Binx and I are still practicing the exercises we were given a couple weeks ago. We trained in the rain this past Saturday morning and his distance was so much deeper than usual that I was afraid to work him again after that...I just wanted to stop while it was so good!! We'll keep practicing this week and have another lesson scheduled for Saturday afternoon to see if we're moving in the right direction.
I also had a "trial lesson" with Rhyme last week. I am planning to run her in Pro Novice at Mary Brighoff's fun trial in October, and since I have never trialed before..I thought it would be a good idea to do an overview with Nancy before I go. Rhyme is already trained through Open...so obviously this was a lesson for me more so than Rhyme. Anyway, I am quickly learning that "handling" is much harder than it looks! I am just terrible at lines - really. I suppose practice is the only thing to help that, but it is very frustrating for me. The other problem I am having is that Rhyme doesn't always take the first command. Combine that with the fact that I am a novice handler, one whose brain doesn't always register what I need to do until a couple of seconds too late, and I don't have any more "seconds" to re-flank her or tell her to stop more than once. So....we are doing some close up work, similar to what I do with Binx, so that I am in closer and can reinforce the stop as an "immediate stop" and also make sure she doesn't think it's ok to continue to creep forward after I've asked her to stop :-)... I'm sure she knows that I need help and she is trying to bail me out! I wish she could teach Binx how to square his flanks...hers are beautiful!
That's where we are for now...still trudging along and getting more humble every day.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Puppy "Tuck"!
The Ben/Grace pups are now 7 1/2 months old and showing signs that they are ready to be sheepdogs!
I swapped out puppy Huck in exchange for Puppy "Tuck" with Nancy O on Monday evening. Huck is now ready to start some light training and Tuck is still sniffing and showing signs that he's not quite ready to work just yet. So Huck went to live with Nancy O, who will be training him up. As long as Sarah doesn't mind, Tuck will hang out with me for a bit and learn about the world until he is ready to start working.
Tuck is a sweet boy. He has only been with me for 2 days now, but he has been friendly and playful with the other household dogs, he is eager to learn new things and redirects his behavior with a mild verbal correction when needed.
I'll post his picture as soon as I make time to do a photo shoot!
I swapped out puppy Huck in exchange for Puppy "Tuck" with Nancy O on Monday evening. Huck is now ready to start some light training and Tuck is still sniffing and showing signs that he's not quite ready to work just yet. So Huck went to live with Nancy O, who will be training him up. As long as Sarah doesn't mind, Tuck will hang out with me for a bit and learn about the world until he is ready to start working.
Tuck is a sweet boy. He has only been with me for 2 days now, but he has been friendly and playful with the other household dogs, he is eager to learn new things and redirects his behavior with a mild verbal correction when needed.
I'll post his picture as soon as I make time to do a photo shoot!
We've been SKUNKED!!
Ugh...PEEE-UUUU!!
Me and the dogs were outside early Thursday morning when I saw them start running the back fence line. It was only 5:30, so it was still dark - but I saw a small black shadow moving with them. I thought it must be the groundhog that lives at the back of our property - on the outside of our fence. I ran down and yelled to call off the dogs. The adults came running, but of course Puppy Huck had to continue investigating....then all of a sudden he came running right at me! At first I thought, "wow, that recall training is really coming along!" But then I smelled it...BLECH! We ran to the front of the house to get away from the smell and I suddenly felt like I was caught up in a Chevy Chase movie...I turned around and the dang skunk was RIGHT THERE - no kidding - he was maybe 10 feet away from me. Then I started wondering if the thing was rabid or something and I think I spooked it AGAIN! ARGHH!! I hurried and latched a leash on Huck and swung open the gate and called the others to come too. They wasted no time getting away from the skunk this time.
Needless to say, my house absolutely reeked! It was nausiating. I couldn't tell who was sprayed or not becuase the whole room smelled.
I had not yet showered and was supposed to leave for work in less than an hour. So I crated Huck and hopped in the shower. As I'm standing there letting the stress and chaos rinse away, I start to smell the skunk again. I peeked around the curtain to see Binx lying on my towel...I could almost see the cartoon-like stream of smoke emitting from him. "GET...GET...Go on now - Get Out!" He looked at me cluelessly and moseyed on out of the bathroom.
Well now I just had to get on with my day and deal with the stinky dogs later. Huck got it the worst...he got sprayed in the face and the body, whereas Binx just got it in the rear...as he was running away I suppose. Rhyme did not get sprayed! Maybe this wasn't her first skunk and she was wiser than the others?
I stopped at the drug store on my way home to pick up the "Skunk Remedy Recipe" supplies. Peroxide, Baking Soda, and liquid soap. It works like a charm! Granted, I too was soaked by the time I bathed Huck...but it took the smell away immediately!
I'm still not sure what made the skunk crawl under our fence and INTO our yard with me and 3 border collies...I find that rather odd. I am much more aware of our surroundings when we go out in the early morning now, that's for sure!
Me and the dogs were outside early Thursday morning when I saw them start running the back fence line. It was only 5:30, so it was still dark - but I saw a small black shadow moving with them. I thought it must be the groundhog that lives at the back of our property - on the outside of our fence. I ran down and yelled to call off the dogs. The adults came running, but of course Puppy Huck had to continue investigating....then all of a sudden he came running right at me! At first I thought, "wow, that recall training is really coming along!" But then I smelled it...BLECH! We ran to the front of the house to get away from the smell and I suddenly felt like I was caught up in a Chevy Chase movie...I turned around and the dang skunk was RIGHT THERE - no kidding - he was maybe 10 feet away from me. Then I started wondering if the thing was rabid or something and I think I spooked it AGAIN! ARGHH!! I hurried and latched a leash on Huck and swung open the gate and called the others to come too. They wasted no time getting away from the skunk this time.
Needless to say, my house absolutely reeked! It was nausiating. I couldn't tell who was sprayed or not becuase the whole room smelled.
I had not yet showered and was supposed to leave for work in less than an hour. So I crated Huck and hopped in the shower. As I'm standing there letting the stress and chaos rinse away, I start to smell the skunk again. I peeked around the curtain to see Binx lying on my towel...I could almost see the cartoon-like stream of smoke emitting from him. "GET...GET...Go on now - Get Out!" He looked at me cluelessly and moseyed on out of the bathroom.
Well now I just had to get on with my day and deal with the stinky dogs later. Huck got it the worst...he got sprayed in the face and the body, whereas Binx just got it in the rear...as he was running away I suppose. Rhyme did not get sprayed! Maybe this wasn't her first skunk and she was wiser than the others?
I stopped at the drug store on my way home to pick up the "Skunk Remedy Recipe" supplies. Peroxide, Baking Soda, and liquid soap. It works like a charm! Granted, I too was soaked by the time I bathed Huck...but it took the smell away immediately!
I'm still not sure what made the skunk crawl under our fence and INTO our yard with me and 3 border collies...I find that rather odd. I am much more aware of our surroundings when we go out in the early morning now, that's for sure!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Clinics and Trials Oh My!
I have registered myself and Rhyme for a working spot in Cheryl Jagger's Judging/Trialing clinic in Hop Bottom this October. I'm hoping it will help get me off to a better start, especially since I've never trialed before and have many questions and unknowns.
Also....we are going to run in our first trial this October...at Mary Brighoff's Fun Trial in Montrose, PA. I had originally thought I would just enter with Rhyme in Pro Novice, but my instructor thinks I should also enter N/N with Binx since it's just a Fun Trial. I'm not so sure about that, but we'll see how much progress we make in our training between now and October 17th.
Also....we are going to run in our first trial this October...at Mary Brighoff's Fun Trial in Montrose, PA. I had originally thought I would just enter with Rhyme in Pro Novice, but my instructor thinks I should also enter N/N with Binx since it's just a Fun Trial. I'm not so sure about that, but we'll see how much progress we make in our training between now and October 17th.
Training Update
It's been a while since my last post...I've been kinda busy since I have sheep to train with regularly ;-)
My young dog Binx is coming along nicely. We had a lesson about a week ago and Nancy says "he looks good". He is coming in a bit tight at about 2:00 on his outruns. I'm working on that by stopping him at about 3 o'clock, walking in toward the sheep and then giving him a "GET" to push him out. I'm also doing some circle work to get more distance (though he is not too bad for his stage of training) and some flanking exercises to help square them up a bit better. He seems to be taking well to the little driving that we have worked on. Overall, I'm very pleased with him. I really lucked out with this dog...I adopted him from rescue before I knew I would like stockwork. He is turning out to be a wonderful first dog for me...he's so very biddable, yet he never quits on me!
Rhyme and I are still getting together (I just got Rhyme 3 months ago. She is trained through and has placed in Open and even ran at the World Trial in 2008....on the other hand, I am still learning how to "handle" an Open dog, and she's learning about my novice voice and lack of handling or whistling ability!) She is teaching me a lot about sheep and now about trialing. I have been working her very loosely when we train...just doing flank work and circle work and driving...she has to be reminded that Stop means STOP...not just slow down. She can get "lost in her sheep" when she gets far away from me, so I do the foundation exercises close up to reinforce that she needs to listen for me. This seems to be working really well for us so far.
My young dog Binx is coming along nicely. We had a lesson about a week ago and Nancy says "he looks good". He is coming in a bit tight at about 2:00 on his outruns. I'm working on that by stopping him at about 3 o'clock, walking in toward the sheep and then giving him a "GET" to push him out. I'm also doing some circle work to get more distance (though he is not too bad for his stage of training) and some flanking exercises to help square them up a bit better. He seems to be taking well to the little driving that we have worked on. Overall, I'm very pleased with him. I really lucked out with this dog...I adopted him from rescue before I knew I would like stockwork. He is turning out to be a wonderful first dog for me...he's so very biddable, yet he never quits on me!
Rhyme and I are still getting together (I just got Rhyme 3 months ago. She is trained through and has placed in Open and even ran at the World Trial in 2008....on the other hand, I am still learning how to "handle" an Open dog, and she's learning about my novice voice and lack of handling or whistling ability!) She is teaching me a lot about sheep and now about trialing. I have been working her very loosely when we train...just doing flank work and circle work and driving...she has to be reminded that Stop means STOP...not just slow down. She can get "lost in her sheep" when she gets far away from me, so I do the foundation exercises close up to reinforce that she needs to listen for me. This seems to be working really well for us so far.
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