SmoothieGirl Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Fellow herders, help! I am currently racked with indecision!Do I enter for the upcoming A course trials on cattle or not? I am fighting a battle between YES: coz he will probably pass and then we will have our A course titles on sheep, ducks AND cattle (greedy me) and NO: wait and get his work more polished, while he should pass, it might not be pretty and there will always be more cattle trials. Argh Rain willing, we will have a practice run this weekend, which still leaves time to get entries in, but if training is cancelled due to rain, I think I am going to have to toss a coin and live with the outcome :p Hi there SuperM. I'm not sure I can advise you because I'm still a novice at all of this, but I'm going to wait until Bronte is going really really well before I do our HSAs. Given we now have access to all of these new training skills and with the March clinic I'm going to try and reap the benefits of that so that our Started title is a real clean and sparkly achievement. I think it will also help me get a real handle on what quality have and maintain with the puppy's training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janba Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 You could be like me and duck trials . Cole only has only see ducks a few times outside of trials so our training is in the trial ring. He's not that pretty on ducks but he does improve every time he works them and now has intermediate passes on them. We no longer have ducks in NSW to trial on so any further passes will have to be obtained interstate. I would try it because you never know if there are going to be more cattle trials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janba Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 For those of you who are trialling the NSW State Herding Titles are being held on the long weekend in June. A, B & C courses, all trial levels, are being run each day and we have 2 different judges so titles are possible. I will post more info soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superminty Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 Hi there SuperM. I'm not sure I can advise you because I'm still a novice at all of this, but I'm going to wait until Bronte is going really really well before I do our HSAs. Given we now have access to all of these new training skills and with the March clinic I'm going to try and reap the benefits of that so that our Started title is a real clean and sparkly achievement. This was the way I was leaning, coz he got his sheep title, gosh, 3.5/4 years ago and it was not pretty - lots of good bits but a fair few bad bits too Then our duck titles were achieved after about, oh, 2 goes on ducks? I was terrified he was going to eat one, that's how little experience we'd had on them at that stage. Took a few trials to get it all working too. So once again not pretty. Just once I would like some pretty passes! You could be like me and duck trials . Cole only has only see ducks a few times outside of trials so our training is in the trial ring. He's not that pretty on ducks but he does improve every time he works them and now has intermediate passes on them. We no longer have ducks in NSW to trial on so any further passes will have to be obtained interstate.I would try it because you never know if there are going to be more cattle trials. I am fairly confident there will be regular cattle trials as the owner of the cattle has got a good source i.e. next door so plenty more where they came from. However, my next opportunity may not be til later in the year and you just never know. I would really like to have the title under our belt, then I will enter and run in Started, but start putting more driving into it - that way I can step in and help him out if need be. I don't mind losing points - not in it for the wins! Gotta remember I will be up against dogs that are already in intermediate and advanced, so we are unlikely to place anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inevitablue Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Hi guys, I would like to have a go at competitive herding when my pup is old enough. I am planning to get out to Erskine Park to watch how the trials are run. With my male, we used to just work cattle for the neighbour...single bulls, moving groups of heifers etc I tried him on sheep at Erskine Park once and he was just waaaaay too rough. If left to his own devices he was always more interested in 'heading' rather than 'heeling' and had to be reminded what the job at hand was - moving them, not stopping them! With this new pup, at what age do you guys think I need to get her around sheep so she is a bit softer on them? An ACD breeder mentioned to me that they are fine on sheep if introduced early enough and before cattle. What is the earliest she can do an instinct test? :)Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janba Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Hi guys, I would like to have a go at competitive herding when my pup is old enough. I am planning to get out to Erskine Park to watch how the trials are run.With my male, we used to just work cattle for the neighbour...single bulls, moving groups of heifers etc I tried him on sheep at Erskine Park once and he was just waaaaay too rough. If left to his own devices he was always more interested in 'heading' rather than 'heeling' and had to be reminded what the job at hand was - moving them, not stopping them! With this new pup, at what age do you guys think I need to get her around sheep so she is a bit softer on them? An ACD breeder mentioned to me that they are fine on sheep if introduced early enough and before cattle. What is the earliest she can do an instinct test? :)Thanks I would wait till she is about 4 months old. You can start earlier but she would only be able to do a few minutes at a time. If you are willing to be patient and not over do it bring her at 3 months. Training starts on the first weekend in March, both Sat and Sun so come and have a look and bring her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inevitablue Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Thanks for that.. wow that early! I will be there with the Queen of the Commando Belly Stalk in tow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janba Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 (edited) Thanks for that.. wow that early! I will be there with the Queen of the Commando Belly Stalk in tow Just remember that you will need to take it slowly with a young pup. Its really just getting them used to stock, teaching them to stay off their stock and letting their instincts mature 5 minutes at a time. ETA For insurance prurposes the first Sat of the month you need to belong to the NSW Herding Association ($25 pa + joining fee no charge for training). All other Sat you mut be a member of DogsNSW (training is $5). Sundays you need to be a member of the Australian Stockdog Club ($28 + $5 joining training $3) and the ASDC is more a 3 sheep/yard dog training but will still start a dog correctly. If you are a DogsNSW member come on the 12 March and see what you think before you join any of the clubs. Edited February 7, 2011 by Janba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inevitablue Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Member of Dogs NSW, so all good at that end. 12 March will make her 3 months old. I will bring her out for a look. Thanks for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 I photo I like of Poppy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superminty Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 Very nice! Look - sheep moving forward, Poppy moving forward, all is as it should be! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsdogs Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Nice photo JP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I photo I like of Poppy Nice distance and pace, Jules Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Thanks guys Eric Tighe is coming down near me to do a talk. Would this be good to go to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janba Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Its only $10 so I'd go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Its only $10 so I'd go. Time is precious though ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inevitablue Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Thanks Janba for steering me in the right direction where to go for herding. Sue was great, and I was pleasantly surprised at my young dogs approach and attitude Saw a few faces I remember from doing agility a few years back too. Was nice to have people remember me competing with my deaf girl. My OH and I really enjoyed watching a variety of dogs working, can't wait to learn some more skills with herding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 (edited) I took my dogs back to sheep today. It has been SUCH a long time. I wasn't sure how they'd go, but they were great! Trim looked like she had never had a break & Shine was much better for having the break. I also got to see some of shines half siblings have a go. Cool! I guess I'm hooked again Edited March 13, 2011 by Vickie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsdogs Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Thanks Janba for steering me in the right direction where to go for herding. Sue was great, and I was pleasantly surprised at my young dogs approach and attitude Saw a few faces I remember from doing agility a few years back too. Was nice to have people remember me competing with my deaf girl. My OH and I really enjoyed watching a variety of dogs working, can't wait to learn some more skills with herding! She certainly looked the part & from what I could see took an instant interest in the sheep, unlike Tilba who needed a couple of goes to even acknowledge that they were there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inevitablue Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Some photos of my girl's first look at sheep. I think we are both keen to do more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now