Puppies herding

This week I tried both pups, Stormy and Taz, out on the sheep individually.   They are 4 months old.   They had both been on the sheep at the same time about a month ago, and turned on really fast then.   I was expecting wild and wooly  this time.    And they were!

Taz went first and I was able to get him circling the group pretty well after a minute or so of wild chasing.   He was very eager and not able to be shut down at all.   When I finally grabbed the rope he still wanted more.

Taz

Stormy went a couple of days later and he was even more intense than his brother.  He didn't notice I was out there in the pen any more, he just wanted SHEEP!   I finally grabbed the rope and made him walk around next to me for about 20 minutes, before he started giving to my pressure.    Then I turned him loose and he was wonderful- he moved off me, he circled the group, he wasn't running into the middle of the sheep any more.   He also did not want to quit when I was ready to stop and had to be dragged out. 

 I managed to get a couple of pictures of him in between when I tied him to the fence to catch my breath.  
He is one eager pup! 

Stormy

Stormy

Stormy

The puppies are out of Holmberg's Firefly Contessa DNA-VP and by WTCH Birch Hollow's Ranch Security RTDcs, PATDcs, OFTDcs, DNA-VP

They are both DNA tested. 

Kids and fun

What are we up to?

            Combination James Bond/cheerleader/Santa Claus? 

What can I say?

A boy and his snake

The kids were having fun Monday on their day off.    

It should have worked

Yes, that is how my morning went.  I tried a new set up this year for loading the lambs because I had loaned out my X pen that I usually use to form kind of a chute.  Plus, the snow wasn't very deep so I thought it would be easy to have the trailer right up by the barn.  Usually we have to leave the trailer in the driveway and bring the sheep to it.  

So, last night Dane shoveled a little snow out of the way and backed the trailer right up to the barn door.  He said to use the giant plywood sheets to make sides for the ramp up to the trailer, but in the morning I wasn't sure I could move the plywood, plus I was afraid of ruining it.   Instead, I grabbed a spare gate and a smaller piece of plywood.  

I figured it would take me 20 minutes to half an hour to get the ramp made, and get the correct lambs sorted and pushed through the barn and loaded into the trailer.  

Everything went fine with Hank helping me for the gathering of the lambs, the sorting,  and putting the lambs through the barn.  The first one started up the trailer, then the second one decided my ramp sides were too low and bailed over the side.  By pushing hard, I got three more lambs in the trailer, but then the rest either jumped the sides or scooted under a crack in the bottom by the gate.   Dang it.  Now I had 4 lambs loose in the barn yard.   I sent Hank to round them up, thinking I'd just put them back in the barn and try again.  
But they wanted nothing to do with that barn door, treating it like a solid wall, and every time I'd get them close this one little wether would make a bolt for freedom.  I was losing it.  A few swear words and dire threats were issued.   After several more attempts at getting them in the barn. I was about ready to butcher the one wether on the spot with my teeth.   

Just then Dane came outside with the kids.  Pepper, who is very enthusiastic and only partly trained, slipped past them from the house and came bearing down on us and our four flighty lambs like a freight train.     I reacted quickly.   I stepped out in front of her and in my fiercest voice said "DOWN" and she did.   Whew!    I quickly grabbed her and put her in the car out of the way.  

Dane helped me grab two more lambs and toss them up in the trailer.   The last two were now very squirrelly from being separated into such a small group, and Hank was having trouble holding them.  So I did my one and only sensible act of the morning, I went and had Hank sort off one of the old ewes to bring out and settle the lambs down again.   After a bit more work we got them all together and were able to grab the last two lambs and get them loaded. 
It ended up taking about twice as long as I thought, but at least they were all alive, uninjured and on the trailer.  I hope Dane made it to work on time. 

In another week we should have a nicely stocked freezer again. 


"It should have worked" is a phrase often used by Norm Andrews, a cattleman and writer of humorous stories from Nebraska.    To see one of Norm's stories/photo galleries, click here:

Dog Tales from A Cattleman
http://users.htcomp.net/slashv/norm.htm

Confessions of a Non- Hunter

It's currently gun deer season in Wisconsin.  I don't know about other places, but this is a serious holiday season around here.   The gals at the office have been talking bow hunting.   My retiree lady neighbor looks forward to getting her deer every year.  Almost nobody makes appointments.  Hardly anybody works.  Many kids miss school.    Saturday morning was opening day and it sounded like we were living next to a firing range or in a war zone, from dawn to dusk, both Saturday and Sunday.
  The back roads are filled with parked cars and trucks.  Bright orange people with guns are everywhere you look.  In the afternoon every other car or truck has a deer strapped to it.

I admire all those hunters out there reducing the deer population.   All the conservationists say we have too many deer, and anyone who drives in the country at night would agree.     But I can't bring myself to join them.  I have never shot or tried to shoot anything, not a deer, duck, turkey, goose or anything except some unwary traps and skeet, and pieces of innocent paper.    I don't know why, but it really just doesn't appeal to me.  Plus, the thought of being out there in the woods with a bunch of guns scares me.    So that's my confession.    You all have fun and get a deer for me! 

Puppies

The puppies are 4 weeks old now, and exploring new places every day.  We took them to the barn, they saw the sheep.  We took them for a little walk down to the gate and back.  They got to see various rooms of the house and get carried here and there by the kids.  They have met all the big dogs now and the adults are unimpressed, except for Sprite who loves to play with them, and Becky who follows them around licking them.  They have various toys such as dumbbells, frisbees, and a cardboard box to climb around on, as well as some little puppy stuffed toys.  Jayne is definitely the more spunky pup, he wags and growls and plays almost constantly, he sometimes barks too.   Book is a quieter pup who will come up to me wagging his tail, get petted, but then just sit and look at my face thoughtfully for a while. 

Hawk in the barn

We have a hawk in our barn, and I'm happy about that and hope he will stay.  I'm not sure what kind it is as the barn is pretty dark, but it does have a striped tail and is medium large sized.   He (she?) was there yesterday and all the pigeons were gone.   Dane thought the hawk might be trapped, so he opened the barn doors wide.  Well, he is still there today and just as I went in I saw him make a dive for a pigeon and miss.   As long as he sticks to pigeons and stays out of the ducks and chickens I'll be happy.    We have far too many of the winged rats and they make horrible messes in there. 

Nationals, and lessons

Ganesh, opener of ways

I spend most of Nationals in Renea's RV (thank you!!!!) but the last night the RV had to go home so I stayed at the Super 8, watched over by this little guy.    When I saw him at the front desk I knew it would be a good place to stay, and it was. 

Sprite and Hank, competitors

Luke and Pepper, visitors

I took 4 dogs, not knowing if I would get any runs because I was on the wait list for everything.  I ended up getting into everything I signed up for, but changed my mind on Sprite's advanced sheep run at the last minute and let someone else have it.  I was confused by the new rules on staying at the same level and I actually could have trialed her in open again, so I was kicking myself later when I figured that out.    Hank was in sheep and ducks in the Nationals trial and Sprite was just in advanced ducks.  Except for Hank's sheep run I was happy with how they did.  Sprite scored a few points higher than Hank on ducks because she actually got hers through the center obstacle.  Hank was being very stubborn on "out" and coming in at the wrong moment.  

On sheep, Hank would not drive to the panels, and I was very frustrated with him just standing there holding the sheep.  But I did get some very helpful advice from Shannon Wolfe on how to work on that, so I'm trying it.   I went by there for a lesson later on.  

First of all, Hank is slipping side to side because I have not taught him to hold a line, so he's following the sheep; he tends to miss the panels because he's not on a line (not a rope, but a straight line with the sheep), and then when I get excited and give a bunch of commands he gets worried and looks back to me.   Then, he doesn't want to push into them because of the worry so he stands and holds them.  Also, he needs work on taking the inside flank.

So, the first thing to work on is how I start the drive.  Instead of just saying "walk up" and letting the dog take it from there, I am now giving a couple of flanks to get the sheep headed the right direction, and then saying "there, walk up".   This shows the dog where the line will be and lets them learn to hold it.  I wasn't expecting instant results with this, but it seemed to really help him out right away.  

The second thing was to brush up on the inside flanks, which we did by flanking him from the balance point around 360 degrees several times.    Then to be next to him while driving and emphasize "HERE, away" or "HERE, go bye".

The third thing was to have him drive them into a corner and then keep driving them until they scatter and he has to come out and cover.  It's very important to stay calm and let him know it's fine if he makes a mess, he knows how to fix it again.   This should get to his reluctance to push in.   The first few times I tried it he was really slipping side to side and letting them go around the corner, but then he figured out what I wanted and was actually driving them straight into the corner.  

It's really helpful to have a good trainer take a look at your dog and figure out what you need to do to improve.  

All these things are working with the younger dogs too so I can hopefully head any problems off before they start.  

Shannon's dog Miska working in the pens

I spent a lot of time working in the sheep pens, which was fun and kept me busy while still being able to watch the runs.   And I helped a small amount by being a fence for the cattle drives as they were moved from barn to arena and back again each day.  

Aside from a flood in the RV and some rainy weather some of the days, Nationals was really good for me this year and I had a great time seeing everyone there.   I can't wait for the next one!