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

First of all I would make sure that your yard is rounded off - if necessary put some sheet diagonally across the corners - as it is very hard for a young inexperienced dog to dig sheep ducks or anything else out of the corner. If she is doing circles at the moment I would walk away and see what she does - she should keep the ducks moving towards you - as she does it walk away again so she is constantly getting them to walk towards you - as Vickie says, this is balancing and the basis for all stock work. If she is not bringing them towards you when you walk away and just following them where she wants to - first of all try and block her off with the rake (dont hit her - just put it there in good time) to get her to change direction if that fails seek help with someone who has done it before - there are a few people in SA who do herding or there is the three sheep gang too. I would not worry about sides and a stop until she is balancing naturally as you could put that instinct back to sleep if she gets a fright or senses a correction - but I would consider maybe a gentle recall so you are confident that you can call her off. I found the best way to do it was let the dogs have the sheep again most of the time and then gradually reduce the frequency - certainly with my dogs any reward other than letting them have their sheep again was pretty much a waste of time. Hope this is some help Cheers

I couldnt agree more - I had a dog that used to do that when I first got him and so I invested in a lunge rein (like they use to lunge horses) until I had him under control. It is a much easier behaviour to preven than to cure so best keep your foster pups away until you have a 200% reliable recall on them and they learn that they are not allowed to chase anything. I would add that at this stage I would discourage them from chasing anything unless it is instigated by you at this stage in their short lives. Cheers

OK here are some photos of little Swagman Frankie - aged about six and a half weeks. He is a great little pup - pretty adventurous and alert but has already learned not to whine in his puppy pen where all good things happen. Also no accidents in the house for three days now - the little guy goes belting over to his patch when we let him out. He seems pretty clever (brigther than me anyway) and I am having lots of fun with him. I am hoping he will work stock, given his bloodlines - for you WA people who know our dogs he is Swagman Clancy/Christies Tammy on the father's side and Wannapee Jess/Christies Polar on the mother's - both parents are young untried dogs but I saw the dam work and liked what I saw. He is related to my two - in fact Tex all of four years old is his great uncle. No doubt I will be coming back with a million questions about starting pups in a few months time Cheers [a tachment=74122:attachment][atta hment=74124:attachment]

Our guys in WA are very helpful too so I am looking forward to it - and Tex is pretty good in the yards at home so lets hope it translates. While I remember, did I mention to you guys that I finally got round to getting a new puppy last week? Cheers

Absolutely fantastic and well done - we are doing our first yard trial at Easter and I am looking forward to the challenge - I hope it is as much fun as it sounds. Cheers

Well did your day go ahead and how did you all enjoy it? report and pictures please Cheers

Great stuff Vickie and Trim - it is amazing what our dogs can do when we let them - sounds like you and she have really come a long way. It will be interesting to see how she works a few sheep after that experience. A friend of mine said her dog never looked back once she had spent a couple of days doing "real" work. Cheers

There are a few shelties over here in WA that have been herding - but on quiet sheep as a rule. I think a couple got their Pre trial but I have been a bit out of touch with ANKC herding here so someone else would need to confirm that. I heard a three sheeper comment once that he had seen some really good ones - but it was a shame that they would never do three sheep because their little legs were not long enough to catch up with runny merinos. I would love to see someone get one really fit and prove him wrong - if only to see everyone's faces. I have really liked watching the ones I have seen and they certainly enjoyed it. Look forward to seeing your guys on film MrsD - now you have said you are doing it we are going to harass you till you do. Just as an aside - do you realise this is just about the busiest thread in the training/obedience/dog sports forum - who said we were a minority sport? Cheers

A honky nut is a gum tree nut - the ones I use are about the size of a ping pong ball because that is what we have in our paddocks rather than for any other reason. Nice video he is starting to get out a bit. If you can physically take a step towards him rather than just wave the poly that is likely to push him that extra bit. Cheers

Now that sounds like a better reason than mine and makes sense. Presumably because they were pets they they were exposed to dogs albeit at a reasonable distance and so lost respect for them/saw them as nothing to fear or be concerned about. It must have hit pretty hard to do some serious damage - I thought the idea was more to waft it gently - but I am English and anyone who has been watching the cricket this year would probably have little faith in my throwing ability. (and yes I have had some stick about it in training sessions). Honky nuts are pretty good because you really can lob then and they dont bounce much - same with small sticks. Fortunately Tex learned it pretty fast so I rarely need it nowadays. That sounds like a great idea - you are only about a couple of hours from us and I have been told to give the boy as much away from home experience as I can - although he is pretty controlled here and a few other places he goes regularly - no guarantees that he wont go feral at first although he is getting much better. I tend to be a bit pushed in the mornings with the kennels although I could pay someone and get away for a day once in a while. Take it you guys wont be at Esperance but please keep your fingers crossed for us. Catch up soon anyway - cheers