bozzieUD Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Oh, she is lovely, so nice to see a happy Aussie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karelea Aussies Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I opened this thinking it was going to be pics of Ripley. Oi! Bite your tongue Gayle I haveoften wondered what she looks like in full coat. She is absolutely gorgeous and you have done an amazing job with her Sorry I didn't mean that in a negative way. Not at all. I can't remember seeing any pics of him yet that was all. It's ok, I am only pulling your leg ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagsalot Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 She looks fantastic. Beautiful dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffo Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 You have done a wonderful job with her, she is beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Shepherd mom Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Gayle, if I die before you, I want to come back as your dog. You have done wonders for Shae, not only her coat and health but her overall quality of life. Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeyjangels Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Unbelievable difference Gayle - well done ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jr_inoz Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 She thought all her Christmasses had come at once the first time I took her to a herding clinic. It was like slotting the last piece of the puzzle into place, all of a sudden this dog had found her purpose. And for me, it was truly amazing to see that latent instinct kick in at the age of 5. If anyone doubts that working dogs LOVE to do what they were bred for, then watch a herding trial. When Shae is herding sheep, she's 10 feet tall and supersonic. She looks great Gayle You are right about loving what they are bred to do. This is a quick (bad - no one around who knew how to take photos) picture of my girl at her first lesson on sheep yesterday. She loves it! I know nothing, so we have a very very very long way to go... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 Hahaha, look at that body language......she's in there and she's going for it! Love it! It never ceases to amaze me how 10 minutes of herding can exhaust them more than hours and hours of walking or running. When I go to training, we do 2 or 3 ten - fifteen minute runs and then sometimes we play a game of "catch" with the sheep (4 or 5 handlers and their dogs all in a paddock together, the first pair picks up the sheep and moves them to the next pair, the dog holds the sheep while the new dog picks them up and moves them to the third pair...etc etc.) And after that session, Shae will sleep like the dead for hours and hours. I had to be fairly careful about what dog activity I chose for Shae.....she doesn't like other dogs near her when she's on lead and she gets very anxious, so anything at an obedience club was out of the question. I took her to an obedience class one day and it just stressed her way too much. At least with herding, I can keep her on lead time to a minimum and limit the exposure to other dogs, and she does all her work off lead, so even if other dogs are close by, she doesn't feel stressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jr_inoz Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Rommy is a bit the same. She is ok around other dogs most of the time, but definitely very wary - especially if she is on lead. At obedience, it would depend on the dog along side her. She got 'rolled' by 3 large dogs at a park once (never been back) and also lunged at with snapping teeth by the GSD in front of her just as we were both about to go in for our class in group. She is very wary of all of those breeds now. Do you think Shae will get better around other dogs when she's been with you for a while longer? Rommy loves agility - but I don't so that isn't something I am likely to put time into. We both like herding, even though it is physically exhausting for me too. The sport, in terms of ANKC trials etc is just starting up, so there aren't many opportunities for lessons that fit with my working life as well. We took the opportunity that came up yesterday with both hands. If you like that one of her getting into it - here is one of her staring down a sheep that wanted to try and prove a point. The sheep lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 Shae is actually getting worse, the longer she's with me. It doesn't seem she's worried for herself, she's become very protective of me though. She's fine when she's off lead though, and at the herding training I go to, she gets the opportunity there to mingle with other dogs off lead. It's held on a private farm, of someone who breeds Aussies, and there are always lots of dogs around. I tried agility here with Benson but it was hopeless. Only a few people knew what they were doing and they'd train together and anyone who was new was basically left to their own devices with a few minutes instruction here and there. In the end I gave it up as a complete waste of time. It's held at the local obedience club though, and the rules there are that dogs are always to be on lead except when being trained. Our herding training is held on weekends, we can attend clinics or arrange private lessons, and the instructors are very, very involved with making it a very viable sport here. We are the only state where you can train and trial on three types of stock (sheep, ducks and cattle) and I'm pretty sure we have more trials than any other state throughout the year. it's expensive for me, I have to drive 90 minutes each way to training and almost 2 hours to trial, and the lessons aren't cheap but we're getting so much out of it that it's worth every cent. And Shae loves it. As soon as we turn onto the road to the farm, she stands up in the car and makes all kinds of excited noises! Love that pic, I've seen that look before. Shae stared down a sheep in the trial last week, after she'd penned them and just as I was about to shut the gate and it stomped at her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirty Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Gayle do you train at Kate's place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Miss Emma Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Hmm, I'm liking the sounds of your herding training!!! Maybe I should send my little girl to you to learn a thing or two!!! Or I could prioritise a time and get her somewhere myself!! Where you do your herding training - how far from Melb? Shae just looks so pretty now, such a wonderous coat!!! I see pics like that and do contemplate that one day I could consider an Aussie!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 Kirty, yes, we've been going there since Easter. I train every 3 weeks or so, and usually the weekend before a trial. There's only one more trial this year, which I won't enter as Shae now has her PT title and we're not ready for the next level, but we'll be training for her started title over summer....and hopefully she can try her paw at cattle and ducks. Pretty Miss Emma, I train at Nyora, there are lots of Melbourne folk go there, it's great. Here is their website: http://www.herdingtraining.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jr_inoz Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 I do get envious of the Victorian system and opportunities. Rommy has had a couple of lessons on ducks, and she is very good with them. Close to being able to do a PT. (Although I need to learn more.) No opportunities to train on ducks here at the moment. We were entered in a trial a month ago on ducks, but it was cancelled cos the stock died. Herding club has just become official here - just got its DogsSA affliliation so hopefully things will get better. Will be interesting to see how your girl goes on ducks. Rommy is good, but the other sheltie who was at the lesson on sheep the other day with me, can't work ducks. Her owner was telling me that she tried to kill the stock, so not a good option for her. She's sticking to sheep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted October 15, 2011 Author Share Posted October 15, 2011 We have chooks and Shae just wanders amongst them and doesn't bother them at all. I highly doubt she'd be a danger to ducks, I can't wait to see if she actually herds them once they start running. We're really lucky here as Kate and Karen (Double K) are very committed to the herding scene in Vic, and very encouraging of anyone wanting to have a go. it's so different to anything I've ever done with the dogs, it's welcoming and friendly and very down to earth. When I tried obedience, I got told I was hopeless by one of the instructors. That was not encouraging at all for my future in obedience trials. At dog shows, it's nothing to get told your dog is crap and have it's faults listed for everyone to hear. At herding, I get constantly told how wonderful Shae is, how clever she is and how fast I am learning and what a good handler I'm becoming. It makes me want to go back and try harder, do more runs, enter more trials and get more titles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 She looks beautiful Gayle and so happy Great work! I have a similar experience training Em for retrieving - it's so special watching such strong instinct develop into real skills. I often feel like a privileged onlooker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumabaar Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 Kirty, yes, we've been going there since Easter. I train every 3 weeks or so, and usually the weekend before a trial. There's only one more trial this year, which I won't enter as Shae now has her PT title and we're not ready for the next level, but we'll be training for her started title over summer....and hopefully she can try her paw at cattle and ducks. Pretty Miss Emma, I train at Nyora, there are lots of Melbourne folk go there, it's great. Here is their website: http://www.herdingtraining.com/ Oh WOW!! I wish we had something like that here in NSW. I have given up on club herding- the dogs just get frustrated and so do I with having different instructors and having to wait for indefinite amounts of time! Hopefully I can find someone to do private with like this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogfan Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 She looks gorgeous Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 I am sure her breeders are beyond pleased that she has gone to live with you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted October 15, 2011 Author Share Posted October 15, 2011 Her breeders are really pleased. We are her 3rd owners, her first ones neglected her and she had ALL kind of issues by the time she was 18 months old and she was returned to her breeders. She was rehomed to an animal behaviourist as it was felt this was the only person who could help her.......and they did but when they moved overseas, they didn't want to take her and so once again she went back to her breeders after they couldn't find a home for her. The breeders had lots of enquiries about her as she was advertised here in the mature dogs section, but they picked us as her new owners as we already had Aussies and have plenty of space for them, plus we're active doing dog stuff on weekends. They get regular updates via Facebook and were really thrilled when we got our herding titles. Shae is a really gorgeous dog to own, she still has some minor issues and she'll probably have them forever, but I love her with all my heart and I try and protect her from anything that might cause her stress. She's a funny little muppet, loves her toys, loves our other dogs and LOVES chasing a ball. And she loves me beyond just about anything.......I frequently watch TV with her curled up on my lap and Dusty jammed in beside me. Lucky Shae is just a tiny girl! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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