Seasoning

Spain has it; Gabe is getting there; Livy is just beginning.

Spain came to me a "professional Ranch dog"...she'd been running successfully in Ranch for a couple of years before we teamed up.  Once I (re)taught her to shed, she really didn't need to gain any more trial field experience, just that the two of us needed to get together.  It was nice to have a seasoned dog to go to the post with; Rae spoiled me in that regard.

Gabe was just starting to get rolling at trials when he got injured last winter.  It took him some time to heal, regain physical condition, and get back to training in order to pick up where we left off.  He made a huge leap forward in the maturity department when I ran him as my only Open dog at the Bluegrass last spring. 

The BG outrun is sizable, the sheep can be hard to get ahold of at the top end where they're set on horseback with a strong draw to the set out, the terrain provides a trap in the first part of the fetch, and the weather is often a factor. 

Both of Gabe's runs were during extremely hot and humid times, and he was not in his prime physical condition as he was still coming back from his injury.  I have always had to sit on him at the top end so that he is thinking and not overflanking or acting like a wrecking ball, but at this trial I knew I'd have to trust him to bring them on his own for at least the first little bit.  I wanted him to have control of the sheep no matter what the line before I started interfering due to the distance and difficulty of the sheep.  Though I was really scared to leave him to his own devices, he handled it beautifully!  I should've posted earlier because I forget the details of his runs, but he was working very, very well for me and handled the sheep beautifully.  We missed some drive panels, our lines weren't great, and we didn't get them penned as he was exhausted and getting sloppy, but I was SO proud of him!  The memories that stick with me are: his top ends, making the fetch panels, making my first drive panels at the BG (Rae didn't get around and didn't make any drive panels), getting two great sheds, and attempting the pen...all with my first self-trained dog!

 

Gabe fetching the lambs.

 

 

 

 

Shed.

 

 

Livy ran on the Novice field in Ranch.  I don't know why I even entered her, it's such a tough set-up for inexperienced dogs.  She was really excited and acted like an idiot until it was time to exhaust, then she was lovely.  But I wasn't very happy with her.

Then we went to Dr. Ben's where the Open dogs ran well and Livy didn't find her sheep.  She was too darn excited to even look upfield and I was again very disappointed in her.

After bad runs at Hop Bottom by the Open dogs, not necessarily their fault but unfortunate nonetheless, we took a few weeks off before getting back out there.  We went up to Keepstone Farm where I ran the Open dogs twice and Liv in Ranch three times.  Spain wasn't happy about the heavy sheep and I did all I could to jolly her around the courses.  Gabe, on the other hand, ran like a rock star and finished 5th his first run and ended up WINNING with his second against some top competition!  Livy got her head out of her butt and ran almost like she can in practice, and she ended up winning a Ranch class!  Really happy with those two at that trial, it seemed like we were finally starting to make progress.

 

Gratuitous ribbon photo!

 

 

Entering the fall I have two very different training foci: to get Spain ready to run in the National Finals, but also to get Gabe and Livy ready for the fall trials.  I have moved Liv up to Open, ready or not, because she's been trained for a long time now and we need to start getting experience on the trial field.  She's been a slow one to mature, nearly over-the-top in her keenness, but I was warned of this from early in our training journey.  Gabe used to be like this and the two of us used to really struggle to get together, so I'm prepared for the growing pains that Livy and I will likely experience in her first year of Open.  So here we go!

Still here

Oops, haven't posted here in ages!  Wouldn't even know where to start...

Went to some trials in the Spring:  First was the Deuce Cook Benefit Trial at Fair Wether Farm in KY.  Deuce was Livy's brother who unfortunately lost his battle to lymphoma at the tender age of 3.  It was an emotional weekend but I was glad to be part of it.  Most of my runs weren't anything to be excited about, I used it for training on Spain (get around the course as fast as possible) and Livy (get out to sheep on a blind and tricky outrun).  Gabe did some marvelous work all on his own as the setout dog split up his sheep before he arrived on one run.  He went around a pond to bring back a single and then pull the other two off the setout, all blind to me, but relayed to me by the other handlers who were spectating.  He finished one out of the placings when we couldn't get a pet sheep to get off me during the shed.  As we were walking off the judge joked, "Feel free to smack that sheep!"

 View from set out of PN; Liv worked in the pens.

Next we went to the GSDA trial at Hubert Bailey's.  I was in a minor car accident that shook me up on the way to the trial, but Livy managed to brighten my day but running very well in the Ranch.  She only had 5 off her gather and was working beautifully up to a point on the cross-drive where I fried her brain and she ran through her sheep.  We got it together to finish well.  I don't know why but I was out there running her like one of my Open dogs, and it was just too much for her to take, especially considering she's been in maybe 3 trials?  Gabe had 2 tremendous gathers, both with very few points off, but also fell apart on the drive, and Spain had fair runs but no placements.  She didn't listen too well, but really I'd only had her out running sheep around and keeping her happy, no formal schooling in a couple months for her, so I wasn't really surprised.

In May we went to the Bluegrass, which deserves its own post.  Then we had the NC State Trial at Dr. Ben's.  Gabe had two really good runs, and if he wouldn't have boogered up his outrun Sunday (how can he go from a perfect outrun to being silly in just one day??), he'd have been in the placings.  He only lost a handful of points the rest of the way around which included split, pen, and single.  Spain had a very good run Saturday and would have placed had I not gotten excited and pushed her last sheep out of the pen prematurely.  Sunday we had a very nice go and ended 4th amongst some top competition and large entry.  The top 3 combined scores made the double lift; I think we were 4th or 5th.

 

Sunday's scoreboard: Linda Fogt, Dwight Parker, Alasdair, ME AND SPAIN, Bruce Fogt, Jenny Glen, Bob Washer, Robin French, Scott Glen, and Bob Washer again.

For Father's Day weekend and my belated birthday celebration, I traveled to PA to go to the PA State Championship trial.  No luck for Gabe or Spain with tricky sheep and poor hearing, and I chose not to run Livy but head home early instead.  Regardless, I had a very fun weekend with my Dad and the Williams are awesome hosts, as always!

Dad and the gang at Hop Bottom.  Spain didn't want her picture taken.

After that, I took a little time off from the dogs and did some "other" things.  I did my continuing education at a beach resort in Florida, what fun that was!! 

Destin, FL

I started a relationship that was great while it lasted, but in the end wasn't meant to be.  No hard feelings.  I actually bought his dog off him. Though I really wasn't in the market for a dog, she had lived with me for a couple months and I'd invested a lot into her.  I just couldn't let her go.  So here is Lena:

 

Lena in July, 12 mo old. 

Daughter of Hubert and Dee's nursery dogs; 

granddaughter of Jennifer Clark-Ewers' Sweep x Jesse

and Carla King's Floss x Tom Conn's Jim.