WorkNBCs

Canine News is the CAWA Magazine - sorry I assumed you were a member. Details for contacting Steph Gibson who does the ANKC herding in WA are as follows: Stephanie Gibson Lot 54 Windfire Grove, Mandurah WA 6210. Phone: 9581 6160 or E-mail [email protected]. Cheers

There is also herding in Mandurah, details should be in Canine News - if you want to get into 3 sheep or Yard and Utility trialling then go to the WAWSDA website http://www.ami.com.au/~pat/wawsda2.htm Cheers

Well done to all of you - a pretty impressive collection of brags and it is barely April. Got a small one of my own - my dog George, who I have had since November, came third in the Improver class at the Wagin Woolorama three sheep trial in March. He penned too which made it even more of a chest puffer. George is a dog I have loved and coveted since 2004 and he is such a joy to work - his previous owner should take all the credit for how well he is trained though. He is seven already so plenty more years of fun ahead of us I hope. Cheers

I have seen a kelpie that sort of age not interested and then heard that she then switched on at her second look at sheep. Some dogs take longer, especially if they have been trained not to chase other animals anyway. It would be too soon to rule her out completely after just one look at stock. Food for thought though, if she doesnt look as if she will enjoy herding and you do not have regular access to stock, maybe give something else like tracking or Flyball a go instead. If the instinct to herd may be there and emerge later, you are potentially creating a monster with a hunger that cannot be met without regular controlled access to stock. On the other hand if you really want to get into herding and do either ANKC herding or three sheep or yard and utility trialling then you might be better off getting a dog that is bred to do the job and will give you a great start once it switches on. Just some food for thought Cheers

CTD first of all congratulations on your HT - and to you too Tracey for your multiple successes. From looking at the clips she looks if anything too busy - if she is settling down and showing a lot of eye that would be more than welcome if she was mine. When she is sticky eyed is she holding the stock to you? If so then that is good - if she is just holding them in space or to a fence and you are not in the picture, then you potentially have a problem. Normally the way to cure it is to get the sheep moving and she should move with them - also keep yourself moving so she naturally balances to you. If those sheep won't move then see if you can work her on some that will. Nobody ever said herding was easy and to give up because of one hiccup would be a shame for both you and Tia. We have just had a Bernard Arends workshop over here in WA and it was a real opener in terms of teaching me to let my dog Tex work rather than commanding him all the time - as long as he does not stress his stock. The tension is going out of his work and he is now quite happy to calmly hold sheep to me or bring them to me rather than bouncing around and stressing his stock. Still a way to go but we are on the right track and having a lot of fun with less now being more. Hope this is some help Cheers

We did our first yard and utility trial at Easter and I loved every moment of it - the sheep were OK but my language about the gates probably left a lot to be desired. One of the things I loved was that you got the rest of your run even if your dog crossed taking a lot of the pressure off when you are learning Cheers

Very well done Superminty - I dont believe you will retire now you have the bug how many dogs are you trialling anyway? Just ANKC or three sheep too? Cheers

Thanks Piper (and also MrsD) - I will play it by ear on the day depending on what the sheep are like and only walk through the gates if I really need to (nice to know I have that option). Off to make a 5m lead for my old girl - I just hope she stops when I ask she has a tendency to creep slightly but not normally when she is right next to me. No point in putting her in a sit or drop as they are not in her vocabulary. And yes, I know it is in the rules and so we are abiding by them but wouldnt it be nice if the ANKC mob and three sheep guys could agree some form of mutual recognition for achievements in the other one's field. Hopefully it will be a fun day and it will give me a chance to look at how the A and B courses are done by some of the dogs that have been in this for a while. Cheers

CTD - Congratulations to you and Tia. I am actually giving ANKC herding a shot next Sunday - I did a bit with Tex in early days before we ventured into three sheep trialling and he is doing his PT test (entered twice) I have read the rules over and over again - am I allowed to walk with him and his sheep during that test? I assume that I stand to the side of the gate while he (hopefully) puts them through though. Also doing the HIC with my old girl Laydee - again entered twice - she is an out and out three sheep trialler - has penned with 80+ in the past and even penned with me at our last trial. Kind of crazy that we have to do an on lead test but hopefully we will get through it and eventually get on to the more interesting stuff. Do they provide the leads or do we have to bring them? If the latter I will need to make something this week. Cheers

Well I finally got one of Laydee working - at a trial with sheep that just wouldnt accept her again after she bumped them on the draw. Still we did get them settled a few times but then they were off again the moment she stepped towards them so we retired at the race. The wind came up just before our run and there were a lot of early retirements around that time. I learned a lot from it though and hopefully we will do better at Mayanup in April. I think I posted the three I have of Tex already Cheers

I am doing three sheep too and will also be going to my first yard trial at Easter. I am also going to give ANKC herding a shot this year because the guy I train with reckons that my younger dog Tex needs as much exposure away from home as possible and it will be good for him. Laydee, my older dog, is now nine and getting a bit creaky and I reckon the smaller courses and quieter sheep or ducks will enable me to give her a couple more years once 3 sheep and yard trialling gets too physically demanding for her. She just loves to work and I would like to keep her working as long as she is able and still wants to.

Kavik - a lot of the dogs that are nuts when they start calm down into really good sheepdogs so I am glad you are sticking with it - good luck your next session. Vickie I am thinking of showing my new pup sheep at around three to four months - I was close to sending my trainer mob to the butcher (heartless or what) and then luckily never got round to it so I have some nice quiet woollies for him to play with. Serious work wont start though until about the same age you got Shine working because he just wont be strong enough. Little so and so is already showing every sign of being fearless and confident at all of 8 weeks - hopefully he will also be calm. I dont intend to get it videod <G> think it is something I will just go off and do quietly by myself. Cheers

Way to go Vickie - it is particularly impressive how calm she is, even allowing for the fact they are quiet sheep. I assume then that you didnt show her sheep until she was over six months old? Are you planning to do three sheep or ANKC herding with her or even both? Cheers

Hmmm once you get him used to this guy and showing good behaviour wont you need to generalise the behaviour and find lots more guys to kiss you too? Sorry - couldnt resist <VBG> Joking apart it does sound like it could be an unfortunate one off, but the idea of introducing your guy to him in less "steamy" circumstances sounds like a good one. The trouble is that you really dont want this behaviour repeated as the more often he does it, the harder it will be to break the habit.

not me...although I certainly agree with it. I would also thoroughly recommend taking her somewhere for training. What are your goals with her? Ooops it was Jesomil - nice clip of Shine btw - how many times had she been on sheep when you took that. As a bit of an aside but still part of the same topic - how old were your dogs the first time you showed them sheep? Cheers