Monday, February 28, 2011

Video of Faye

Here is a video of Faye. She is for Sale. More info here




Note: I have NOT worked her since Oct. so she was a rusty. This field she worked once, last spring and not on these sheep. There is a black head Suffolk which attacked her when she came out…the ewe had gotten out from the lambing pen and wanted back in. Faye took her on head on, nose grip and kept her with the flock. You will see areas where the ewe tries to go back. Also there is a bottle lamb, dumb as a box of rocks, that kept wanting to run off and go to the person who was taping. Faye worked the Suffolk ewe and the lamb quite well and kept them tucked in. She also held the pressure side quite well

We just pulled the sheep off the feeders so they wanted back to eat so the draw was quite heavy. There was a creek in the middle that the sheep had to go through so she had to put them over it.

I just started to teach her to shed so she is still learning it. This is the first time she has shed this many sheep. Additionally, she just started to learn a look back. When the sheep broke to the other field, she had to go thru two openings to get them. She has never worked that area before so you can see she will go where you want her. Her flanks can be wider but I haven’t worked her for months and it shows. It is quite easy to get her back to trial level and she is very biddable. My whistles suck as I have a chest cold/flu and feel horrible.

It was cold and starting to hail/hard rain so we did what we could. I was quite happy with her.

Yeo Valley Rap Song

This is a great rap song. Listen to the words!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Random 7 week old Puppy Pixs

Bessie

Billie, Hazel and Rex following the kitten, Sarah.

Run Flash Run!

Flash checking out the sheep.

Fly (Delmar Kane x Ruby) herding the duck. She is a new arrival.

Rex using Tess as a vantage point

Kima, Billie and Bessie bugging Grandma Tess

Grandma Tess being mauled by Billie and Bessie

Hazel discovering snow for the first time

Hazel on a misson

Hazel and Billie having a rally in the snow

Jam digging in the snow...he was having a blast

Roo is babysitting, er,,,puppysitting....afterall he is the proud papa!


Saturday, February 26, 2011

Tully the Kelpie

Tully is a very nice Kelpie. He is owned by Shirley. Kathleen has been doing quite of training with him. He can do a mini outrun and has started driving. He is going to be a nice trial dog.

At the top.

Walking in.

The outrun.

Doing the drive.

Keeping his eye on the sheep.

Waiting for a command.

Pushing on the drive.

The last bit of the drive.  It was a nice working day and we hope to see him in a trial soon.



Friday, February 25, 2011

1992 Ultimate Frisbee World Championship

Many years ago, 1992 to be exact, I played on a Ultimate Frisbee Men's Team. We went to England to compete in the Master Division. I was the only woman that played in the men's team. I had the time of my life and the memories will be with me forever. Getty also went with me and played on the same team. We played against the top teams from all over the world.  The tournament was in Colchester, England.   We took a mini vacation afterwards and have fond memories of England.

We came home with the GOLD.

Can you find me in this picture?


Thursday, February 24, 2011

Dynamite 180 Weight Loss Protocol - One month results

It has been a month since I went on the Dynamite 180 Weight Loss Protocol. I am at a weight that I am happy with and additionally, my waist and hips have decreased quite a bit. I fit into my size 6 clothes and feel better too. I will be doing a weekly update for the next month to make sure that I stay at this level.

I do not do the super low calorie diet anymore but now eat sensibly and not as much. I no longer have the urge for carbs and sugar.  At work, I don't have my mid day pop and candy bar. I actually enjoy eating fruit and veggies as my snacks. When I want a treat, I eat a small piece than a huge amount.

Th (Feb 24)
Waist: 28”
Hips: 33”
Weight: 123

Th (Feb 10)
Waist: 29 3/4"
Hips: 34"
Weight 124

Sun (Feb 7)
Waist: 30"
Hips: 34"
Weight 124.2

Tues (Feb 1)
Waist: 31”
Hips: 34.5”
Weight: 124.5

Wed (Jan 26)
Waist 32”
Hips: 35”
Weight” 125 lbs

Sunday (Jan 23)
Waist: 34”
Hips: 37”
Weight: 132 lbs to 133 lbs

Preload weight 133-134 lbs.


I have lost SIX INCHES from my waist and FOUR INCHES  from my hips. That is huge. I actually have a nice waist now. I wanted to lose ten pounds and I succeeded. Part of it was the diet, and the hardest part was the commitment. Now I have to commit to staying this way and so far, it has been easy.

Changing my lifestyle, eating and mental commitment was hard at times but I wanted to make this happen and so I did.

If you are interested in the 180 product, here is the link. Look under the Human product tab.

LINK

The Shifting of the Tide

She cuddled in my arms late at night, her long pointy snout nestled in my neck. Tiny, but full of herself, Rainey stirred softly, and then burrowed closer to me. She has been a tough dog in some ways to train, unsure of herself on the drive and sticky going into the heads of the sheep and we have been working on that. She does stall on the drive and to get her going forward with more momentum, I whip the flanks and walk-ups in rapid fire so she doesn’t have time to think about stopping.  She has a wonderful outrun, a nice lift and fast fetch, and like her mother and thinks the sheep need to be moving at a fast clip, as if they need to be on a weight loss program. Her attributes are that she is very biddable and willing to try her heart for you.

Rainey loves to be the center of attention, an attribute she has gotten from Tess and Scott. She has to be helping me with all the chores, regardless of it is her turn or not. Her snout is pressed into each stall as I walk by, hoping that I will open it and she can spring into action as the chosen one.

 
One of the chores that she does not do anymore is hold the sheep in the stall while we trim hooves, give shots or any chore of that sort. That tends to make her stickier and with her hesitation on the walk up, this just magnifies it. I have been using her to push the sheep off the feeders, as she has to walk straight into them and then drive them off. At first, she would wear around them but as time has gone by, she is walking straighter into the sheep. I have been teaching her a head grip and she finally is getting the idea, gripping quickly, and then going back in for another head grip.
 

She has been reluctant to go between the sheep and the feeders and we slowly have been working on that. She tends to try to flip around but I have been blocking her and making her do it. At first, she would bolt without any feeling but recently has slowed down and putting more thought into her work. She is a slow maturing female and finally I see the shades of her puppy hood slip away and a mature dog step forward.

Tonight, I used her in the lambing corral. I filled the feeders with fresh oats and the ewes rushed forward, trapping one young lamb underneath them. Her little legs flailed wildly as she tried to get up. I grabbed an ewe to pull her off but to no avail. Rainey leaned forward and I stepped back. I told her away to me and she put herself between the ewes and the feeders and began to shove them aside. She disappeared under the ewe’s heads, nipping to get them off the feeders. About at the halfway mark, I told her to walk up to me. One ewe reared up in the air and the lamb struggled to her feet. I told Rainey to wait and she stood still while the lamb regained her balance and ran off. The rest of the ewes stood still while she was in the midst, their eyes suspicious at this black and white intruder in their midst. I reflanked her and she marched the ewes off the feeders and then drove them out of the stall.

One ewe turned to charge her and Rainey stood her ground. The ewe advanced and then Rainey leaned forward and gripped her square on the nose. She walked straight into them and I practiced some driving with her. It felt easy with her tonight and at the end, she turned and ran up to me, putting her paws on my waist, with a big grin on her face.

Then, I knew the tide had shifted and we had reached a milestone.  The trust was there for her to do the hard work and succeed. She was no longer the young puppy but an adult, finally learning how to do the hard work. I leaned down and gave her a big hug  and her tiny tongue licked my face. It reminded me of once, so long ago, over ten years ago, when her mother, Tess and I had the same shifting of the tide

Tonight as we sat on the couch together, I saw in her eyes a deep contentment, of a job well done and of a new path that we will be taking.  She gave a heavy sigh and laid her head on my lap. Soon snores came from her tiny frame and her legs twitched, perhaps thinking of how she went under all those ewes to help that little lamb.  Or, perhaps of future victory on the trial field…who know what dogs dream of….but I do know they dream of love and partnership. And of course, sheep.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Big Feet, Little Feet

Kodi is the LGD and has been around since we moved here.  He is over ten years old and has the patient of a saint. When he saw the puppies all running about, he darted out to play with them. He loves baby animals.  He was so excited to see the puppies. The pups were not fazed by Kodi at all, in fact they ran around him and played with him.

Kodi took it upon himself to be the guardian of the puppies.

Jam adored Kodi.

Billie was scared by a duck so took refuge under Kodi.




Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Run, Rooster, Run

Big Red is our Rhode Island Red rooster. he has been around for a couple of years and is a very nice rooster. He has a very gentle nature and loves his hens. He is afraid of the Border Collies. The dogs ignore him and his hens and life is good.

But Flash didn't get the memo which states you do not herd the rooster. Big Red was stunned to see that Flash was trying to herd him. Flash was on a mission and Big Red was it!

Flash dropped his tail and went into action. The chickens stood trying to figure out what was going on.....then Big Red realized to his horror that Flash was starting his herding career at six weeks old.
So then Big Red and his hen were put away in the chicken coop for the night by Flash. Flash took over the reins from Roo and Tess (dad and grandmother) who normally put the chickens away.

Good dog, Flash....but I don't think Bruce is going to buy you some chickens.


Best Buds - Caption needed

This photo needs a caption. Put your caption in the comments part and I will post them.


Have fun!




Monday, February 21, 2011

Six weeks of delight

Today the pups turned six weeks old. I was the photographer. We took the pixs near the barn since it was sunny. It was great fun. For the next couple of days, I will post some of the other ones.

Bessie

Billie

Flash

Hazel

Jam

Rex

Kima

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Shedding, Silkies and a Sow's ear

We brought Tess along to be back up for Jude when we took him to the big field. As it turns out, Tess was not needed so she took a nap on my soft camera bag. She gave me some pitiful eyes so I worked her. First I had her put the ewes with lambs away, then split the flock into a small number so Jude could work them. After we worked Jude and Sleat, then I had Tess do some shedding.
Waiting for the call. She was not a stellar shedding dog early in her career but Scott taught her well. She ended up being a great shedding dog and loves to shed. I can call her in without any opening and she will do the shed. Woe to any ewe that will try to jump over her, as she will snag the ewe in mid-air.

Check out all the white on her muzzle...it's hard to believe that she is almost 13 years old. Her hearing still is good and she can move fast when she wants to and really slow when she has no desire to move. She still can clear a four foot feet and leap across a large ditch.  And she is the biggest pillow thief (somehow in the night, she manages to end up on my pillow and I don't!)

I set up the shed and then all the sheep turned and ran towards me. Not a good move. It makes it hard to shed on the butts and as they are rushing to me. I messed up on my part by allowing this to happen.  
But I stood still and Tess came in like a rocket and made the hole. (Since I was flailing in that part) I turned towards the set that  wanted her to take.

More sheep tried to break back but to no avail. Miss Quick Feet (Tess) sped up to stop that break away while Miss Lead Legs (me) stood and watched.

The Suffolk tried to turn back but Tess leaped up in the air and the ewe spun and ran back to the chosen set.  We did several more sheds and I will post them at a later date. Tess loves to shed and had a blast.

A close up of the shedding dance.

Tess had a fun day and was quite pleased that she got to work. To end the day on a good note, she put the Silke Chickens away. They have never been worked by a dog, so she had to lift some of them with her nose under their butts to get them to move. She did some air snaps by some to make them move, She put all of them away in the lambing creep area. I told her she was a good girl and she danced and barked with delight. 

For her hard work, she got a huge pig ear and the last I saw of her, she ran up to the house with her prize in her mouth and tail up in the air.  Today was a good day for the old dog.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Row of Woe


ROW OF WOE!
Oh, Woe is me,
It's sheep I see,
Please, set me free,
I will listen to thee!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When we work dogs, we tie up the dogs that we are not working. Sometimes we have quite a few dogs waiting their turn. On this rainy day, we had Scott, Rainey, Roo, Emma, Tully and Epic all tied up. We took a quick break and when we turned around we saw all off these pathetic pitiful eyes just begging to be the one to be worked.

Scott

Rainey

Roo

Emma

Tully

Epic