AKC results - Sunday

Adventures ahoy!

Tanner finished his PT
Blue was far happier today, but no Q
Charlie moved up to Int, didn't do too awful but no Q
Lyric got a Started leg
Nari was up and happy and I did an NQ handler error. So it goes. Was the right thing to do for the dog.
Nova got a Started leg on ducks, 1st place

Beverly with the Beaucerons went down with a bad ankle twist on her outrun - everything stopped. After the gentlemen carried her out, I ran Ayja for her, finishing her Started A sheep title. What a trooper. Went from handler on the ground, worried and tense, everyone rushing over, to someone (ME) she'd only met a few times taking her leash, feeding her a bit of roast beef, and then running a decent run with me. I've only really worked her twice over the last 6mo.

High in Trial went to my client, Meredith, with her BC Tara. She fixed every single thing I mentioned from yesterday, went around smooth and fluid. Yay!
Cindy and Jester got their PT, Robbie was a bit much today for Linda, and Firn was a bit of a pill for Marla.

Hawking training - session II

Working on training W's hawk right now, since the pups are quite a bit more like food than hunting partner right now. Took Jack and Nova over to work with the hawk tonight.

I'm slowly learning to read her, and vary my plans accordingly. At one point, I'd traded Nova for bouncier Jack ( handy for these things that he bounces on command!), and had figured out that coming at a trot frontal to the hawk was a problem for her.

Plan A: Retreat with dog at heel when the hawk puffs up. This would work if she was reassured by the dog reading her correctly. After 4 passes, was not leading to lessening of behavior.

Plan B: Retreat with dog at heel when hawk puffs up, then calms down. This would work if removal of the dog temporarily was good enough release of pressure to satisfy her. Nope, no improvement.

Plan C: Retreat with dog at heel when hawk puffs up, then calms down. Stay away for 30 seconds.
This worked, was enough of a time away for the stress to get released and we saw tapering off of the behavior as we went.

Family Portrait in the Snow

Brick, Jack, Nova and Pow

Snowfall fun

Two new herding dog tests

I'm always trying to find out more about my dogs, and herding dog behavior, and what non-herding temperament traits to look for clues.

Took Pow out to work the tending for practice this am - makes the sheep rather happy to get to forage. Because of all the rain, one long side was flooded, 1/2 the graze was ankle deep in water, and parts of the other long side were flooded. Pow didn't care. If that was where he was supposed to be, he was there. As was Brick, flashing through the water and over sheltie high plants with gusto. I'll take the rest of the crew out in groups, get the chance to work them in the wet and see what they are made of. I'm sure the combo of high weeds and deep water makes for tough seeing and tough going for them!

Note: Whiskey is fine in the water - she does not take it as fun, but she doesn't mind dealing with it if she has a job to do.

The other thing I've been doing was out of curiousity and attempt to get some of them in better condition, I've been running one dog on the outside of the arena while I herd with another for an hour - or a client. Good distraction for the dog working. Brick, Pow, Jack and Nova will all work the fence for an hour silently, working the sheep from the outside, but on their feet and attentive the whole time. I want to test Whiskey and Kestrel to see what they'll do - they may be different in that situation.

Family Reunion

We had a great time with Kaela and Troy and Ajah, Sonny and Luna the week that they were here. It was all herding, all the time. Well, there was a little carting in there as well.
So here is a family pic - not sure why Whoopi's ass is sky high, her topline DOES NOT look like that. I think she might have had a foot on the top step.
At top, Grandam Whoopi, followed on the left by Kestrel and the right by Powwow, next Nova on the left and her sister Luna (out of Pow and Kestrel), followed by Brick on the left and Jackson on the right (out of Pow and Spot).

It was very interesting to see Luna again - she's a nice blend of Kess and Pow, herds like Pow and Brick, but a lap dog like Kess. The helicopter wag though? Not sure where the hell that came from! Kaela goes "beep, beep beep, beep beep beep" and that tail just starts a vicious spiral that will clear any table. Luna is extremely calm and curious - never saw her nervous or ramped up so much she couldn't think.

My work crew - brushcutters

I'm kinda laid up right now with either Mono or Lyme, pick one. But I do try to make it down a couple times a day into the woods, to top trees too small to keep in the eventual first graze area, 100 x 150 ft. The system works like this - goats, Albert and sheep run in the woods most of the day, eating what they can reach. This opens up the undergrowth enough for me to get 8ft or so into the woods, topping small trees and dragging them to piles. Livestock then eats all leaves and bark off of brush piles, and moves into newly opened area, readying it in about 2 hrs for me to cut again. I work 5-10 min, rest on the couch for an hour. So it goes.

Sheep and goats don't eat the same things, at all. Sheep eat things chest height and lower, goats tend to eat chest height and higher, as high as they can reach at full stretch on their hind legs.

So here is Nova, with the flock in an area I've just cut, and an example of a tree goat.

AKC AHBA herding trial results from VA

Well,
Kestrel didn't do so hot in HTAdIII ducks or sheep, but did get a champ pt off of HRDIIIs, so I think that's 5 now.

Whiskey got her first HRDIIIs leg! I entered her last minute since Joy donated some runs to me, and just for fun. She's not commited to being my working partner yet, but she impressed me on her ranch run.

Nari finished her HTADIIIs and HRDIIIs with a ch pt on the ranch and a 4th place since it was run after the arena title finish in the am. She can be difficult, and was on ducks, but I think ranch is where she wants to shine.

Kess's daughter Nova got 2 legs on her HSAs, with a 4th place in a HUGE (over 30 dog) class. Namely, by me jogging the entire course in 85+ degree weather. Yes, I ran the entire course, from the lift and fetch to the hold ( we didn't have a hold, so we would have done waaay better in score had she stopped when I asked).Oh well. Kept us from disaster and kept us in the 90's in score!

Seamus, the Kerry Blue I was running for my client Bridget, got a PT leg on Sunday and a JHD leg today - he's very exhausted and sore from overworking his sheep, but everyone really enjoyed watching him work, and the judge both days liked him a lot. He was a very good boy at his first trial, with only 4 herding lessons under his belt!

Jack was....well....wild. Too wild to qualify. I guess I should have jogged his run as well....

Can we all be bottle babies?

I pulled the one lamb that wasn't putting on weight but had recieved enough colostrum and made it a bottle lamb. He's doing fine, pronking down the hallway. "Bounce bounce bounce...TADAAAAA!"
The dogs are a bit jealous of the whole bottle thing though, and Brick is learning to get milk out of it very gently.


And no, that's not beer they are drinking. I'm using a root beer bottle since the nipple fits perfect on it, with a goat milk mixture in it, a touch of electrolytes, a touch of sheep mineral.

Nova, Whoop and Joy herding

Here's Whoopi, telling that sheep it had better get the head up and hustle.
Nova as she goes around the sheep.
Yippeeee! sheep!
Joy, asking "Hey lady, where you want these things put?"

Christmas tree expedition

First, we search the woods for something resembling a Christamas tree...

Marq cuts it down while the dogs have some racing and wrestling matches. That's Nova, Whiskey, Brick, Kestrel and Jack in the scrum.

The dogs then check in and lead the way for Marq and the tree.

Oliver got his own little tree to haul on his cart!