Piper and I travelled North to compete @ Coalinga for the first time last weekend. Rylee came along for socialization. We stayed at the Motel 6 across the street from Harris Ranch. So Saturday night was a planned dinner at Harris Ranch.
The field at Coalinga is big enough to have a big outrun and fetch but as set it was about 300 yards or so for Open and maybe about 250 or so for Pro Novice. The field slopes up gradually from the post to set out and most people sent to the left. On the left outrun the wider running dogs went out of sight for a while in the rolling hills. Danger to the right was that the slope would kick the dogs in or they might go back to the set out pens. The sheep - for the most part - worked reasonably well. They did seem at times a bit difficult to shed but otherwise generally OK with a few runners (more on the runners later).
Before getting to our own runs a special congrats to Carolyn Crocker and Lyn who won the Open on Sunday in only their second ever open run together (Saturday was the first). Also congrats to Mike Burks and Mia who had tow beautiful runs in Pro-Novice to take first both days. Congrats also to Sally Douglas and Babe (2 good open runs) and Merle (2d in PN on Sunday). Some of the best work I have seen from Babe and Merle on a big field.
Piper had a generally pretty good run on Saturday although the drive was still a bit out of control. Score of 66 - good for third place and a check that was $0.02 short of my dinner bill Saturday night at Harris Ranch. Thanks for dinner Piper.
Anyway Piper's outrun to the left was her normal good outrun with 0 points off and she only lost 2 on the lift. On the fetch I over adjusted on the bottom third and had some difficulty at the turn - going wide and having to rewind a bit. Still she only lost 5 so it was not too bad. The drive had more problems and she was over flanking and not listening as well as she needs to. The sheep came into the pen mouth a bit hot from being harassed on the drive but I blocked them with my crook and body and Piper did some very nice work at the pen making small adjustments and walking the sheep reluctantly into the pen.
Sunday was a different story. Piper went wider on her outrun but since the last thing I saw before she disappeared over the hill was Piper looking for sheep I swallowed the whistle and waited. She reappeared on the right path - just a bit wide - and we lost 1 point on the outrun. I banged her down hard at the top and walked her in losing 1 point from the lift. From there it went to heck.
At the top of the fetch the sheep were mildly off line to my left. I gave Piper an away to get them back on line and I think she must have come too far to the heads because the sheep decided to turn back and go past on line and make a break back for the set out pens. A big come bye managed to catch them before the escape was completed but the damage was done and by the time we got them down to the post almost all of the fetch points were gone. From that point I actually thought the drive was a bit better than Saturday but we lost a lot more points. I think maybe the drive score was influenced by the atrocious fetch and generally poor feel to the run. At the pen the sheep managed to get around one time so we lost four points before tucking them in nicely. Overall the run just had the feel of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
Oh well - still need to get some consistency. But we still had fun.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Catching Up - A Bit of This and That
I have been a bit delinquent in getting these posts up so these will be fairly brief racaps of a number of items.
Starting with the Porterville Fall Trial at the beginning of November. Originally I was not going to run as I had a work committment for the Monday of Pro Novice. My work committment cancelled and I managed to beg my way into the trial. I would have been better off not getting in.
The sheep were very difficult, the field was muddy and the rains came heavy overnight forcing a nearly 4 hour delay in getting started. Piper ran out nicely and got behind her sheep. She even managed to move them about 20 feet the first run before they dropped anchor. The second run they would not budge. Two retires. We did work exhaust in between for several runs and she had no problems with them on exhaust.
The next week was Hopland. The only complaint I can have about this trial is that it is a LOOONG drive to get there. Beautiful field, beautiful weather, nice sheep, good wine tasting close by. Piper ran well although she had what seemed a mystery (to me anyway) 5 points off her outrun. She placed 13th in a pretty competitive group. More importantly - although the final leg of the drive suffered badly from a wide turn and the sheep escaping towards exhaust - her first two drive legs were some of the best she has given me at a trial. Since that has been our big trouble area I was very happy with her.
The big news is that I finally took possession (at least temporarily) of new dog Rylee last Saturday - one day before my birthday. That is Rylee in the picture below with Piper. I worked her for the first time on Saturday and while she was not real sure who I was she works nicely. There will be a get acquainted period and she will be a very different dog to work than Piper but I am excited about her and looking forward to it. Depending on how soon we team up we may make our trial debut in Nursery at the Snowbirds trial over New Years weekend at Jennifer's.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Poway Trial - Have A Plan and Enforce It
I almost called this post "accept ownership" for your run and your "bad sheep" because you probably caused or at least contributed to their badness.
Anyway we ran at Terry Parish's Poway Trial at John Doyle's Farm on last Sunday (Halloween) after going to Jennifer's for training on Saturday.
Training Saturday was a small group because most of the regulars were either at the Poway trial or Pt. Pleasant. But we did receive early morning reports that several dogs were having outrun troubles in Poway because there were some sheep housed in pens on the right side part way out on the outrun. So to practice against this we put some sheep in the pen right in front of the dogs and made them outrun past the full pen to get to the sheep at setout. It was tricky because all of the dogs wanted to go to the pen (some more than others) but with well timed corrections we got them all out where they were supposed to be. Piper actually did fairly well at this as I hit her with a timely flank direction just as she was starting to curl in toward the sheep in the pen.
Before I get to Sunday's runs congratulations are in order for Mike Burks and Sport for capturing their first ever Open Class first place on Saturday. I did not get there till it was over but I understand it was a lovely run. Good job guys.
As for our runs Sunday we had two chances - first a non-compete Open Course run and a compete PN run. Watching the 40 or so Open runs which preceded us and the topography of the field I decided in advance to send on the "Bye" side and to give a kick out whistle just as the field widened out. It seemed to me that most every dog that went away was getting drawn in by the slope of a hill to that side resulting in many sideways lefts and even a few cross in fronts. On the left side it seemed that many dogs were hitting the spot where the field widened out but instead of bending out they were accelerating toward the sheep also resulting in problems at the top. The dogs that bent out were doing well, There were also a large number of crossovers including from some top dogs for whom the crossover was very out of character.
Anyway I gave Piper the kick out whistle just as planned and she took it bending out as I had hoped. Terry Folsom - who was helping with set out while Piper ran and for several other dogs - later told me that Piper had one of the best approaches to the sheep she saw while she was up top. Even with my whistle redirect we lost only 2 points on the outrun.
Unfortunately I trusted her too much after that and our run started to disintegrate on the fetch. The sheep wanted to pull to my right and I kept having her cover but never fully turned the sheep back on line. At the time I was thinking she had a rogue group of sheep but after speaking to Jennifer between runs realized she had caused quite a bit of it by not taking calm control. Jennifer suggested we needed to slow our approach to the sheep after getting to the top of the outrun and not start the sheep off at a run. So I had a plan for the second run.
The PN run the sheep were brought way down the hill and it was a relatively short outrun. But based on talking to Jennifer between runs I had a plan and this time the will power to stick to it. I sent Piper to the right and she started out like she was going to do the full Open Outrun. Just as I was about to give her blow in whistle Piper started to arc across the field toward her sheep. She was plenty deep - probably deeper than any other PN dog but she stopped short at about 1:30 or 2 on the clock face. I gave her a come bye whistle and she went right to 12 o'clock where I hit her with a hard lie down. I walked her up slowly with some there whistles and a lie down or two thrown in and continued the hard control throughout the fetch. It worked as we lost only 3 points on the fetch and 0 on the lift. I tried to keep the same level of control on her through the drive and mostly succeeded until the cross drive panels where we got most of them through but it turned a little wild. I thought I had the sheep settled on the return drive and turned my back to go to the pen after lying Piper down. Well she kept the lie down while the sheep made a mad dash for the exhaust about a 100 yards away. She got them back but they were pretty upset by then and while we got them in the pen we did lose most of the pen points.
The 2 runs with Piper showed the value and the need with Piper of having a plan and the will to enforce it. Piper is a dog that requires active handler involvement and when I gave it to her and insisted she follow instruction we did fairly well. When I relaxed the control it fell apart.
Sara Goodman - who has seen Piper a lot - told me that the 2d run was the best she has seen Piper right up until the sheep escaped. Sort of like the line from Top Gun "That was some of the best flying yet. Right up until you crashed and burned".
So we have a plan going forward. Make a plan, stick to it and have the will to enforce it.
Added note - I got to see Rylee on Saturday. She has been working with Jennifer for about a week and a half now. She looks like she is going to be a very nice dog and a very different dog style wise from Piper. I am really looking forward to working with her soon.
Anyway we ran at Terry Parish's Poway Trial at John Doyle's Farm on last Sunday (Halloween) after going to Jennifer's for training on Saturday.
Training Saturday was a small group because most of the regulars were either at the Poway trial or Pt. Pleasant. But we did receive early morning reports that several dogs were having outrun troubles in Poway because there were some sheep housed in pens on the right side part way out on the outrun. So to practice against this we put some sheep in the pen right in front of the dogs and made them outrun past the full pen to get to the sheep at setout. It was tricky because all of the dogs wanted to go to the pen (some more than others) but with well timed corrections we got them all out where they were supposed to be. Piper actually did fairly well at this as I hit her with a timely flank direction just as she was starting to curl in toward the sheep in the pen.
Before I get to Sunday's runs congratulations are in order for Mike Burks and Sport for capturing their first ever Open Class first place on Saturday. I did not get there till it was over but I understand it was a lovely run. Good job guys.
As for our runs Sunday we had two chances - first a non-compete Open Course run and a compete PN run. Watching the 40 or so Open runs which preceded us and the topography of the field I decided in advance to send on the "Bye" side and to give a kick out whistle just as the field widened out. It seemed to me that most every dog that went away was getting drawn in by the slope of a hill to that side resulting in many sideways lefts and even a few cross in fronts. On the left side it seemed that many dogs were hitting the spot where the field widened out but instead of bending out they were accelerating toward the sheep also resulting in problems at the top. The dogs that bent out were doing well, There were also a large number of crossovers including from some top dogs for whom the crossover was very out of character.
Anyway I gave Piper the kick out whistle just as planned and she took it bending out as I had hoped. Terry Folsom - who was helping with set out while Piper ran and for several other dogs - later told me that Piper had one of the best approaches to the sheep she saw while she was up top. Even with my whistle redirect we lost only 2 points on the outrun.
Unfortunately I trusted her too much after that and our run started to disintegrate on the fetch. The sheep wanted to pull to my right and I kept having her cover but never fully turned the sheep back on line. At the time I was thinking she had a rogue group of sheep but after speaking to Jennifer between runs realized she had caused quite a bit of it by not taking calm control. Jennifer suggested we needed to slow our approach to the sheep after getting to the top of the outrun and not start the sheep off at a run. So I had a plan for the second run.
The PN run the sheep were brought way down the hill and it was a relatively short outrun. But based on talking to Jennifer between runs I had a plan and this time the will power to stick to it. I sent Piper to the right and she started out like she was going to do the full Open Outrun. Just as I was about to give her blow in whistle Piper started to arc across the field toward her sheep. She was plenty deep - probably deeper than any other PN dog but she stopped short at about 1:30 or 2 on the clock face. I gave her a come bye whistle and she went right to 12 o'clock where I hit her with a hard lie down. I walked her up slowly with some there whistles and a lie down or two thrown in and continued the hard control throughout the fetch. It worked as we lost only 3 points on the fetch and 0 on the lift. I tried to keep the same level of control on her through the drive and mostly succeeded until the cross drive panels where we got most of them through but it turned a little wild. I thought I had the sheep settled on the return drive and turned my back to go to the pen after lying Piper down. Well she kept the lie down while the sheep made a mad dash for the exhaust about a 100 yards away. She got them back but they were pretty upset by then and while we got them in the pen we did lose most of the pen points.
The 2 runs with Piper showed the value and the need with Piper of having a plan and the will to enforce it. Piper is a dog that requires active handler involvement and when I gave it to her and insisted she follow instruction we did fairly well. When I relaxed the control it fell apart.
Sara Goodman - who has seen Piper a lot - told me that the 2d run was the best she has seen Piper right up until the sheep escaped. Sort of like the line from Top Gun "That was some of the best flying yet. Right up until you crashed and burned".
So we have a plan going forward. Make a plan, stick to it and have the will to enforce it.
Added note - I got to see Rylee on Saturday. She has been working with Jennifer for about a week and a half now. She looks like she is going to be a very nice dog and a very different dog style wise from Piper. I am really looking forward to working with her soon.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Willowside Fun Trial
We travelled to Willowside Ranch in Pescadero, California - just south of Half Moon Bay - for a fun trial this past weekend. It was indeed fun although it would have been more fun if the rain had held off as Sunday was run under very wet and windy conditions. Actually the weather was even more troublesome on the drive along the coast highway home.
The trial was a two day affair and we ran in Open Ranch - which was basically a short - 220 yard set out - ISDS course with pen and then shed. The sheep were set out in a "setting vee" - basically a pen at set out with an opening on one side - a contraption which I dislike because I believe it allows sloppy outruns and makes it very difficult for a dog to get a good lift as they tend to go on one side or the other of the fence.
Anyway Piper had a rough Saturday essentially where we have been struggling on the drive. She also had one ewe who simply refused to pen - not uncommon on Saturday so we never got to the shed. Disappointing as that was one of the main reasons we made the trek North.
After our run Saturday we did exhaust for about 10 of the Pro-Novice runs. Piper was a champ at this task and I literally never had to move from the post I was leaning against as she went out and retrieved and put away sheep in a very workmanlike manner.
Sunday we ran better although I betrayed her with some over handling at the panels on the drive. I especially blew the cross drive panels as I thought the sheep were already through and gave the flank whistle only to see Piper execute a lovely flank and turn the sheep right in front of the panels. Oh well. Piper got her pen and we had about 2 1/2 minutes left to try our first ever shed in competition. One failed call through lost us 5 points but she came through nicely on the second attempt and our judge called the shed. Yay. She finished in 3d place in a small Open Ranch Class on the day.
On the drive home we stopped for an hour in Los Olivos for a little lunch and wine tasting. It was a very cute town and the highlight of the stop was Carhartt Vineyards (yes a relative of that family) where owners Mike and Brooke were very gracious, We left with a couple bottles of wine and a souvenir hat.
The trial was a two day affair and we ran in Open Ranch - which was basically a short - 220 yard set out - ISDS course with pen and then shed. The sheep were set out in a "setting vee" - basically a pen at set out with an opening on one side - a contraption which I dislike because I believe it allows sloppy outruns and makes it very difficult for a dog to get a good lift as they tend to go on one side or the other of the fence.
Anyway Piper had a rough Saturday essentially where we have been struggling on the drive. She also had one ewe who simply refused to pen - not uncommon on Saturday so we never got to the shed. Disappointing as that was one of the main reasons we made the trek North.
After our run Saturday we did exhaust for about 10 of the Pro-Novice runs. Piper was a champ at this task and I literally never had to move from the post I was leaning against as she went out and retrieved and put away sheep in a very workmanlike manner.
Sunday we ran better although I betrayed her with some over handling at the panels on the drive. I especially blew the cross drive panels as I thought the sheep were already through and gave the flank whistle only to see Piper execute a lovely flank and turn the sheep right in front of the panels. Oh well. Piper got her pen and we had about 2 1/2 minutes left to try our first ever shed in competition. One failed call through lost us 5 points but she came through nicely on the second attempt and our judge called the shed. Yay. She finished in 3d place in a small Open Ranch Class on the day.
On the drive home we stopped for an hour in Los Olivos for a little lunch and wine tasting. It was a very cute town and the highlight of the stop was Carhartt Vineyards (yes a relative of that family) where owners Mike and Brooke were very gracious, We left with a couple bottles of wine and a souvenir hat.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Audition
I have a new (almost) 2 year old that I picked up at the airport yesterday that is on audition. Her name is Rylee and she is half sister on the father's side to Tricia Guidry's Tipper (E. Baker's Rye) and half sister on the other side to Nina Fox's Jed (E. Baker's Mist).
She is a fairly small mostly black - white on the tip of nose and under the chin and chest. One white foot. She arrived at Orange County last night very in doubt about the whole travel experience but quickly warmed up to me and later to Diana. I think Diana fell in love with her within about 30 minutes. She really is a sweetheart.
Well we took her down for a test drive today at Jennifer's and the early returns are very promising. She looked good enough in the small arena that Jennifer decided to venture out onto the field. Quickly Jennifer had her doing outruns of about 100 yards with some nice controlled fetches. She actually has a lie down which can be applied without slamming hard on the brake pedal. Her flanks looked nice and kept a constant distance from the sheep without spiralling inwards.
On her second outrun she went to where the sheep had been and upon discovering the sheep had exited before she even started onthe outrun but she looked around on her own and cast out after them.
She will be a very different dog to handle than Piper. Just a way different style.
Waiting for the official test drive decision but right now it is looking very promising.
She is a fairly small mostly black - white on the tip of nose and under the chin and chest. One white foot. She arrived at Orange County last night very in doubt about the whole travel experience but quickly warmed up to me and later to Diana. I think Diana fell in love with her within about 30 minutes. She really is a sweetheart.
Well we took her down for a test drive today at Jennifer's and the early returns are very promising. She looked good enough in the small arena that Jennifer decided to venture out onto the field. Quickly Jennifer had her doing outruns of about 100 yards with some nice controlled fetches. She actually has a lie down which can be applied without slamming hard on the brake pedal. Her flanks looked nice and kept a constant distance from the sheep without spiralling inwards.
On her second outrun she went to where the sheep had been and upon discovering the sheep had exited before she even started onthe outrun but she looked around on her own and cast out after them.
She will be a very different dog to handle than Piper. Just a way different style.
Waiting for the official test drive decision but right now it is looking very promising.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Another Day @ Training
Yesterday was a crowded day at Canines - n - Ewe. Handlers included Ron, Jeff, Tricia, Hiroko, Mike Burks, Sally Douglas and me. Allowing for multiple handlers with multiple dogs and also Jennifer getting some work in with Callie it was a crowded day. But a good one and I think everyone seemed to enjoy it.
Mike Burks young 13 month Mia is looking pretty nice. Haven't seen her in a while and she has progressed well. Sally had a bit of an up and down day but Trapper sure showed well on the difficult get the sheep in the pen while another dog is tied inside the pen drill. It was being done to simulate the anticipated difficult to pen ewes expected for the Porterville Fall Trial.
Jeff and Dusk were their usual impressive team having the best go in all three rounds we did, followed very closely by Tricia and Tipper, and Mike Burks and Sport.
Hiroko and Dusty did some nice tune up for Willowside PN Trial next weekend.
On our Outrun Practice Piper was flattening a bit on the top after going plenty wide. This resulted in slightly rough lifts. Then the rambouillets we used for this exercise wanted to pull hard to the handlers left and the first time or two we were slow to get them back on line (In fairness they did this to pretty much all of the dogs except I think Dusk). But we managed to get it straightened out and she did a fairly nice job her last go on this exercise.
We also worked on shedding and it was easier than last week but I am still standing too close to the sheep and not setting it up well. Piper would not come in the first couple times when I was in the wrong position but she did start coming through for me as we worked on it. She was also turning on the right group but not immediately taking control of them so Jennifer made us wall them off until Piper clearly took control.
Our final exercise was a driving triangle followed by a pen with a dog inside the pen to discourage easy penning. Apart from my own overflanking and being late on my turns Piper did fairly well on the drive. I noticed that the smoother the first leg the better the flowing leg was. Our first leg was a struggle as the sheep wanted to tip heavy to the left and we eventually pushed them back on, But then when we made the turn the wanted to escape toward the middle panel but not exactly on line. They did not require pushing. It was more of a controlled escape. But Piper took a nice flank - which for once I timed correctly - and hook turned them right trough the middle panel. I was late on my flank on the third panel and missed.
But the line to the pen was clean and controlled. I had one ewe that kept trying to escape the mouth but every time I asked her to, Piper covered it well. She actually seems to work nicely for me once we get to the mouth of the pen and seems to understand the job. It was nice to get this practice because it is something we rarely work on.
Mike Burks young 13 month Mia is looking pretty nice. Haven't seen her in a while and she has progressed well. Sally had a bit of an up and down day but Trapper sure showed well on the difficult get the sheep in the pen while another dog is tied inside the pen drill. It was being done to simulate the anticipated difficult to pen ewes expected for the Porterville Fall Trial.
Jeff and Dusk were their usual impressive team having the best go in all three rounds we did, followed very closely by Tricia and Tipper, and Mike Burks and Sport.
Hiroko and Dusty did some nice tune up for Willowside PN Trial next weekend.
On our Outrun Practice Piper was flattening a bit on the top after going plenty wide. This resulted in slightly rough lifts. Then the rambouillets we used for this exercise wanted to pull hard to the handlers left and the first time or two we were slow to get them back on line (In fairness they did this to pretty much all of the dogs except I think Dusk). But we managed to get it straightened out and she did a fairly nice job her last go on this exercise.
We also worked on shedding and it was easier than last week but I am still standing too close to the sheep and not setting it up well. Piper would not come in the first couple times when I was in the wrong position but she did start coming through for me as we worked on it. She was also turning on the right group but not immediately taking control of them so Jennifer made us wall them off until Piper clearly took control.
Our final exercise was a driving triangle followed by a pen with a dog inside the pen to discourage easy penning. Apart from my own overflanking and being late on my turns Piper did fairly well on the drive. I noticed that the smoother the first leg the better the flowing leg was. Our first leg was a struggle as the sheep wanted to tip heavy to the left and we eventually pushed them back on, But then when we made the turn the wanted to escape toward the middle panel but not exactly on line. They did not require pushing. It was more of a controlled escape. But Piper took a nice flank - which for once I timed correctly - and hook turned them right trough the middle panel. I was late on my flank on the third panel and missed.
But the line to the pen was clean and controlled. I had one ewe that kept trying to escape the mouth but every time I asked her to, Piper covered it well. She actually seems to work nicely for me once we get to the mouth of the pen and seems to understand the job. It was nice to get this practice because it is something we rarely work on.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Getting Back In The Saddle
Well I have been a little delinquent in keeping up this little training journal for the past few weeks.
Partially it was because our September training schedule has been somewhat sporadic due to Jennifer judging at Soldier Hollow and then the Nationals wiping out three weekends of training availability. But we have been back the last two weekends and will be back tomorrow for more.
So what did we learn. Piper did not magically correct all her faults by lying around for two weeks thinking about sheep. But she did not forget all her training from two weeks of inactivity either. And Diana seemed to like having us around a bit more.
One thing that did seem to be very nice is that when we got back on the field and Piper started to go way wide she took the call in whistle very nicely. I think my timing on t got a little better also.
Also If I stayed right on top of her with there and down whistles I was able to get a reasonably straight drive line in drills.
She still has trouble covering the draw with sheep that want to run on her although she will get over - she just takes an extra wide flank to get there sometimes letting it all go on for longer than it should.
Anyway we are training this weekend and then the following weekend we get back on the trial trail for the first time since Vista in June. Hoping the training put in during the hiatus in trials shows up on the trial field.
Partially it was because our September training schedule has been somewhat sporadic due to Jennifer judging at Soldier Hollow and then the Nationals wiping out three weekends of training availability. But we have been back the last two weekends and will be back tomorrow for more.
So what did we learn. Piper did not magically correct all her faults by lying around for two weeks thinking about sheep. But she did not forget all her training from two weeks of inactivity either. And Diana seemed to like having us around a bit more.
One thing that did seem to be very nice is that when we got back on the field and Piper started to go way wide she took the call in whistle very nicely. I think my timing on t got a little better also.
Also If I stayed right on top of her with there and down whistles I was able to get a reasonably straight drive line in drills.
She still has trouble covering the draw with sheep that want to run on her although she will get over - she just takes an extra wide flank to get there sometimes letting it all go on for longer than it should.
Anyway we are training this weekend and then the following weekend we get back on the trial trail for the first time since Vista in June. Hoping the training put in during the hiatus in trials shows up on the trial field.
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