Lesson with Patrick

You will have to excuse the old photos and poor quality with my old Pentax. I didn't take my camera on Sunday so no new pix but thought you might enjoy seeing Joe & Heather's beautiful Island Crossing Farm This is a shot similar to my 'home page' one but taken a few seconds later. Dusty gathering up the flock.
Here he has them moving nicely through the gulley and is pacing himself pretty decently. We put them in the round and gate sorted a group to work.
This is also why I posted these pix. This is a lot of what my lesson on Owen and Jayne was all about; getting the proper distance while driving(or fetching). You can see here that Dusty is too close; the lambs all have their heads up and ears back with tension. I have been letting both Owen and Jayne do this too much. In part because of working in a small space and by the time they are correct, we hit a corner. However I know I am still doing it even when we get out to Pam's big field. So I need to work on that a lot.
Sorry this is so far away but even so you can see how the better distance has relaxed the sheep and they are moving much better. I must confess that I probably didn't place Dusty here, he most likely did it himself. Owen and Jayne should both do it IF I help them feel it!
The sun was setting here so this shot is dark. But again, you can see how far off Dusty is and yet has nice control of the sheep. I wanted to post these last two shots so I can come back & remind myself what the correct distance looks like. Of course that distance can change depending on the sheep among other factors. But it will remind me I hope.
The lesson with Patrick was great as usual. He is very patient and explains things really well. It is kinda sad that he was saying the same things that I've been told over & over. ;-) You would think I should be making progress not just repeating the same mistakes. When Lee sent Jayne home to me, she said my biggest challenge would be keeping my commands soft with Jayne. Sure enough that was the big thing Patrick found that needed changing; all my whistles are of the "Emergency!!!STOPNOW!!" Or "FLANK FAST&HARD" Or even...sigh...."WalkUP!" For 6 years Martha has been telling me to develop nuances with my whistles....sigh...lol So my beloved big blaster capable of being heard at a 1/2 mile is getting hung up and I'll bring back out my baby blaster or the custom one, Margaret's hubby made. We'll see if that helps a bit too.
I need a shock collar and someone to zap me everytime my whistle or command is strident or harsh or even just too loud. Patrick used a soft "listen" or "Jay-ane" and she responded much better than to my "HEY!" or "AYE!" or "GRR!" or some other gargled sound intending to be a correction. Another note to self: use the same damn 'noise' consistently. I also find myself saying "There now" and "There" and "Right There" - I need to pick one and stick to it. Such basic things and I am still doing them. Along with blowing two commands, instead of one and then a correction if not taken. So that was mostly for Jayne although Owen would of course also benefit.
Patrick's read on Owen was positive and good to hear. He said there was enough dog there to keep on working and having fun with. He didn't think his stopping/slowing up short on his outrun was from lack of confidence as much as developing a habit of coming in tight. (because sheep have usually headed down the field) What I saw as Owen then not covering, Patrick saw as Owen pushing them off line from being tight. So we worked on teaching him an "Out" if he slows down=starts getting tight.
I absolutely LOVE working these sheep. They are forgiving if the dogs are right but will take advantage if not. One ewe kept trying to break off and leave the group in a very big way. Both Owen and Jayne did a very good job of picking her up & putting her back in. She got away on Owen one time near the end and we let her go but I was happy that he held onto to her up to that point. Plus it was a mighty test of Jayne to go after a single and not lose her head.
I would encourage everyone to work with Patrick if you get a chance. Lee Lumb is hosting a 2 day Open Handler's clinic followed by a one day clinic in Coldstream in April. I wish I could afford to go but....have chosen a closer one with Karen Child that month. Here's hoping that I can really concentrate on softening by then. And proper distance. So that Karen can see something different for me to work on. I have never had the right opportunity to work with Karen so I am really looking forward to Fido's in April.