A Hanlder's Clinic

How can I even begin to summarize a "handling clinic"? To me, handling is such a personal thing.....good or bad: it is each handler's special qualities that present itself with each of their own individual dogs! That said, I went to a four day Scott Glen handling clinic up at Fido's Farm. Being one of the hottest stretches of the year.....I wrestled with taking the RV...which gets hot and does not stay cool without the generator running for dry camping.....or taking a tent that is as breezy as sleeping out side. I went with the tent. I took a sleeping bag pad...and though big, thick and promising the comfort of my temperpedic mattress.....I learned this about myself....I am not a good camper...happy yes, good NO!Sally, Gyp, Nell and Bella all slept in their crates in the car.....which was cool in the evening and they are all used sleeping there. I took Snook into the tent with me.....she kept me warm when the temps dipped....and kept the coyotes away!

Each morning dawned with a light fog.....that dissipated with the intense sun. The clinic started as soon as the field cleared, trying to beat the heat.As I mentioned, the clinician was Scott Glen from Canada.....the 2004 USBCHA champion and reserve champion....and 2009 Nursery Champion. He brought his very own special chair for use on the field......it doubled as a training stick on occassion.

Since the focus was on handling....I chose to work Nell. My intense 'Nell focus' started in March....and Nell is really starting to work nicely as a good team member for me. I have been mulling over some feedback I have received from a couple of different open handler friends that have watched me run Nell at a few trials this summer....and I had some questions I wanted to sort out with a little different handling perspective. Armed with two pages of a legal pad worth of questions.....that is exactly what I got!

What I took away from this clinic was.....I love how Scott handles his dogs, what he sees, and the precision of understanding he strives for. Those qualities bring really nice runs on a consistent basis. Though he handles a bit different from how I have trained....I do believe we met in the middle! That precision of understanding was lacking in my relationship with Nell...mostly because of the ambiguity I was creating. My "lie down" command had about 4 different meanings.....which was creating confusion when I really wanted a firm stop at the top! After some intense analyzing of my head and what my dog understands...I actually had some more effective tools in my shed for hitches.....instead of using a "lie down" meaning hitch instead of an actual stop. We did a whole open type of trial run today...and I really pounded on my head to use my communication tools to convey exactly what I wanted.....my poor head hurt a bit from using this precise muscle that I have not used before.....but Nell loved it! So then I loved it....and the wheel goes round and round!

My friend Monique wrote on her blog something that Scott shared with her at a lesson a while back "Your job is to always know where your dog's mind is, and be able to anticipate her next step at any instant during work. It's your responsibility to be one step ahead of the dog at all times." That tid bit has been burned into my brain....and is what I learned again and again at this clinic. KNOW YOUR DOG! If Nell wants to go to head.....the closer I put her there with a flank....the more I will have to lie her down to keep her from going to head. That is a "good" use of my lie down and I had best mean it. If I see tension in Nell, it is my job to see it and use the tools we have established to take the tension out.

The best part of going to this clinic was to be able to walk away and begin to formulate a plan using what I have learned with adjustments to each of my dogs and what I know about them. I am really looking forward to a very special trial that starts Thursday....LaCamas. I think I should go get KNOW YOUR DOG tattooed on the inside of my eyelids....that and WATCH YOUR SHEEP!

Tomorrow ends the four day clinic....I came home a day early to check the ranch but my "check engine light" came on and my van going to the shop for a check-up will keep me from going back for the last day. I'm really okay with how my clinic experience is ending....on a really great note with handling ideas for me to ponder and have become a part of my relationship with my dogs! Thank you, Scott Glen......for all that you gave me! Priceless.

Seize the Day!

Friends

Early this week....before the heat wave even thought of rearing its ugly head.....my good friends from Kenleigh Acres Farm came out to work dogs.

Theron has a nice young pup by the name of Rose....and he wanted to put some more time on her at my place!

And that is just what we did......Rose is looking splendid and is really getting a hang of the sheep work!

Then I put Miss Gyp on sheep and asked Shannon to take a few pics.....I do believe Gyp is going to be a lot like her mama......And this here was the sweet icing on the cake......

I LOVE working dogs.....with good friends!

Seize the Day!

Ramblings of the Random Sort

I'm in the midst of preparations for a four day, intense, open handling clinic with Scott Glen. As with most things in my life...this fortuitously falls exactly where I need it most. Nell and I are just starting to tap into a very nice working relationship with understanding happening more frequently than not. Sally continues to show me the rawness of my handling.....not being a dog to cover any fault that I might have so I must become more accurate! And Bella is teaching me the art of taking time and really evaluating what is presented. All these dogs have been trialing with me for the summer......and we are looking ahead to a few more, big, challenging trials to head us into the fall. With that in mind, I thought I would jot down a few of my thoughts.....

I recently wrote, "a good run with my dogs does not make me a good person, a good trainer, nor does it make me have a good day.....any more that a bad run makes me a bad person, a bad trainer nor can it make me have a bad day." I believe that to the core of my being. Case in point....Bella and I had THE worst run we have experienced ever on the trial field at the Island Crossing Sheepdog Trial. It was BAD.....I felt embarrassed, frustrated....but more, I felt I had let my dog down....not seeing in her the lack of tools needed to pull off this run and this lack making her not believe in me. I actually crawled through a space in the fence to get to my car to think and sort....rather than get unsolicited critique from the innocent if I had walked in front of the handler's tent. I also called a friend, one I have spent time training Bella with, to sort through what I was seeing....make sure my plan was a good one....and get another perspective on what might have happened. I patted Bella on the head and we agreed we had "relational" work to do.......and more training....and that I would not let her down on my end. Shortly there after, I had to get Nell out of her crate for her run....and let all those "Bella thoughts" fly away so I could run Nell with a clear head and no undeserved tension. Practicing "the art of letting go".....allowed me to have one of the best runs with Nell that we have ever had....filled with team work, trust, understanding and no baggage from previous runs.

I think back to what Jack Kn*x told me...."if you focus on improving your relationship with your dog...eventually you will win. If all you focus on is winning.....you won't" He also told me that "I make too big of a deal out of the great things my dogs do.....as well as making too huge of a deal when things go bad" Okay...so that would be my interpretation of what he said.....but that is what I heard him say! Ruminating on this....it is so freeing...to see Bella's terrible run as a map to what I need to help her with 1) lifting off people 2) getting used to not having as much room at the top as she would like 3) taking input on her outrun and not feeling pressure from it 4) helping her to lift and fetch at 350 and 5) cleaning up me......stop means stop.....giving her some black and white boundaries to build confidence so she does not feel like I have left her hanging. Bella's bad run was no big deal! On the other hand...Nell's really good run was no big deal either. It showed me that we are heading in the right direction in our relationship. We still have work...she over-ran the top of her outrun on sheep that would not forgive that......and I mishandled the pen. But again, it is a snapshot of where we are right now.

I am also working on applying this as I watch others run their dogs at trials. There are some folks that I aspire to handle like......and there are others that have their own way of working dogs. It certainly does not matter....each of us have our own journey.......and our difference of opinion does not matter! I get to chose who I listen to......which tidbits I let in......who I seek out for input. I also need to embrace that each dog I work with...has a special journey to share with me. No set formula....no time frame.....each works with their own method....and, if I am an open minded seeker.....I will learn, grow, and become with the dog.

This being the case, I am excited to see what I can learn from a "handling clinic". I am preparing myself to be open to what insight can come from intensely looking at how I handle each of my dogs. I know Scott's style of handling is a bit different from those I train with regularly.....I am excited to challenge myself to gain knowledge and understanding......finding a style that suites me. The journey continues.....the challenges intensify.......

Seize the Day!!!!!!!

She's Growing Up

During the Island Crossing Trial, I stayed with my friends north of Seattle. These are the same friends that sweet little Bella's Princess went to. Then, she was feisty and pretty much stole the heart of all who saw her......

Now she is called Dahlia or Dee Dee for short. She is still full of fun and feisty as the day is long......she has grown into a beautiful 10 month old teenager of a girl! Bella was not so sure about her.....but Dahlia thought her mom was very cool! Amazing the fingerprints Bella left on her pups....they sure look alike!

You can also see a bit of her dad in her.....with her small size and her ear set.

Gyp loved Dahlia....they found all sorts of cool games to play! It was a nice change for Gyp....as nobody really wants to play with her in my pack. Dahlia even came out to visit all the folks and watch a few runs at the sheepdog trial. I do believe she is slated for some sheep-time with Maggi on Vashon Island!

I look forward to what adventures life holds for Miss Princess Dahlia!

Seize the Day!!!!!

Magical Moment

I just returned from the Island Crossing Sheepdog Trial.....held in Arlington, Washington.....it was yet another beautiful trial. My favorite part...besides the great sheep....crazy challenging field....wonderful judge......and fun people.....was the RAIN! Yes, it rained and the temps were cool...and it felt fabulous!

As I said....the terrain was crazy challenging which provided extremes for me....."it was the best of times, it was the worst of times!" See, there was this gully, trench, long dip that ran across the top third of the field...call it what you like but, one would lose sight of the sheep in various places of the run....especially if things did not go as visualized.....because of that darn gully!

Here the sheep are just entering the gully.........

same run....sheep are in the gully.....nice dogand here they come.......This same gully created havoc on the outrun......obvious a dog could not see the sheep as they crossed it....so many a dog would run the lip of it only to cross on the outrun! It also created chaos on the drive....the wicked humored judge putting the cross drive line just this side of the gully.....off line...no sheep!

The pro novice day both Bella and Nell ran. Bella had lovely big outruns only to be shattered by tension on the lift. Back to the drawing board.....I need to lift off people with her....and work tight spots...then add in some really light sheep. Enough said. Nell got lost on her first outrun....darn gully....but we pulled it back together which gave me great hope for our second go. Nell and I ran second to last.....and all those training tears, counselling sessions with mentors and friends, hours and hours of obsessively thinking, watching, training....paid off as we entered the Zone. It was that magical moment where my dog and I were a team...Nell doing her part and me doing mine.......I could not hear a sound as I think the folks watching might have entered the zone with me.....and Nell won her first ever Pro Novice trial. Gosh I love that dog.....that whole relationship "thing" that happened was beyond any words I could use to describe......and sweeter yet was ending in third place combining both runs. Consistency with Nell.......I think I like it!

It was on to open....and what I can say is....I saw some fabulous runs ....great dogs...creative handling.....and Sally and I made progress. Her first run she struggled to find the sheep....but her second run she took a redirect from me on her outrun for the first time ever.....leaving me feeling like a winner! Both runs, I decided to leave the post to get understanding from Sally regarding taking a flank out of the pressure point....and am glad I did. Echoing in my head were words from Patrick.....sometimes you have to give-up a run to train a dog! I'm not working for today....but am looking ahead .......and so Sally and I made progress in our understanding and that has become winning in my book. It feels good to live it......

Now I prepare for four intense days of a handling clinic with Scott Glen.....bring it on!

Seize the Day!

A Ram Sam Sam

Growing up...I was a Girl Scout....and we used to sing a song called A Ram Sam Sam. You might have heard it.... "A ram sam sam, a ram sam sam, Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam" Well, yesterday I picked up a new ram...and sang that song all the way home. Brain worm for sure...so I thought I would name him...SAM!

"I do not like green eggs and ham...I do not like them, Sam I am!" I do not like them in a stew...I will not eat them with a ewe.....not with a lamb...not in a pan...I do not like them Sam I am! Dr Seuss had NOTHING on me!

But back to my story....Sam is a Bluefaced Leicester with a wee bit of Border Leicester. You can see his a natural black fleeced boy.....with very nice crimp and luster.....sporting a good body....but here is what I like best about him.........he will move off a dog!Last year's ram lamb....Mr. Hoosier Daddy.....has all the qualities that Sam has (well he does have a white fleece)....except he won't move off a dog.....he pretends to be a bottle boy...and he leaves that nasty fingerprint on his lambs! So off Hoosier goes to be some other flocks daddy.....and Sam gets to show me what a fine young father he can be....here's hoping for a few natural black fleeced lambs next year. Mixed with my 2 shetland ewe lambs and my 2 coop/bluefaced whether lambs, he also gets to show Bella and Nell how to work lambs ....... as that just might be what shows up at LaCamas on the trial field!

Here's to dreams of lambs next spring......

Seize the Day!

Western States Regional Champion Sheepdog Trial

I met up with Bob and Alistair on Friday and we walked the field that the Western States Regional Champion Sheepdog Trial will be run on October 15-17. Located in McMinnville, Oregon....smack dab in Oregon wine country......and nestled next to the Evergreen Air Museum....it promises to be a lovely field for a fabulous trial!

The museum with a grand view of the top end of the trial field.....

From mid field looking towards the set-out we are hoping to hide in the trees!

Here is a picture from Alistair of the whole field.....600 yards from top to bottom and does not include the field behind the camera for more room and parking!

From the top of the field looking back down to the post and parking......Be sure to check out the web site......for more information and and the entry form. Entries open August 3rd!

http://wsrcsdt.evergreenwebdesign.info/

Seize the Day!!!!!