Caitlands Two Minute Warning

...is a black bi daughter of Quade x Jinx that I've had a few starts with long lulls inbetween training sessions.

I've gotten too comfortable with working one dog ...kinda like a good old pair of shoes that fits so well a person hates to trade off for a new pair...even when it's well past time.

I really do need to be more consistent with my training sessions with all the young dogs here as honestly dont have an excusable 'excuse' ....not to. It's more like falling into a bad training rut on my part...making a few training notes
on my calendar helped before...quick glance at it told me I hadnt worked 'Sting or Dare' for a couple of days.

Sting works much like her dam and 1/2 sister Dare...not pushy dogs on stock....biddable & certainly want to please a person.
Each started with some one-sidedness / overflanking. With Sting I ended up in a smaller pen so I could help her in a smaller space / less working distance to help correct it, then moved out into a bit bigger pen.
Noticeable difference in just a couple of sessions.

I've marked on the calendar ' WHO have you worked this wk ? ' as a reminder to not let time slip by again.

Congrats to....

Congrats to Caitland's Alberta Clipper ( Lily ) & Sally making the ASCA Novice standings ( 1st and 2nd place)in all three areas...Regular, Jumpers and Gamblers.

Way to go to Gord and Tucker qualifing for the Skyhoundz World Frisbee Championships in Chattanooga Tennesee ( coming up here on Sept 25 to 27 )
Tucker Q'd in distance and accuracy. Not bad for 9 1/2 year old :)!
...

Routine work or a Lesson 'in' the Routine...

Outside of doing chores twice a day , we haven't been setting up a specific practice session where we go out and bring the sheep to a larger area to work on 'lessons'

The calves have picked up the chore routine in just a few feeds so now I have to be abit creative in how I go about doing chores so it's a training session for Quade and not just a 'routine' (... remember 'The 5 Principles' )

For those that wish they had stock outside their door to work dogs but travel to someone for lessons ever wk or so....the bonus is...you have someone making sure you dont fall into 'complacent' work. For those of us with stock as a daily routine...it's not uncommon for our minds to be on something else while doing chores
and / or take a few short cuts to get the job done....not hard to lose what finese you have on your dog if you arent mindful that each time you take your dog to stock to make it 'good stock work'...We set the criteria so dont accept anything less.

There still a lesson that can be found in each element...all starting as
you go out the door with your dog at your side before you open any gates. That's one lesson.The second lesson is how you walk through your gate and making it black & white each time.And the list goes on , however a person wants to break it down.

We've got several gates that we can enter the pens so makes for setting up & sending the dog different ways.Some pens lead into another one that isnt being used ( holding pens ) so I have a few options to incorporate when it comes to chore time. We can certainly work on our take pen work...teaching the dog how to enter properly,
the drop at the back fence so stock can quietly walk out should go a long way in doing Take Pens at trials.

Last few days I've been moving my Electra Net fence around in the neighbors summerfallow field to eat the green growth before he gets time to spray it. With the price of hay this year, I'm trying to delay when I start using my hay supply so grazing the sheep where ever there is anything green. The fence is pretty slick
to use with a solar power source....can set it up anywhere's I can spike the fence posts into the ground...no moisture in the ground makes it feel like cement most days.

Quade holds the sheep in the one open wing while I move a section and re spike it....takes awhile for me to do it and I'm too far away for verbal commands so the onus is on Quade to be responsible for covering/holding the sheep from the get go. We get in abit of driving the sheep off the open wing before we move the next section of fence and repeat the process with the hold until I can join the two ends.
That patience work we did this summer is paying off...glad we made the time to do it.
I see a more seasoned dog over the summer at home...now to take the dog 'I see' at home to the trials.

Black Forest Cake

Will be gone for 10 days so busy trying to catch the yard up for fall/winter and get the garden tidied up and processed.
Overall the garden didnt grow well this year d/t lack of rain as well so late with a miserable cold spring....
so not much for cukes and beans to do up. Not enough for pickles, just a few for fresh eating.
I had planted extra tomatoes since the first plantings had such a rough go but ended up growing
inspite of weather conditions so looks like I'll be looking for tomatoe recipes when I get
back from Nationals ( as long as the guys remember to cover them if it freezes while I'm gone ! )
Corn is just nicely getting ready to hit the freezer.

Busy making meals and freezing for the field...harvest is in full swing so early mornings ending late in the evening.
( no one will have the extra time to make their meals with chores / my dogs left at home , so have
10 days worth to make it easier for them )

Here's a quick & easy recipe someone at work gave me for a

Black Forest Cake.....
- Line a cake pan with miniature marshmallows
- Do up a choc cake recipe and pour on top
- Spoon on top of that Cherry pie filling ( I used the diet pie filling )
Bake until done ( use the tooth pick test )

Just tried it today and yep it bakes up pretty slick with the 3 layers

Weaned calves yesterday....

Weaned the calves yesterday.
Despite drought conditions here in central Alberta the calves are good weights.
Infact the calf crop is one of the better ones we've seen the last couple of years.

With one water bowl and 2 calf pens to move to water twice a day , Quade 's job is to dog the calves
into the chore routine and to do it with minimal stress to the calves since weaning/vaccinations alone
and getting onto different feed/water is already a big stress factor in their lives.

Calves have lost their natural leader ( mom ) so there's some milling around until some forward motion
starts the flow in the intended direction. ( It's abit like an edi with heads and butts facing you until it finally spins itself
out )
Usually takes a well placed nip with releasing some pressure so there is a reward for the calf to
turn and move. The trick is to keep 'enough' pressure to keep the flow going /keep calves grouped enough
and to cover the draw back to the other pen ...there's always a few that
want to try to break away....and all at a steady pace... it's more work for the dog to stop and restart the push which
puts more stress on the calves. Our calves are naturally quiet to begin with due to winter calving ( handled ) so tend to be heavy to start
that initial push.

For as pushy a dog Quade can be, he really is a decent chore dog and shows patience / respectfulness that is needed to work
the babies. ( There is zero tolerance for poor stockmanship on the farm here )
Usually a 2 person job 'before the dogs' now easily done with one dog...infact hubby took off to a farm sale...figured
we didnt need 'his' help for chores. The truth of the matter .....we've been managing just fine for quite some time :)

Anyways once they're well on feed and settled down , they are a perfect group to do some dog training on ,
...both Betty Williams and John Carter lessons come to mind....pressure / release exercises ie) flat foot walking into the heads, turning stock
stopping/releasing the pressure.

photos of a few heifer calves

Recent wkend news...

Sent Derby with sister Deb for his first CKC shows this past wkend at the Saskatoon.
Shared the spotlight with sister(s) Favor & Reegan as well cousin Dublin and came home with
some nice wins/points for a young male that is just coming into his own.
Thanks Ron & Laurie , Jackie and Deb

' Duffy and I had a great, sopping wet, weekend of Agility in Burnaby, BC.Duff earned four more Q's and moved into Advanced Gamblers on the second day. We'll never forget our first advanced run. It was pouring rain, Duffy ran a beautiful course but the gamble was a serpentine and I wasn't sure we were up for it. He took the first jump, then made a beautiful turn into the second just as a big gust of wind blew the whole thing over.So two jumps from the end and we had to re-run the course. He did even better in the opening the second time, then just as we were approaching the gamble the heavens opened and it started to hail. Duffy looked at the sky and then looked a me as if to say "what the heck is this stuff!!" But with lots of encouragement he made all three jumps, got his first advanced Q and a big cheer from the spectators for a fantastic effort.I sure do love working with this dog, he gives it his all no matter what, and enjoys every minute of it! '
Christine and Duffy
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' Hope (Caitland's Walking With Faith) and I had a pretty good weekend too. We went to our first AAC agility trial and qualified in 4 out of 6 runs. Hope finished her Starters Gamblers with 2 first place finishes. She also Q'd in 2 out of 3 starters standard runs, both with class placements. Her jumpers run was lovely, other than one refusal. Considering we were running in a wicked thunderstorm, I was pretty happy with her. She was distracted by a loud boom of thunder and missed one jump. '
Kathy & Hope
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' With a beautiful jumpers run Austin got his ADCH Silver today!!!!This title requires 25 Qs in each Masters class, in addition, the last time I checked there we only 14 other aussies having achieved this title! To say I am proud of my boy is an understatement! '
Dianne and *silver* Austin :-)
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Miss Lily earned her AXJ at an AKC trial this weekend, in the pouring rain and wind... That last standard leg for her AX eluded her but hopefully not for long!Sally and Lily
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'Hi! Magnym had a great weekend. In ASCA he earned his novice jumpers and open jumpers title. He earned his novice standard title and novice gamblers title. He earned on leg in open gamblers. It was awesome-he's coming together! '
Jyl & Mag
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Take Ownership of your Space

Taking ownership of your space ....

I like Trudy's 5 foot rule...sheep can never be brought within 5 feet of you
( basically one stock stick length ) when working stock.
It helps the dog understand balance if you are not 'one of the flock' ....as well there is no reason for the dog to bring the sheep on top of your feet
I've already noticed a difference since camp in squaring up /rating his stock as in the space between the dog and his stock & the stock to the handler....so another Black and White rule I'm adding to my list for all the dogs here.
And since I tend to be somewhat inconsistent/lax with some things ...my list of B/W rules is likely to grow.

Photo of Quade in pasture taken by Cathy

The Five Principles....

Took away alot from the '09 Sheep Camp at Dog Tale Ranch
so going back to the basic way of thinking that

'All ' training hinges on these 5 principles:

1 ) Balance
2) Sides
3) Stops
4) Sends
5) Walk ups

All 5 break down into their own chapters of lessons that help lay the bricks for building a solid foundation.
I tend to think in flow charts or algorythyms when problem solving so the way this camp was taught was perfect.

My notebook contains jot notes like :

- Easier for the dog to change direction than to steady up
-Take ownership of your space
- Dont do the dog's job
- Manage things...dont control things
- Let the dog work...dog work is stock work
- Direction is more important than Distance (driving notes )
- Dogs live in the now
- Never accept bad work ...the handler sets the criteria...dont accept anything less
- Make things Black and White otherwise you make a worrier out of your dog.
- Power creates motion
-Teach the dog to walk into pressure and release to build a confident dog
- Release is what you teach
- A dog can easily learn a job/chore but doesnt necessarily mean the dog understands the above principles....

There are many more gems along with more indepth written observations as well quick 'stick' drawings...sometimes
a 'dogs name' is written beside the notes to recall someone else's session.

Even though I've been around stock all my life, still learned alot about reading livestock / course flow / working with draws
as well dont think a person can ever file away enough trial stratgies etc.

Worked on off balance work with Quade among the things I needed to go back and make more solid....remember those
the basic principles listed above :)
Worked Sting since we have too many starts and long lulls inbetween.
Glad I took her as she really is a sweetheart to work....not pushy at all...a refreshing treat actually :)

Photo of Sheep by Terry Stickle / Practically Famous