix some things that have gone astray...
Abby, Sally and Patsy have been getting a fair amount of work now. Bubbles has been on sheep 4x now and is really a nice working little dog. Lots of heel to her, good low bite mostly too:-) I'm hoping to get her PT this December.
Abby and Sally have been getting more outrun work than we've been doing. Outruns are the only thing really holding Sally back on Adv work and Abby and I need to work some things out on them too. At home the outruns are better than elsewhere. I got to work her two different places this weekend and the improvement was noticeable. Just need to get those results in trials too! Sally did well this weekend too, driving was strong, outruns were acceptable.
Patsy is working really nicely. Walk ups are improving, steadiness too. She is fun, just different from the cardis.

More catching up

Well our great 4 day weekend has allowed me extra dog work time, its been great. Too bad we can't just quit work and work dogs all day everyday! My dogs are probably glad that is not the case:-)))
Patsy- got worked 2x this week on sheep. She is getting more push and drive now and is taking more push back so we really need to start getting to work now. Outruns were ok, though are starting to lose the top so will need to go back for that now. Walk ups were better and we are doing some chores with her now so that should help too.
Sally- Lots of work for her this week too. The sheep are being rotten so I have to keep going next door and pulling them out of the neighbors plants. Sally, Abby and Patsy have been getting that job. Sally's outruns have been ok, though not Adv quality they are more correct lately. Flanks still need work too, just not crisp enough; they are getting better still. Driving is nice, I just need to control it.
Abby- Had a little melt down on the outruns this week... I have got to get this fixed!!! There is a breakdown somewhere, just not sure where. We are going to fix it:-)) Been doing a lot of outrun work and just very little driving. Some outruns are OMG BAD and other are OMG AWESOME! so I just don't know what is different to make awesome... She is a handle dog, must be handled to stay and on the straight and narrow BUT she has got to do the outrun without assistance. So back to the drawing board...

Bubbles is the new arrival and she wants nothing more than to get to stock all the time. So I still need to start her in the roundpen maybe tomorrow....
Rosy is now on maternity leave.

Delayed updates

Well now that I'm on vacation I have time to post about our dog work over the last couple weeks. We have been a bit slow on work. Abby was spayed 10 days ago so is on surgery leave. Sally has been doing the chores since then, and is doing a wonderful job. She seems to be settling a little bit. Nice outruns, driving is smoothing out; flanks still need work they are tight and sloppy. Worked Sally on ducks last weekend. What a nice job she did! Great small outruns, nice corners, good flanks on them; guess I better try her on ducks this Fall too!
Patsy I worked last weekend on ducks and sheep. She is doing well still gaining a bit more confidence and push BUT still nice work for the most part. Starting to steady her up behind sheep a bit now and she is still very heady. I'll try and upload her duck video this week to share.

Weekend work again...

Went to a friends house this weekend, well Sat anyway and got a little work on everyone. I worked Sally and Abby here at home this week too.
Abby worked pretty well though the sheep were very difficult to shed. Her driving was nice and flanks were ok. Didn't do much on outruns since the sheep wanted to run but we are working on those here at home.
Sally got the most work this week doing chores. She brought the sheep home every night and got to do some nice outrun work. I've been really pushing her on the drive and flanking. The drive is improving quickly, outruns need miles...
Rosy worked on Sat with driving and did quite well. Her balance and cover on the drive is very good, walk ups are improving though I expect will need time.
Patsy hasn't been worked this week but did get to work Sat too. She did ok though had some things to think about... Bigger field and lighter sheep still did well for her experience level.

Cowgirls!

Abby, Sally and I went to work cows for the first time today. The girls did really well too:-)) I'm proud of them today. I'm not real comfy with cattle but have had some time around them in my life. Of course my biggest fear is that the dogs get squashed! Well no one got squashed but Sally was cruisin' for a bruisin' as usual I guess. I am only posting 1 video of each girl, the second runs were improvements for both. Both were worked in the small pen first and I moved Abby out to the big field since she took right to them!:-))



So Abby's is first. I'm really suprized by her, very proud too:-))



Sally second, I think I am Sally's biggest problem. Next time will be better!

Ducks

I trapped the ducks in the barn the other night:-)) They are free spirits my ducklings, its time to get them under control. I have allowed their free roaming for legging them up and allowing them fresh eats.
I used Abby to get them to the barn which was really pretty good for her considering the number of times she's been on ducks. Nice outrun, good control, patience is not an Abby virtue but she did well. Then I worked her in the barn stall on them. Ducks freaked, Abby didn't do badly for the first time. I used her for the sheep chores too so that was all the duck work for her.

Patsy tried ducks for the first real time, she took them out of the chicken house once. It took some time to work them in the stall since it was a lot of pressure in there, but she got it. I took her out into the paddock for her second go and she was AWESOME! Nice balance and control on them, pulled them of the fence with ease. She is going to be a fabulous duck dog.

A little more work

We got out Sat evening and worked a couple dogs again, two weekends in a row!!

Abby, Sally and Patsy all got to go up top.
Abby- Working on smoothing out her flanks, squaring them off again. She has gotten really bad about slicing her outruns and flanks. I can see improvements but it will need work for a while. I have allowed her to be really sloppy, so bad Amy! Time to get on the stick! We've got a couple months now and so I'd better get on it. So Abby is going to need lots of time...
Sally- Couple big things, Flanks suck!!! Need to work on her "Come" sloppy regardless of what it is. Driving is pretty decent still need the great walk up on her now. Need some work on all these things for her. I really would like to get her Advanced sheep and start ducks and cattle with her.
Patsy- Have'nt worked her much but I see improvement everytime I do work her. I am going to try and work her on ducks this week once or twice. She is going to be a really nice duck dog I think:-))
We are going to try cattle this coming weekend with two of the girls. I'm excited about it.

Last weekend videos

Alright here are the vids not much to watch but it will give me some idea of where we are headed:-))

Got work??

Yes I did get the dogs worked last weekend and some through this week. There have been good and bad days for all of them...
I did get some videos which I will try to post once I edit them on youtube.
Abby, really up and down. Some wonderful work and some really horrible stuff. Don't know what is up with her. Been taking sheep next door to the neighbors to graze, his grass is lovely and the sheep need it. Its about 3 acres, half of which is ligustrum trees about 50 gal size(5x5). Abby does not like th eoutruns through the trees she is not understanding the whole out of sight thing with the sheep. Doesn't help that the grass is 2-3' too so she gets really lost in there. We are going to work on it a bit more today so we can get her through this, maybe it will help the outruns in the future since those are not her strong point...
Sally really is doing pretty nice stuff. GOOD driving work, Outruns remind me of her dad (tight but good contact with sheep). The heat doesn't bother her as much as the others right now. She has been taking the sheep over and driving them down to the bottom so that they graze that area right now. Overall good, hopefully we can get her Adv sheep this Fall, then we can do some duck work and maybe cattle.
Rosy, Just bad... She has been the longest off of sheep so that is not suprizing. Pretty poor work fast, not good stops, outruns are ok. She won't be trialing this Fall so we've got time for her on the drive and Int. work.
Patsy, doing really well. She is starting to get a little stronger on the sheep so I've kinda taken a break with her until she'll take more pressure. Outruns are pretty good so far, just starting on those. Very heady little girl.
So finally there is the update. I'll get videos posted hopefully this pm!

Huh...

I'm sorry to say that it has been this long since I really went out and worked dogs of my own. I've been inundated with work, both lessons and a new job. Dogs get work from time to time but mostly to do chores (feeding, vaccinating, worming...) or getting sheep groups for students. Its just no fun to be this busy! I am going to work dogs this weekend since I've got no students on Sat, which is good for the dogs bad for me:-)) Also my bud Debby will be here so we can really get something done hopefully and maybe even video though I don't know that I'll want to share it, since they've not had any work:-)) So I publicly apologize to my dogs mostly that they have not had my full attention as usual!

Great weekend work!

I loaded up 4 girls, 3 Cardis and Patsy and we took a girls night:-)) The 5 of us went to our friend Debby's house (well Debby and Craigs house). Patsy got to play with her bro and we all got to work sheep. I have a couple videos to share once they get loaded, some great work and some things to work on.
Abby did some really great stuff on pretty light spoiled sheep. Unfortunatly we did not get her best work on video but she did really well. Maybe she's camera shy... Nice driving, flanks need some work, not good sheep to work outruns on either way, nice sheds too...



Sally, first work out was just trying to stop the sheep from running hell bent for their pen or their friends. She did well considering there was lots of stick action on the sheep. Sunday morning she did fabulous and we got video of that. Sure there were some things to work on but overall she is coming along well. I forget really Sally has gotten a lot more miles than Abby overall. Rosy, really nice work from her overall lost her head a time or two but thats expected at 2. Held pressure pretty well and was steady most of the time. It was really good for her to work sheep that didn't want to come to ME at all! She had to use lots of brain cells on this work, I've not pushed her a lot yet so it was good to see her take some heat.



Finally Patsy, such a nice working pup. Not quite 5 months yet and already doing some really nice natural work. What I see in her already makes me excited for her future too.:-)) This video is the very first time she has seen sheep off my property much less worked them. It was lots of fun and so good for the dogs and I to get out and get some really good work. I was proud of everyone! Very hot today and everyone got their job done without complaint, only a quick trip to the water.

Glad I did it!

As tired as I was I decided to go ahead and work a couple dogs just before dark. There was a nice breeze and some clouds in the distance so it was the perfect time! Rosy, Abby and Patsy all got to come to the top. The boys are still in solitarty for another week until weaning begins so they were the perfect group to work with the girls.
Patsy went first. Working on the "Way" outrun with her or at least big flanks... She is a "Come" dog by nature or training don't know which yet. Once I finally got her to go the way, way she did keep it up. Fetching was pretty good, rating pretty well; hold on the fencelines were very nice. Funny when they won't move off she snakes her way in under their bellies and comes up attached to their noses:-))) Funny to watch
Next was Abby. I don't know what has gotten into her but her work has been very nice here at home. Outruns have been good the last couple of times, this was no exception, good distance and came in on balance with a good although fast fetch. Drove the field and into/past the two girls tied out, drive was ok still rolling out of the pocket when there is a lot of pressure though. Then I shed the 2 lambs and one Native, she did a beautiful job and even retrieved the one jackrabbit when he ran to the others. When she returned him to the pack, she held great balance; almost looked like a cutting horse when he turned on her:-))

Finally Rosy was worked, she did a great job too. Outruns need some thoughtfulness but she has lots of speed to the top and great balance. Also put some more emphasis on inside flank basics, the drive is coming along well. Plenty to work on with her but she's coming along well.

Sally and Rosy

Well I got the two girls worked Tuesday. Abby did a couple hours worth of chores earlier in the day and I "worked" her in the process. I've got to get this outrun licked with her so I set it up to do big long outruns every time we brought stock up for eye checks. They were better for the most part...
Sally well, she is on auto-pilot. She is used so often for chores and not worked in training that she is well versed in using her brain to get a job done. It is difficult to get her out of that and make her listen to what I want. I almost feel bad fighting with her about it... not bad enough to quit though! She did better but again its the balance of power like we had in Jan/Feb. Lots of work to do.
Rosy, was great! She is catching on to driving really well and seems to like it lots:-)) Her outruns are suffering, as expected but they'll come back soon enough. Good pace and nice straight walk ups to start the drive around the "handler's post". I'm really happy with where she is right now.

Some work...

Well some of the dogs got some work this week. Monday and Tuesday I got four dogs worked.
Abby and Sally got work on Monday. Both need some more but Abby did pretty well. Need a little more than she is getting. Sally was better than the last time but still not where she needs to be. A few outruns for both some driving and a few sheds.
Rosy and Patsy got a little work on Tuesday. Rosy was ok, still pushy and she is acting like she is a bit hormonal. Patsy was great! Nice work in the larger area. Rosy I am starting driving with and she did well on that. Pushy is better for driving anyway.
Sally got lesson work on Friday. She got to do some more difficult driving and did ok though needed a bit more walk up a couple times, which is strange for her. Overall it was good work for her though. Abby also got lesson work today. Just a few outruns and dividing the boys for lessons today. Good work though, her outruns have definitly improved since our come to Jesus meeting.
Hopefully next weekend I can get some video of a couple dogs.

Yup its really been this long!

I'm embarassed to say this is the first day since before the Nationals that I have gotten any work done on the dogs. I got 4 dogs worked today though two of them got VERY little work.
Patsy and Rosy were first this am. Patsy did some really nice work. I worked her in the 140x150 pen and she did a nice job of grouping, moving off pressure and stopping at the end. She'll be a fun little girl!
Rosy started real driving lessons today. She did well for her first real lesson:-)) She isn't real sure what I'm asking her to do but she naturally has a good walk up so she'll catch on fast. Only worked her for 15min or so but it was good work while we had it. She also got to move the mamas and babies out of the barn.
Abby and Sally got just a few minutes each since it was soooo hot. Abby tried to cut the outrun immediately so she got read the riot act! Once she put her big girl brain on she worked well and did a couple nice sheds and look backs too. Sally well she showed her LONG layoff. Outruns were pretty good but her steady was non existent... need to work everyone more often!

Videos from Nationals

OK Hopefully these will come through ok. First Abbys I believe; the run I retired probably early but she was not working well anyway.

And then Rosys from Sunday, hopefully I posted the right ones.

We're back

I'm finally getting caught up on chores around the farm. Abby helped worm and weaned older lambs today. We also brought up the 4 ewes still left to lamb. The new TX sheep are doing well and getting used to the dogs here and there. I'll wait to break them until I put them with the ewes and lambs. All the lambs are doing well now, eating well and gaining weight. I just hope the last ones hurry up and come!
Sorry to say I'm still having trouble uploading the embed codes for the videos from the Nationals. While the runs weren't great it still would have been fun to see them. I've gotten them up to youtube but blogger is not letting me post them... I'll see if I can get it figured out. Taking the FL Native whethers to be shorn tomorrow, what fun, three stinky sheep in my car!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu7Z4KON3Tw- Abbys Sunday run http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7sNvrC4ydc -Rosys Sat run

To work or not to work???

Well I am way behind in posting here! I did work Abby Tuesday before I left home. Did a couple outruns and some driving with her. She did pretty well for me though the outruns left a bit to be desired... as usual. Anyway Wimberley does have sheep but they aren't really worked and it isn't worth the risk/hassle to try them. Everyone has lambs on them and there are donkeys in too... so I guess I should have worked harder at home or not I don't know. The trial will be what it will be... Rosy got to hold the sheep at home for wormings before I left Wednesday and that was all the work she got since the last post. That could backfire in a big way, she's never been good after a layoff. Again oh well, not much to do about it now:-))

Got Work?

As bad as the day was I did have one bright spot while I worked dogs today! Abby was first, she brought down the three boys (2whethers1ram) to the front field. The boys haven't been up front in a couple months so they were lighter than normal but more like lambs. We drove down to the top of the field in a serpentine we left them there and did an outrun to start over again... We did that a couple times in both directions, did a nice job on her flanks, squaring her off. Nice inside flanks too. Great job Abby! Sally did almost the same thing as Abby, great job driving. Her outruns were from my side and pretty nice really. We did a couple of really nice sheds with the ram as the single, holds could have been less pushy but really nice for the little Sally. I'm a little sad that I pulled her from the Nationals, she is running advanced here at home... oh well another time... Rosy was a little pushy to start off with but a quick correction fixed that! She did some nice outruns trying to stretch those out just a little now but overall her outruns have been pretty nice. Fetches were really nice, did a few short drives and worked on her off balance walk ups and stops. I think she understood better by the end. Lastly I worked her coming in on the fence to the sheep. Rosy has been blasting around them such that is scares new sheep and so she did those in both directions and was better. I can't say enough that she is very talented but will take time and miles to get to where we need her.

Chores...

Dogs haven't been trained on lately, however we have had lots of chores to do! Worm season is kicking off and several nannies are succumbing early as well as one of the ewes with lambs. Also I have been neglecting my sheep feet for a while now... So today the dogs Abby, Rosy and Sally all got some work. Abby brought the ewes from the front down to the back pasture, held for feet trimming and moved ewes around for lessons. Working the goats really hurts her square flanks, they just draw her in. Taking the ewes in she had to do several sheds to get only the sheep. She did a nice job working the babies and keeping them with the group and also a look back to the momma. Then she brought the mommas all in the barn and shed off the close girls to eat; and put them back out when some of them were done. Had to doctor one of the twin mommas, kept her in since she is looking pretty bad. Rosy did some stall work as an example for a student which was really great for her. Then students grandson wanted to hold a lamb so she held a single mom and her twins in the large open field so I could catch one. Very nice, difficult work for her. Sally well she is the blue collar worker around here. I use her on goats almost always since she has a lot more bite than most of my dogs and the billy goat is really getting aggressive lately. She did a nice job bringing them to the doctor spot. She does lock on to a few members of the herd and must be reminded that they all must stay put. When the billy goat comes after me though she is all business and makes sure that he pays for the thought. She worked her tail off holding those 30+ goats mommas, babies and the billy in that corner. Sally is a dog with a purpose, I can not say that enough, she is with my for a reason! I love her work, talent, heart and she loves what she does! So she probably worked for 45min straight no rest and came out and went after the orange rooster! Silly Sally....

Finally videos!

I took a couple videos of Abby working today. Pretty shoddy work but its her first day back... Also worked Rosy and put Patsy the puppy on sheep for the first time. Will post that video another time.

Trial synopsis

OK so my post trial synopsis...Abby really nice work overall (can't really get mad about HIT!), more steady since last years trials, I'm rusty at handling(been over 1yr), could use work on the drive from the pen to the 4 on A course. Her outruns were acceptable though could use work on the lift, drive to the Y and Z were pretty good, pen work was good,clean and nice cover, listened very well. I just need to get my head in the game, my brain was turned off a little and she was trusting me to run her right. Always something...
Rosy showed up this weekend for the most part. First time her run was clean and quiet. Outruns were overall nice, lifts, fetch all correct, Y chute needs some more understanding, Z is ok, Runway panels were really good, her cover is really nice, turns at the 4 were clean and nice. So I will continue to work on stops and off balance flanks, she could use some barn work to clean up her off balance I think, work on longer outruns (cuz you always can use that!) Really Rosy seems to be on track for a coming 2yr old.

Hmmm

So I did get a little work on the two girls this week, since we have the trial and all I thought it was only right:-)) Rosy is all over, somedays she is good, somedays she's bad and somedays she's just aweful! She is going to be a wait and see trial day...
Abby hasn't really gotten trial work but has been my chore dog this week so that she is getting work. She has been pretty solid, who knows what happens at the trial with her either but she's been good here.
All the sheep are bagging up and making it rather difficult to work now. My three fuzzy whethers are working quite well for me but students aren't quite ready for them, so that is a rodeo. Sheep are really funny, people don't give them enough credit. Those three will walk like Goldens on a leash when my dogs are behind them and anyone else they run like the devil himself is on their heels. For now they stay.

Polishing or maybe just working...

I'm having a terrible time bouncing back to work dogs since coming home. There are a lot of other things going on too which doesn't help but ....
Both girls have gotten a couple days of work since my return.
Abby has put in some really lovely work for her though she is finally steady-ing on the drive now she is rolling out of the drive pocket... Can't win here with her. Won't hurt her in trials with lighter sheep but it is something that needs work here and on goats. Outruns have really been pretty nice good follow through on the back and lifts are pretty good too. Fetching is handleable and the drive should be ok for trials.
Rosy has been all over the board! When I first got home she was ok, just pushy. I thought ok well I'll just work on that a couple days and she'll be fine... famous last thought:-)) She is worsening with each workout. Won't take downs and getting more pushy daily. Blows through downs and won't hold just rolls out to balance again. So this will be a miracle to fix before the trials. Outruns have been quite nice though, good distance on the top. If she will only stop once at balance we'll be in good shape. So Rosy is a work in progress, hopefully I'll figure out where its coming from and get it fixed! I just have to remember she is not even two so there is plenty of time.

NM work day 2

Well still no pics and my video camera ran out of batteries after Abbys run so no Sally shots... Video I will have to post later...
Both girls again did well. The wind was way worse today, while Sally was working I could only see her eyes through all the red clay on her body. Sally did some more driving and work in the roundpen on some pretty light lambs. First time in she did real nice and drove pretty well but didn't hold the line as well. Second time in for her I stayed outside the gate and made her drive and fetch without my body pressure in there. It was good for her, there were a couple bobbles but overall she was consistent and steady didn't want to walk in on heads facing her since she is still gaining her confidence back after her sheep beatings at home!
Abby I worked once again. She was also in the roundpen with the light sheep and I stayed outside. It was great work on her inside flanks! Also allowing her to really get on it and cover their heads which she doesn't always do. She did have to be urged to go around not just get to balance and bring me sheep. She took the direction well and put the right pressure on them, really worked nice. I was given nice compliments on both girls! Yeah girls!

NM work day 1

Sorry no pics... I really want too but we'll have another chance tomorrow.
Worked both girls, Sally first did really nice in the roundpen. Driving working on flanks and then fetching which is always hard for her. Really very nice work, couple of tight flanks that got her in too tight and allowed for a grip but mostly nice.
Abby did really well. She got two sessions. First went in the large pen with lighter lambs and we broke them so they didn't just run everywhere. She did really nice outruns both directions staying off until she hit balance and coming in correctly. Stops were BAD, very pushy until I reminded her thats what she is supposed to do. Second time she was better on the stops and worse on flanks dove in a couple times which is not Abby like. Overall though she was pretty good.
More tomorrow!

Last workout.

Well for over a week anyway... I worked Rosy this evening to bring the lesson sheep up to the round pen and work area. She did OK, bit pushy going up but not too bad. Worked her in the round pen on stops and steadies; they did get better. I know I'll need to put the hours on her when I return but feel comfy leaving her home while I'm gone. She is young and will make some mistakes but has all the right pieces when they come together.
I worked Abby just a little since she is about 90% now. She was pretty awesome. Nice long outruns, still needs work on the top but overall good. Little driving not much, she's been pretty honest driving light sheep. Her fetching bringing them down the field was pretty nice, rating all by herself (not very Abby like!). Its really strange for the last month she's really slowed down and is reading her sheep and being pretty honest. Not that she never makes mistakes but overall her work is steadier and better.
Lastly Evy got to bring the ewes and lambs back up front and split off those that are ready to lamb (probably while I'm gone) as well as move the boys back to the goat field. Such nice work really... sigh. The ewes with lambs don't even challenge her anymore but they are very light for her, nice work though. Shed was fantastic to take the ewes off the ram lambs!
So only Abby and Sally are making the trip out west hopefully I'll have pics of our work there!

Redeamed

Got to work Rosy at the trial arena today. This was her first time at this arena, doing the course and working somewhere else! Bad me but good Rosy. The first run was a very nice heavier group of FL Natives. She did beautiful! Nice downs, beautiful outrun, good panel work, little trouble at the pen but she's never done that before either!:-)) Again bad me!
Second go not so good. Bad light group of lambs with no leader and pushier dog. She was quite sure that wherever I wanted her to go was WRONG! No downs, I finally had to walk her down and give her a talkin to (Come to Jesus meeting outside of church). We saw eye to eye after that. Overall a very good first time out for her.
Poor Abby, her toe still hurts and again, bad me, I tried her on the light group. She just got beat all over the place. Bad, bad all my fault.... So as a reward she gets to come to NM instead of Rosy. I need some serious outrun work and I'm not going to get anything until she is better. So we wait!
I took Evy in case we needed a set out dog. She did great very smooth set out work for us. Then the owner asked me to help bring in the ewes and lambs since they were being very uncooperative. I sent Evy and the guardian dog came out and looked to grab her across the top of her back. I almost passed out and yelled for all I was worth:-)) Evy on the other hand just kept going about her business. She must have known that the dog was ok and wasn't going to do anything. Evys never worked around guardians before so I don't know how else to explain it. Great job Weed!

She's back

Yes Rosy is back so is the snotty little non-listening princess inside her! I worked her for the first time since she had her 10 day vacation and its like a different dog... Back to the drawing board with her. Thankfully she is going to NM with me and will get worked there a bit. I also have some time tomorrow on the trial field with her. She has not gotten any real work at other places so tomorrow will really tell me what she is learned and what needs work.
So yesterday she flipped on the outrun twice and then wouldn't stop for a redirect. Blew through her downs and steadys, crazy overflanking and crazy running amok! To add insult to injury she took off after the goats and sheep on our walk this evening and wouldn't call off either. Very very bad girl! She got told all about it and I certainly expect her to behave next time!

Sally

Sally got to work during a lesson today. She did a great job! No outruns but her drive work was VERY nice. Good holds trying to help keep the sheep in the work area for the student. She held really well, especially since that is a new job for her. So much fun to be around and to work:-)) Now on the flip side, she would not take her stops at all, What lie down???

Sally, the dog that couldn't leave, I think back again to last year doing the six word thing. Sally-wicked smart, driving born, inate comedian. All so fitting to her still, wicked smart may be a slight understatement. She is by no means ultra biddable but smart, so very! Anyway I digress, wonderful job on her work today. Unfortunatly she did get waylayed by the ewes/lambs this evening when we were putting them up. Of course had she listened that wouldn't have happened but alas somedays she just needs to learn for herself...

Trial work

Yesterday we went to work at a local trial field. Different sheep and primarily the use of the obstacles.
I took Abby and Sally, though Sally will no longer be trialling at the Nationals... Abby did a fabulous job! I didn't work it like a trial course but just a training opportunity. We got some young ewes that have not been worked much. They were nice and light and Abby read her sheep well and quietly. I drove them mainly and put them around and took them out of the pen. I especially worked on the 4-5 turn since Abby gets jumpy about flighty sheep trying to run. Worked on her flanks both directions and stop after her big flanks. I was very pleased that she did such a great job!
Sally only got worked once but did a beautiful job driving the course. Even got to take them out of the pen for the first time ever. She did a great job though.
I'm going back next week for another go with Abby and Rosy.

What next??

So this has not been a good dog work week. If anyone ever tells you that having your own stock is the way to train your dogs, RUN!!! Most of my time through the year is spent feeding, worming, doctoring the sick and moving stock; NOT working my dogs.
This week we had some sick goats and the two non sociable ewes with lambs are in that pasture now. So I took two dogs, Abby and Evy. All I have to do (I say that VERY loosely) is to bring the goats into the corner to catch and doctor the sick ones and check everyone else's eyes for anemia. So I send the girls out thinking this is going to take a bit to fight the two ewes up to the corner. One of the ewes made the mistake of going after Evy... She wears the marks of her mistakes, Evy did not give her one instant of relief. The other ewe followed in with no thought about changing direction.
So now I have all the goats and sheep in the corner, I catch the two not acting correctly. One needs wormed the other AB's. I then go back to the storage room in the barn and hear a ruckus. The ewes have again decided to charge the girls and Evy/Abby and the ewe went flying by. The girls brought her back promtly and all is good again. I doctor and worm the two sick and check for more.
So while the job is not constant it throws a wrench in working plans. This was the nightly chore for three nights. So its not that there are no dogs getting worked but only certain dogs can deal with the ewes/lambs so those are the ones that get worked. Everything seems in order so if I can get my back in order I'll be able to get back to work.
Thursday I get to go work on a trial field. Abby and Sally haven't seen one since early last year and Rosy won't be going this week since she is going to the puffy dog show but maybe next week...

Singles...

No its not a dating scene:=) I first worked Abby yesterday and had one rotten sheep who apparently wanted to get worked extra hard since she kept coming back after being shed off. SOOOO I took her out by herself and worked her all over the property which she didn't really appreciate. She is a heavy ewe that will walk by my side all day but does not want to be driven away from her friends. So Abby had already had enough by the time I took the ewe out of the front field. Beli actually came out and helped. Always makes my heart smile to see him come out and bust out a fantastic job when I'm struggling teaching that same thing to one of the girls.
I really wish that I had a video of him yesterday though, he did a great job walked right into this ewe facing him off. Backed her down the drive and toward the barn. Yeah Beli my heart is still beaming for him:-))
Worked Sally next, on the same ewe as a single. Left her up by the gate with her buddies and sent Sally for an outrun around the chicken house and veg garden. She had to use lots of power and balance to get the ewe off the gate and bring her in a line to me. It was fast but the ewe WAS NOT getting back to the gate! Then the ewe decided to turn and face her, well after all the fights with the two recent ewes/lambs she did not want to walk into pressure. So we worked on getting a straight line into the ewe facing her. She did pretty well and I think learned quite a bit from the excersise. I probably should have quit a couple of times but kept pushing for more...
Finally after I took a mental break I worked Rosy on the same single. Let her work the barn stall first then took her out in the large rear field. Put her out and worked her alone in the big field a bit then shed the sheep off the goats and worked all of the sheep up to the roundpen field and penned them all up top.
So we got some work. I'm not overly happy with the work we got but its just been one of those weeks!

Too long?

Well I did not have time or health this week to work anyone, so they finally got worked this morning. Only 3 Rosy, Sally, Abby...
Abby- I did'nt work long just an outrun or two and some driving and one shed. The outruns need work she is tightening up badly and rushing the lift. Work, work, work... Must get on that!

Sally- Did beautifully! Nice outruns almost from my side, they could be wider but pretty nice, and good speed. Driving was phenomenal! Took all flanks, kept them together well and didn't have to be messed with much. Lifts were a bit rushed though I didn't take control of those either. Circle at the post was good she has figured out the task now. Really happy with her overall though. If this keeps up we'll be moving her up!

Rosy- Bit pushy and tight but not too bad. Outruns were ok, top needs some work. Long flanks were good, short flanks need work. She doesn't want to stop quickly so she'll get lots of work on that in the next month.

Rosy and Sally will be making the trip out west with me so they can get work on different sheep before the upcoming trials. Sally is only entered at the Nationals since she's ready for intermediate but not advanced (I think:-)) I am going to enter Abby at another trial the weekend before the Nationals in hopes of more HC points before she takes her northern break for a couple months. She won't need any more stress before that! Thats lots of travel and stress on an already easily stressed girl! So lots of plans coming together for the Spring, and lots more work to get done before then too. I'm hoping to get the girls peaked at the right time for the trials coming up, we'll see..

Updated pm- worked Abby a second time this afternoon. Outruns were better with some pushing on her. The top is still a problem since she is slicing pretty bad but the sheep were moving on her too so not a good time to work on it. Driving was sloppy but the neighbor APBT was rushing the fence and scaring the sheep and Abby. She did do well to stand in place and not get squirrelly on the sheep. Flanks were also good. So I'm happy I took her back out and worked again.

Weekend work

Well I got some good work on 4 dogs this weekend.
Abby- Outruns started off badly but certainly were better, she got worked Sat and Sunday. Driving was really pretty good, did some on the fence and some in the open field. She did some nice sheds this am. Shed the group of 15 to 3 then the 3 to 1 and did some driving with the single. Really very keen and flanking off on her own pretty well, always work to be done on her desire to grab stuff when she is frustrated but overall I'm confident in her work at the moment.

Sally- Did some nice outruns, but mainly worked on the balance of the drive and flanking. She did much better taking quicker flanks and continueing the drive. I asked for a further drive, while maintaining contact with me and she did really pretty well. I used the round pen and did a couple sheds which she has not done before that I remember. Very nice job on the shed and she got down like a cutting horse to hold the ewe that she shed off. I love that! Overall pretty decent job, though still lots of work to be done before the Nationals.

Rosy- Did a pretty long outrun on the light whethers and fetched all over. Her fetching was pretty nice, some push here and there but overall rated herself pretty well. Flanks were good as long as I watched her cutting in, if she got away with it once then she was worse the next time. Very nice work for her as well though.

Dory- She got a few minutes in with sheep. She has really gotten a lot more keen since last time. Hasn't found her balance yet, she really just wants to keep covering to make sure NOTHING gets away. She won't get much work for a while but I'm going to have to get on her for going after the goats and sheep when I walk in back. I walked tonight to let sheep out and she brought all the sheep up the field in the dark with all the dogs out! Thats not really good, even though I'm happy she wants to work so badly.

Retirement sucks!!!

Well I made the very difficult decision to retire Evy from trialling this week. Still tough to think about but she is 7.5yrs old and has some mild lameness from time to time. Last weekend while working her she pulled up lame on the left rear, I still don't know what caused it. Vet thinks it is a tendon that may have pulled off but nothing was visible on the Xrays of her hips, back and leg. The chiro doesn't know either and deems her sound and ready to work. I hate to do it but we all have to do things we don't like! I had to pull her National entries and shred her local entries last night, very frustrating.
Evy is laying at my feet now sleeping. I just love all the things she taught me through the years, and the devotion that she gave. I only regret that I didn't feel enough urgency to trial her while she was younger! She is quite the dog and while she wil continue to work here at the farm; her trialling days are just over thats all.

The real world

The real herding world is not made up of kind sheep who walk along with the handler and don't have a brain. The REAL sheep are those that have babies in a field and have to be brought in during extreme weather. Such as my two mommas that had lambs this last week/end. These have never been easy sheep to work, they are not worked by students they are only worked by me and mostly my dogs. They were broke by my dogs, and know that they should respect them WITHOUT lambs. They had to be re-educated today... We are expecting severe storms tonight and tomorrow and while sheep should survive them, our large oak in the front is old and rotting, and their shed is in poor repair. Hail and tornados are possible and every baby is important to life and this farm!
So I tried first without any dogs (grain) and that was a BIG no go! They weren't about to leave more than about 10' from the gate with or without their babies. Second I tried Sally, no go again, they had Sally wheeling. One would go after her then the other with no break, she couldn't win that WAR. So then I picked both babies up and brought Abby out to help her daughter. With me holding the lambs, the two girls had to work together first to break the sheep off the fence/gate and then to break them back to me. All in all I think the job took about 40min, the barn is 100yds from the front pasture. That is real work in the real world... The two girls worked their tails right off, no quit, no give but really had to work at it. By the time we got half way to the barn those two ewes were marching along right behind me like little soldiers! You go girls! Sally and Abby got extra scritches and plenty of time in the spa after that:-))

Video!

Here is a video of Abby working last November. So while its older at least you have a video:-)) Terrible video sorry...

Grindstone...

We're back to it!:=)
Sally worked on outruns and driving flanks. Still trying to find consistent balance of control and idependent work. Some of the work was great other not so much but the good work was better, so I guess thats good! The weather was pretty warm today 76, so the dogs didn't work as long as I have been with the heat.
Evy had moments of brilliance and terrible too. Outruns needed some dusting off! Breaking off her stock on the fetch wasn't crisp enough either... bit sluggish. Driving went really well though good flanks and control on reactive sheep, though sloppy Way flanks. So good stuff to work on.
Rosy was last and did really well again. She started out a little pushy but quickly gave on flanks. Her outruns were really pretty nice across the board. She does not like to break on running sheep yet, that could take a while too. She goes out nicely with just body pressure ok distance just tightens up at the same distance each time. We'll see how that goes. I also penned the light whethers with her, penning and unpenning them several times. It was great fun for her to push and then get back off of them also working on her unpenning flanks on the corner of the pen, which she does not understand or care to do. (Haven't figured out which it is yet) All in all she was again the star of the day!

Started and in between...

Well Sally and Rosy got worked today in between the storms we've been having today. Sally did a great job on the whethers. I really wanted to work on outruns, which have been really good but the sheep kept taking off when she was correct and then couldn't cover them before they made a dash for the bottom of the field, rat bastards! So we worked on driving with her and the light boys. It was great work because if she didn't square off they bolt. She figured it out pretty fast and was flanking like a pro when she knew they wouldn't escape, when they might she wouldn't take the flank. But I'll take that over lack of thought and desire to cover. I also had her work all the goats just a little driving and fetching... mainly because that is reward to her. She gets to push and heel on the goats:-))
Rosy we did outruns and fetching as well as throwing in the control and flanks she will need for started in March. She did BEAUTIFUL! Rosy is coming along so nicely she may well be the best dog since her auntie Libby. Outruns were overall very nice and she reads sheep so well you really dont' have to say much until she wants to get pushy. I didn't drive much with her just little bits here and there, we won't need that for a little while. She did have one buggery sheep that escaped on her and she gave full chase to the bottom and tried to get him back but I had to help her figure out how. All in all a good rain day here in FL
Sorry I couldn't get videos of them guys:-)) Just too wet for pics or videos today...

Been busy... not the good kind!

Very little dog work so far this week. Rosy got just a bit Tuesday working on some driving with a student. I worked a boarder this afternoon for just a few minutes. She hasn't been here in forever and is staying for 10 days and she had a blast! Heading out to work Rosy now, starting to feel the pressure of upcoming trials. Looks like I won't be able to do both FL trials before the Nationals so will probably end up doing only the 3 day March trial.
Rosy needs miles but I'm going to work on outruns and fetching on the light FL native boys today. We'll see if I can stay on my feet and she can stay off the stock... I'll report back later...:-))

**Update**
Rosy did really well. We worked on outruns and flanks. First I worked her on two sheep that are in the barn, cuz I'm lazy... It ended up really well, she stayed off nice and controlled the two sheep. Then I took her in the big field and did some bigger more difficult outruns on all the goats and sheep together. She works the goats really well but had to be reminded that ALL of them had to be worked, sheep and goats. Then after a short break and saw the sheep were seperating and called her in on them. The first couple minutes she kept looking back to the goats like " Why can't I just put them all together?" But then she was on her sheep and the whethers did what they do best try to run and act like idiots. She did a nice job covering and staying at balance to contine forward motion. Also worked in her flanking there too so I could take control as well as depend on her to hold up her end of the bargin. She did well there though got a little sloppy towards the end and wasn't covering far enough. Overall a great workout for both of us:-))

Weekend work

Abby and Sally got a little work, though no training over the weekend. I used goats for lessons so we split the sheep and put them in the barn. Goats are pretty telling of dogs and what theya re capable of as well as exploiting any holes in the dog... Also had to doctor a couple of animals so Abby brought 2 out of the front pasture to fatten a little and trim feet, Sally helped get a goat that has not been doing well into the barn.
Abby, Evy and I walked 2 miles on Sunday (as well as doing lessons...) My legs felt like jelly but I think it will be great for all of us since doing a brisk trot for 2 miles is very good for the girls and I. Getting excited about upcoming trials this Spring.

Day off...kinda

Well I'm not training dogs today but we did set sheep for Dianes last morning here, with Evy this am. Evy worked very smoothly even with sheep being stupid about Dianes dog and the cold weather. Outruns are anywhere from jawdropping gorgeous to "oh my god thats not my dog"... the story of Evy and I:-)) We took the "extras" to the barn and the two crazys tried to attack her in the barn stall, but she didn't take it personally (though the offender has a bruise on her neck). It seems I'm the only one still holding on to our two building years after the sheep got the better of a much younger Evy. That was such a big obstacle to pass, even made me cheerlead for a bit (which I don't do), as long as she will take stock pressure and push back I'm happy. I don't ever want to go back to those years! So other than feeding this evening and bringing sheep around for the lesson this afternoon, no real training. Oh forgot I have goats to treat so someone will have that job as well, maybe Abby, she needs a bath and some primping anyway for our shows this month.

Another good day

We got Sally and Rosy worked today. Using the little roundpen area we worked on outruns and drives.


Sally fetching the sheep up to our set out spot. Sally did ok, got blown up about something and took a while to recover. I need to work her other places more I think... Also balancing control for both of us on the drive. If I take any control she starts looking at me and loosing focus. If I don't then I can't control her so we have to find the right balance.


Rosy did pretty well on outruns. Way is better than Come both in flanks and outruns. So I need to work more on Come bye stuff.

Sally driving around the trees.

Rosy was a little pushy but as before she needs time and miles so overall I was happy with her.

Resolutions 2011

I've decided that keeping a herding journal is a very good idea. Helps me remember where I've been and where I need to go. I need to keep goals very close to the surface. I'm going to use this blog as a spot to specifically put a herding journal for my dogs. I can keep track of what I want to work on and hopefully see a progression in the direction I would like to go with each individual.
First Evy: A dog that needs solid, steady work; consistently! So my goals for the year are to polish her to trial and keep her working at the high level I expect from her. Improve outruns (as always), more crisp driving and keep her happy. Sounds easy!
Second Abby: Also needs some polishing for trialling this Spring. Steady her drive, actually steady all her work since she likes to move with speed and purpose but no thought. So Abby should be fun to work since she just mainly needs polish.
Third Sally: Sally needs miles of work, though the work is good, where I would hope for a 3.5yr old to be. Good outrun lenghts, get better (more proper) lifts, fetches are improving, get better distance on the drive with flanks and finally keep a consistent flank on both fetch and drive.
Fourth Rosy: Trial her in HS this Spring. Outruns need more consisitency, flanks need squaring and stops need enforcing. She is doing well though for a coming 2yr old!

Will also try to get working pics posted, for both the header and post bodies!
Here's to a new year full of working Cardigans and good solid trial runs!