Good Weekend

Saturday I finally got back to Carol's. Ella and Wren came along as well, as did Mary Jane, who Ella has been working and trialing. I took Cruz, Ivy, Gwen, and Toss. That was a truck full! LOL! Someday I will have a fancy dog trailer. ;-p

It was a nice day, but was going to be pretty warm, so Ella was here at 7am and we headed about 30 minutes later. Carol had not seen Wren work before. She liked her very much and told Ella she had been doing a good job with her. She felt she was ahead of the curve and that she was ready to start working on short outruns. Ella needs to work on her staying put so she can leave her to be in position to help her outrun. She has delightful pace and loads of stock sense. She is very much Cruz. She is one of those "just right" dogs- already at just over a year. I have a short clip of her working and will attempt to get that on here later tonight. I have some very handsome pictures of Keele and Keele and his daddy, but they are on Ella's camera. (hers is SO much nicer than mine!) I'm sure she'll be sending me a disc very soon! ;-p Ivy did very well too, especially after I dropped my stick. We tend to use either the short whip or my stock stick when the dogs are being obnoxious about the atv's, and I think she thought of it as more of a correction than an extension of my body. She is going to be very natural and an easy dog. I adore her to no end! Right now I truly don't wish she was doing anything differently. I'm very excited, but have vowed to not push!

Mary worked lovely for Ella. They worked on the hesitation to stop at the top of an outrun, or exaggerated flank. Carol pin pointed that it was really because she a bit too tight at the top, so she didn't feel comfortable to stop. So that's what Ella worked on, and did a wonderful job. Mary is SUCH a nice dog, but there is just something about the connection between her and I... I am grateful for Ella for working her. I know it's also helping Ella learn, but it's wonderful to have Mary be trained and worked by someone who is clicking with her. (Mary loves her very much!) I hope that eventually Mary and I will click, since in all honesty, she is one of my best. Maybe she will get through these "rough spots" with someone she enjoys working for better... (she is a "balancer" and does not like to be placed off balance- so she's tough to flank in a drive- but MAYBE it's all connected to the too tight, and once she learns to be out a bit further she will stop on a flank in a drive better) I tend to be a bit too demanding of her (in her opinion) and then we butt heads. But everytime I watch her work I think "damn she is SUCH a nice dog!"

Toss didn't do a lot, since he had burned some pads pacing in his kennel one day last week while Ben and Charlie left to go 4 wheeling... I wasn't here. He would have been crated. We did a couple short outruns, which was good work since he wanted to lean in pretty hard on the top. I did one really nice call thru (shed) on the big flock and called it good with him. He's going to be a nice shedding dog. Gwen worked in corners and learned she could flank EASY. I worked her twice on flanking in a corner and along the fenceline and the second time I took her out she made incredible progress with that. She was actually trotting a flank along the fenceline, which if you know Gwen is unheard of! She has to be one of the fastest flanking dogs ever. And the quickest to stop. I've watched her roll herself on a stop whistle in a flank! Of course there are times you want this, but you have GOT to have gears, which is what she started learning on Saturday. I was incredibly thrilled with her response to being asked to easy up on the speed. I shouldn't be surprised given I truly believe her HatsOff breeding is one of the smartest, cleverest, most "110%" lines ever! I don't believe her or Cruz have ever "just decided" to not do it my way. My cue with Cruz if he is wrong is simply that I was not clear enough (IOW he just happened to not read my mind that particular time!!) and Gwen is very much the same. I am so blessed to have these 2 dogs that are not only so naturally gifted, but they do not want to do anything but please me!! Blessed, blessed, blessed! And not only please me, but work with me, and work with me, and work with me without ever a step of question!! I well up thinking about their devotion!!

Cruz and I worked on shed work and to my delight we have really, really made strides. I don't feel like a fish out of water and he coming right thru. The second time around the schooling sheep got in with the big group. Good set up! In one try we shed off the schooling sheep no problem. Cruz even had to hold that group while the rest high tailed it thru the gate to the back field. He knew I only wanted the schooling sheep and I don't think he even looked over his shoulder at the rest running by! :-)

So that was our day of training. I thought it went really well. I hope I can go again this weekend. I only have a few sheep here at home and my space is so limited...

I plan to enter the VBCA summer trial unless it's during our vacation. Someday, in the no so distance future I will have the land to farm, train, and trial.... I just have to wait a few more years, although it feels like a lifetime!