Pipedream Farm SDT

Last weekend we returned to Mark and Renee's for their Open trial.  The course was pretty much the same as the Ranch one from June, with the first day having a shed then pen, while the second day went pen-shed.  Two ewes and two lambs were run, and the sheep definitely kept the handlers on their toes.  Some wanted to be pretty touchy while others were a bit stodgy around the course.

Spain had just returned to action from being laid off for 3 weeks due to a minor surgery.  She had been on crate rest for the first 2 weeks, then I resumed some light exercise (leash walks and treadmill) before the trial.  I worked her for 5 minutes before leaving and she was wild, and of course she had to grab one of the lambs and totally rattle my confidence.  She drew up early on Saturday and ran like a wildwoman.  I'd previously over-handled her on these sheep, so I let her run through a few stops and overflank a little on the fetch, which was what I thought I had to do, but turned out to not work so well as she hustled them around the course.  I don't remember too much about the run other than I didn't like her attitude when we entered the shedding ring.  I had a couple decent holes, but I chickened out and never did call her in.  I disappointed myself there; I knew I couldn't be afraid to call her in or show any hesitation, but I had too much on my mind and over-thought things.  I think we probably finished mid-pack.

 

Gabe's turn

 

Gabe's sheep came off the top of the hill quickly and the lift was offline.  Since you cannot see the top of the outrun or the dog's approach to the sheep from the post, I'd figured he'd been too strong at the top.  I had waited an extra second from when my mental image of him running behind the hill told me to blow him down, and so figured that he'd turned on himself and didn't hitch up.  So I was mad at him and continued to run him mad.  I know better, I really do.  He is very in tune with my emotions and needs me to stay calm, and I let him down.  The run was not memorable, but looking back I think he was actually trying very hard.  We'd just gotten off to a bad start with the sheep and they never forgave him.  And I was angry.  When we got to the shed ring he became hesitant and didn't come in when I called.  I eventually retired because we just weren't together.  It was all my fault.

 

About to turn the post with Gabe

 

To make matters worse, I found out from the spotter that Gabe's group of sheep was an uncommonly unruly group that was difficult to bring out from the pens and then to keep settled at the top.  He actually was behaving himself and didn't crash into them as I suspected.  So I'd been mad at him for nothing.  Ugh.

 

Katahdins in the set-out pens

 

 

 

Mark taking a group out late Saturday

 

Sunday I decided I needed to get my head in the game better.  I got ahold of Spain early in her run and she was working much better.  We had a really nice go around the course and were looking good coming to the pen.  These sheep were not too keen on going in, and as we worked them around I thought we finally were in good shape with all 4 in the mouth.  A lamb caught me completely off-guard and decided to leap over me and the rope.  Spain was there to catch it, but the other 3 ran out in the meantime.  We never did get them back in, so timed out leaving 20 points on the field.  We scored a 72 and although I was super-bummed about the pen incident, I felt like we were on the same page around the course, so I was happy about that.

 

Sue captured the heartbreaking moment on her phone

 

Gabe was third to last to run and I was focused on keeping calm.  I whistled him down earlier than before, saw the sheeps' heads turn, downed him again, and saw sheep walk straight forward off the hill!  We had to adjust the fetch several times and in the last portion right before the post I settled for being slightly offline as he brought them to me.  I goofed at the turn and let him get too far to the heads, which turned them back toward the side they just came.  Got them righted and continued on down the driveaway with a good pace.  We had a bit of panel-panic and as we zig-zagged just in front of the panel, I eventually settled for turning just in front of the inside panel since he was lined up nicely for the cross-drive.  Going across the bowl-shaped field is quite deceptive, but I managed to hit my markers (with Gabe!!?) and keep a nice pace.  He took a wrong flank just in front of the panel, but I got it corrected in time and we made it through.  A little wobbly third leg was followed by a 10 point pen and a 10 point shed!  Our first completed Open course!!  It was such a wonderful feeling as I stood there watching him march the two split sheep out of the ring :D  We scored a 77 and finished 12th of 56 dogs.  Not bad for a team who's still trying to figure out this trialing gig.

Even though everyone else left, I stayed over that night and helped tend to some post-trialing needs the next morning: sorting sheep, moving rams, and doctoring some sheep who'd not been fit enough for the trial.  Liv got a decent work in before we hit the road for home.

 Not Livy, but her mom Bette en route to the pen

Sunview SDT

Labor Day weekend brought about a new trial run by Maggie Chambers up in Quakertown, PA.  It was a bit of a trip for me, but I got to stop by Dad's on the way there and he got to come see my runs!  And it was so fun to see my Northern friends that I miss so much!

The field was very tricky, being quite small and having lots of pressure.  The sheep were beautiful wool crosses that were quick to run to escape and happy to stand down a dog.  I had entered Gabe in both Ranch and Open because in NEBCA trials you can do that until your dog places in Open...only problem is that I have no more NEBCA trials scheduled for the fall, so now Gabe is stuck in Open for all the trials we'll be attending.  I was hoping Ranch would run first so I could get some nerves out of the way, but nope, Open first and Gabe was the 2nd dog to the post.  The first dog got stuck on the cross-drive when the sheep saw their buddies in the set-out only a short distance away...yikes!  I took a deep breath and sent him left.  I think he would've been fine but I gave him a safety redirect (never hurts to check in with him to be sure he's listening).  With the sun shining in my eyes and a dark treeline bordering the edge of the field, I couldn't see him at all, so who knows what he did at the top.  But when the sheep started moving I could figure out where he was and he seemed to be listening well.  We had a good fetch, had to work it but he was flanking and stopping well, tight turn and fair start to the drive.  Then it gets a little foggy...I think we missed our first panels and our cross-drive was quite scenic.  He was pacing and trying to listen, just taking some wrong whistles.  But I was OK with that.  We were far from being on line, but I was thrilled with his attitude and how he was handling the sheep, so I figured I might as well stay on the field and keep working through it.  After the cross-drive was what turned out to be, as the day wore on, a nearly impossible chute which you had to make before going to shed.  We timed out after a brief attempt since our drive was so time-consuming.  So that was Gabe's first Open run!!  Not really what I'd had in my mind...the outrun was short at less than 300yds, ugly drive, didn't get a chance to shed...but still, I was really pleased with our go.

Spain ran toward the end and we actually had a pretty tidy run except for a few costly mistakes on my end.  I turned just inside the drive away panel, got flustered and gave her the wrong flank (so she crossed her course), then turned AGAIN just inside the cross-drive panel!  We also timed out at the chute of doom.  This run made me realize that I need experience on flat fields because the depth perception was obviously an issue for me.

Gabe had his Ranch run in the heat of the day.  The outrun was slightly shorter and the chute was made wider and shorter to give us a fighting chance!  I decided to send him right this time and could actually see him to stop him at the top.  He listened well and brought them at a nice controlled pace right down the field.  All the runs blended together so I can't remember about the drive panels, and I know we got scenic again, but he was listening.  I do remember that he had one who kept wanting to leave and he handled it well.  We did get the chute and ended up 4th out of about 30 dogs.  The class wasn't the prettiest, but the Open teams had some difficulty as well, so it was understandable.

Rae got to work a little bit by taking a turn on the exhaust field.  Someone was taking sheep off the field and bumping them into the exhaust field for us to pick up and put away in the paddock.  It was very hot by then, the terrain was rough, and she was not in shape, so she was pretty tired when her turn was over.  But happy!

 

We could see just a tiny bit of the action from our post. 

This picture shows a rare moment with the sun behind the clouds!

Sunday I again ran Gabe first in the Open.  I sent him right, got him stopped and listening well down the fetch and around the post, but then misread the pressure on the driveaway.  I was protecting a previous draw toward the inside of the field (and setout) when these guys wanted to go toward the exhaust.  I flanked him to cover too late, and because of the fenceline jutting out into the field, he couldn't get to them in time before they were at the exhaust and slipping through the high-tensile.  I did check to be sure that he was behaving and not in chase mode, and I was reassured that he was trying to cover them :)  So that screw up was 100% my fault, which was disappointing, but acceptable.

 

My friend Barbara tries to shed, so hard when the sheep are glued to you!

Sunday was rainy.

 

Spain ran in the last third and we had a surprisingly good go!  The two of us worked that course about the best that we could, made the chute, and then got to the shedding ring.  Though everyone was getting the chute now that it had been adjusted, there were but a handful of sheds during the day because the sheep were very people friendly.  I didn't have much time because we were slow around the course, and as time was ticking down I pulled off a Hail Mary as I called her in on a ridiculously hard attempt...AND SHE CAME FLYING IN!!  YAY Spain!  She was just turning the single as the judge called time, and unfortunately we did not receive any shed points.  On one hand I was pretty bummed, and even though the peanut gallery protested for my points, the judge said nope!  But it was a huge moral victory for me and I couldn't have been happier with Spain's effort.  We ended up in 3rd out of 53 dogs, how cool is that?  Our 86 was just topped by two 87's, rats!

 

It was her owner's birthday, what a fun present! 

Cell phone picture courtesy of B. Levinson

 

Gabe had one more turn in Ranch and as a training experience I made him go left even though he really was set on going right for the 3rd time in a row.  He didn't need his redirect this time, so I was happy to see he remembered that.  A sweet fetch and good start to the drive, made the drive-away panels, crooked cross-drive, don't remember the second panels, and made the chute.  Good enough for 7th this time and another run that I was pleased with.

So that's Gabe's Open debut (and Spain's third Open trial).  He tried so hard to be a good boy and listen to me.  I only saw the breakdown of his Sunday scores, and he had a 19 point fetch and a 20 point fetch for those.  And we really had to work the fetch, the sheep did not just run straight down the field, so that made me quite happy.  His RT was my fault.  He took some wrong flanks, but that is not unexpected, just where we're at right now.  It was not that he was disobeying me or running over me like in the past.  And Spain sure tried her very best for me and it felt like we were on the same page.  So a good weekend for both dogs, though plenty of room for improvement!

Prelude to Fall

The Fall trials will bring about a big transition period for me: no more running the experienced and 100% reliable, I'll be bringing out the new team. 

At 11 years old I have decided to retire Rae.  She is in good health and her hearing seems fine, but she's lost a step.  Her flanks have become a little slicey, especially at the pen (fatigue?), and her outrun is occasionally not as big as it used to be.  She asks for more input from me, which is a little strange since we've gotten to the point where I could either shush her or say her name to get most jobs done around the farm.  So, with these subtle signs popping up in the last several months, I decided to retire her from competition and let her do whatever she wants to on the farm.  It will be strange to not run her at a trial.  The one big thing she gave me was confidence.  I knew we wouldn't get into trouble out there, I knew she'd pick up my slack and carry me around the course, and the two of us knew how to work with each other.  It was comfortable running her, and I will miss that immensely.  But I want her to retire with dignity and not be seen as an old dog struggling to get around.  At first I was conflicted with the decision, but now I am comfortable and even somewhat relieved by it. 

 

Rae spots sheep at the handler's meeting, Shoofly Farm SDT; photo by M. Dobbs

 

Since I won't be running Rae, that means that Spain and Gabe will need to step up with Livy on deck.

I got Spain last Spring as a loaner dog in hopes of being able to run her in Open.  She was a seasoned Open Ranch dog who hadn't been moved up in part because of her Achilles' heel: the shed.  (Her owner also has 2 very successful Open dogs he is running).  Historically, she had a lot of tension at the shed and was very grippy.  The two of us took some time to figure each other out, and we spent a lot of time and patience trying to re-teach the shed.  I had been pleased with our progress, but what really turned a corner for us was a lesson with Lyle.  She showed me a whole new approach to shedding, and Spain took to it like a fish to water!  So we've put some more time in practicing the shed and I'm really excited about what she's showing me!  Spain's main strength on the field is that she is a very obedient dog and a good listener.  Though she's been around many courses, she's not experienced some of the big outruns that Open can offer.  And of course, competition shedding.

 

Spain at Pipedream Farm SDT; photo by L. Roberts

Gabe is about as opposite from Spain as you can get.  I've put a lot of work into him and he is definitely maturing with age, but he is still a handful!  He is his father's son (Christine Koval's late Tweed).  Gabe is a very talented dog, but he is NOT easy to run around a course!  He's like a bull in a china shop when he's on light sheep (ie, most of the trials around here).  He is a big, fast dog and even when he is doing nothing wrong, taking every down, flanking cleanly, and walking, he has so much presence and forward motion that he scares the crap out of the sheep.  In the past I've tried keeping him way back off the sheep, but that makes it ridiculously hard to steer around a course.  I now have him working closer to his sheep (though mentally he is often bullying them), but he still needs to be run stop and go because he is so hyper-focused on the sheep that he will miss a flank and keep marching forward.  He may mature into a dog I can keep on his feet, but that's not where we're at right now.  He has been trying very hard to be a good boy and not running over me like he once did.  I don't think he was ever being dishonest, he has just been so wound up and SO KEEN that he couldn't help himself.  There is plenty of enthusiasm in his lines, so it shouldn't be surprising to me.  Most of last year was outrun-lift-grip (or outrun-no lie down-retire), so we haven't had much trial experience at all.  He is a very task-oriented dog who wants to do what he thinks we are trying to accomplish, which still equates to wrong flanks on his whistles.  But he is trying to do what I want and not free-lancing with a bad attitude, so I don't mind the wrong flanks for now.

I've found that although Gabe is an excellent shedder at home, we run into trouble away from home because of his presence. He needs to stay off of them to keep them settled, but then is very far away when I need to call him in. Additionally, after scaring them around the course, they stick like glue to each other and it can be hard to create a hole. I'm trying to figure out how best to deal with this. All in all, he's a heavy sheep kind of dog, whereas Spain is a light sheep girl.

Gabe at Keepstone Farm SDT; photo by L. Roberts

 



Livy is becoming quite the sheepdog!  Due to a number of situations beyond my control, I didn't get to work her much at all after she returned home from Lyle's.  Talk about frustrating!  When I did get back to working her, we suffered the inevitable back-slide that I feared, but with a few trips to OH, KY, and MD, I think we are back on the right track.  She is still very excited to work and as a result, oftentimes that first outrun is too tight.  She has tremendous balance and stock sense, and is a great listener.  She really wants to please.  Livy is great at settling wild sheep as well as convincing heavy sheep.  I've changed her away whistle a little and we are still getting our teamwork back together (mostly me getting my timing right), but I am quite excited about her.  I will start running her this fall in the novice classes.  She's got the training, we just need to team up.

 

 Liv from last year; photo by D. Wall

It's taken me all summer to figure out that none of my dogs are like Rae and I need to stop trying to make them INTO Rae.  I need to learn to handle them as individuals, so that's where I'm trying to improve.  This fall will be quite the learning experience for all of us!

And Ella is still here keeping the household in check!