Training at Downriver Farm

Owen on an outrun. I cropped these photos but for some reason it didn't translate in the upload. :-( I've been using Picassa to edit my photos since my old Photoshop is not compatible with my new laptop....
I can't tell if this is Owen or Lynda's Lark driving towards the draw.
Lynda is setting with Lark as Owen comes around on an 'away' outrun. I just found these pix on my camera and can't remember exactly when I took them; before Whidbey I think. Lynda & I went out to Downriver Farm in Hope to train on some different sheep in a different field. Downriver is where we both started all of this 'herding' stuff. ;-)

Training since Whidbey

I got to work Jayne on the trial field at Susan's mid week; Lynda & I both used the opportunity to send our young dogs on bigger outruns. Plus do some driving to the panels left up after the trial. I was very pleased with Jayne; she is continuing to show more maturity in her work. Lynda's Lark is also coming along like a champ.
Then Pam hauled her sheep to the big field on Sunday where we worked in a bit of a drizzle but doing much the same kind of work; seeing how far our dogs could go and not fall apart. The cows are gone but the grass was still very high in places so Owen had a some problems going on the come by side but took a redirect and managed to hold his own. Jayne was great; I have been working on being very quiet & soft(thanks Patrick) which is helping a lot I think. I am trusting her more which she is also responding to. She overflanked one time as I had completely lost sight of her in the high grass. Lynda pointed at her with her stock stick which might have signaled something to Jayne as she then flanked back and lifted very nicely with no help from me.
Today back to McLeods' where we sorted a group into the alleyway to work in a tight space to kick off my session with Jayne. Then I penned the group in the field but kept a single out to work for a few minutes. The group of sheep I had sorted proved to be a very reactive flighty bunch so we had some different types of work with them. I did some driving with Owen toward the draw where he had to flank to hold them which put a lot of stress on him. Good news was no wobblies when we were done. He is starting to handle more pressure and was working with a ton of enthusiasm and confidence.

Whidbey Trial

I took my camera but it never made it out of the trailer so no pix again. You can always check my archives from a year ago to see pix of Susan Crocker's beautiful farm. ;-)
It was an awesome week as always. I went down early and spent a nice sunny Friday mowing to help out. George & Sue Macdonald arrived early afternoon with the judge so after they set up the course, we all had a nice dinner outside the 'barn'. This year for the first time, they flipped the course; the set out was at the exhaust end of the field. Which proved to be Blair's un-doing. He earned the 'honor' of the lowest score on Sat. - an embarrassing little 40 with us timing out at the pen. It never fails that when they do 'pen then shed', we suck in the outfield. How sad is that. lol Then again on Sunday I retired at the first drive panel leaving the sheep out on the course because Blair would not take an away flank, nor would he bring the sheep back to me. It was very weird and totally unlike him. However a few other dogs seemed to have problems at the same place, but there were also ones who did just fine. Big congrats to Monique and Lucy who showed us how it should be done!
After the rain on Sunday, it changed and was nice for the novice classes on Monday. Jayne continued to work really nicely to prove worth keeping; she was third in Ranch and earned some money. I am very glad that I entered her at that level to have a positive experience. We also got to work dogs on Wed. after the trial where she worked really well at a much bigger distance.
But my biggest thrill was in P/N with young Owen. I was worried that the drive might be over his head but he handled it all with no problems and managed to place 6th. in his very first trial. I used him for my set out shift before his run and I think that may have helped his confidence & reinforced his good listening skills. Man oh man, do I ever love this dog!
Sadly the wheels fell off Dusty's wagon. He has always been a good outrunner but this time he went almost straight up the middle. When the sheep come off the set out, he fell into 'follow' mode and allowed them to head back to the gate. So I called him off and we retired - probably permanently as this was to be one of his last chances to trial. He is just too unpredictable and obviously uncomfortable in new situations.
With the continued success that Jayne is showing both in training and now in a trial, it is unlikely that I will sell her. Which means I will have to give up Kit. I really really like her in every way and she is going to be an awesome trial dog, but I just can't afford to train or trial 5 Border Collies. Especially with 3 all about the same age. She will suit anyone as she is so very nice but I have a possible home for her with a keen novice handler. But I will be open to other inquiries for serious trial homes.

Update

Sorry no pix.
Weather has been off & on; rainy days followed by nice sunny day. Since my last post, Lynda and I went out to work dogs at Downriver for a change of venue. Good to get out on different sheep even if in a small field. Otherwise just the usual work at McLeod's twice a week. I've been juggling working my 'four' dogs with Kit now included. She is coming along but still mostly doing puppy stuff. But a nice cool head on her and I'm not wanting to push her very much until we are bonded more. She is still needing to settle in to being a 'city' dog outside in my yard with all the noise from the neighborhood and traffic. I like her a lot and think she has awesome potential - would be a great trial dog for anyone. And then there is Jayne. Who has been working awesome ever since Kit came here. Jayne is such a talented dog it would be hard to part with her. So I am giving her the summer = 4 upcoming trials from this week's Whidbey til Lacamas in Aug. to decide about her. If she can keep her head together then maybe she doesn't need to go to someone with their own sheep and a big space.... So then I will also have to decide what to do with Kit. She is going to make a good dog but I can't really afford to keep/train/trial 3 young dogs all of almost the same age. As it is, I am juggling entries between Dusty, Owen and Jayne in P/N for the next few trials.... arrrggghhh
On another note, I can't believe I got my lawn/hay field mowed again with my trusty Sears Craftsman. Poor machine is being truly pushed to the limit this spring. I was lazy and didn't get it done a week ago on one of our sunny days. But finally got her done on Sat. I had friends staying over the weekend to compete in the BC Agility Regionals - pal, Julie got a first place with her Woody dog from Geri Byrne. Big congrats to that team!! Dusty's littermate, Drift was in contention but lost out due to handler error(according to Julie). They are all going to be tough competitors in P/N this weekend at Whidbey too.
Our pal, Pam relented and hauled her sheep to the big field yesterday; knowing that we were all entered in the Whidbey trial. So thankful to her for the opportunity to work in a big space now & again. Lynda & I each worked our dogs to stretch them out; we did Try & Jayne, then Lark & Owen. Ran into a few issues with the big distance with Lark & Owen but it was very very good to get those things solved/worked on while training & not at the trial.

Kit works sheep

The holiday Monday was gorgeous so Lynda & I took advantage and played with our dogs all day. She showed me how she does some 'packed pen' work in the alleyway leading to the back field. I tried it with Owen and he was a star; snuck around the fenceline like a pro. I was apprehensive but tried Jayne and she did very well also. Not a natural or easy going about it as Owen, but got the job done without panic or grip etc. Lynda & I also did some work together holding sheep off the gate. Very good stuff for building confidence by walking up on heads. Then we each did the same working a single & holding it off the gate.
Here is Kit doing a little gather.
This picture was taken just before the one above.
Kit flanking to hold sheep to me.
Kit has a good lie down and calls off her sheep easily. She has not had much time put into her but seems like she will train up with no issues. She is not grippy and doesn't lose her head or slice through.
Driving is foreign but she was willing to walk up and take a few steps past me. She has the equivalent of a few weeks of puppy training I think. I actually expected her to have more practical skills from working on a cattle ranch but I guess they really didn't put very much time into her. However she will come on just fine.
I worked her again yesterday and saw much the same. Today is a day off and we are back to spring showers. Sure glad I got my lawn mowed again yesterday morning.

Working dogs today

Kit would have loved to work some sheep today. Look how nice and clean she is after her bath & brushing yesterday.
Here is the new beastie Blueboy.
Pam's sheep looking on to the new group being brought out.
View from the top for Jayne's first gather. Pam is setting as her sheep stick to her like glue and give the dogs a good opportunity to get to 'lift'.
The grass is getting really high and the cows can't begin to keep up with it. Lynda was standing with Pam at the top and taking pix of Jayne as she lifts. She was a very good dog today....must know why Kit is here. lol
This is the distance I sent her for her second gather.
Jayne on the fetch. She brought them with good pace and feel and little direction from me.
This is the distance of our third gather. The field is 400 yards fence to fence and I think we were close to using half of it.
Jayne on the left almost hidden in the tall grass, doing another nice calm lift. Wow I was impressed with her today!
Making a nice sidepass to keep them online. Thanks Lynda for taking all these pix! Later on Lynda worked Lark and I worked Owen. We sent them on bigger than P/N outruns to stretch them out and both dogs did awesome. Lynda also worked Try a bit later sending him on an Open distance outrun; he was incredible! Did the best outruns of his life! Kicked out to the fenceline and stayed quite deep(for him) at the top. It was a great learning day for all of us. The weather was great; a little shower before I left home this morning but mixed sun/cloud all afternoon. It was very muggy and hot out in the high grass but not too bad for sheep or dogs.
Oops, here she is again. Miss CoverGirl May - the lovely Kit! ;-)
Keenly watching Nancy work Seeker. My oh my but what a short tail she has!!
Looks a lot like her daddy, Mik I think. Long legs and neck. lol I think she was much relieved to see that there really still are sheep in her new life. But still wondering if they will be for her. Well....maybe tomo. or Tues. at the latest. I think it will help her bond to me to take her to sheep fairly soon.

Meet Kit

Kit will be arriving tomorrow to the Abby Airport from Sask. She is two, born Dec.'07. Jo Zoerb's Mik X Sommers' Gyp. Litter mate to Lee's Jeb. Same way bred at Jamie's Max & Jennifer's Max. Newest addition to the Dorman pack. If she works out, Jayne may be for sale this summer. Will be posting lots more pictures soon. Kit comes from a big cattle ranch was deemed not quite aggressive enough for cows & would make a better sheep dog. Jayne is very talented but is being held back by my lack of big spaces to stretch out her comfort zone.