2012 USBCHA Sheepdog National Finals DVD available now

Well, it is Christmas here in November at my house. I just got the 2012 USBCHA Sheepdog National Finals DVD set. I ordered the set of 6 days and you also get the Semis and Finals. I am so thrilled. The DVDs were done professionally and well worth it. You can buy all the runs or just the semis or finals. You can even buy your runs!

I suggest asking Santa for the full set. It has hours of runs plus you can see how the sheep were in the different parts of the days, the different styles of dogs and handling...well, it like a free lesson!

To order:


LINK

R.I.P. Bud Williams

On Sunday, a legend crossed over the bridge. He lost his fight with pancreatic cancer. He was a good man. He was a kind man. He was a good hand. He was a good family man. He was a man who taught folks how to handle livestock with low stress.

 

God be with you, Bud Williams.

 

LINK

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Bud was born in 1932 on a farm in Southern Oregon, where he was raised with a variety of farm animals including work horses, dairy and beef cattle, sheep and hogs. After he and Eunice married in 1952, he worked on cattle and sheep ranches in Northern California. His reputation as a “trouble shooter” evolved from being a good neighbor and “bringing in the ones that got away.” The main qualifications enabling him to perfect his method of handling livestock are his great powers of observation and pure stubbornness. He has always said “No cow is going to get away from me, she doesn’t live long enough.” They also were able to rotationally graze without fences by taking any type of livestock (including weaned calves) onto unfenced ranges, teach them to stay as a herd.

 

After their daughters left home, Bud and Eunice started traveling in earnest, only taking jobs that were difficult and interesting. They have had excellent results working both beef and dairy cattle, sheep, goats, elk, fallow deer, reindeer, bison and hogs. They have gathered wild reindeer above the Arctic Circle in Alaska and wild cattle in Old Mexico and the Aleutian Islands and have implemented remarkable increases in production in dairy herds as well.

 

In 1989, after much urging from people he has helped through the years, Bud began actively teaching his Stockmanship methods to a larger number of people in the hope his unique methods of working livestock will not die with him. For the eleven years ending in 2000, Bud and Eunice headquartered at Vee Tee Feeders Ltd. near Lloydminster, Alberta. This is one of the most northern feedlots on the continent. Since the bulk of the incoming cattle are freshly weaned calves, and the weather conditions are far from ideal, Bud feels the information he gathered there has special significance.

 

A free Stockmanship book by Steve Cote

Here is a free book on how to use the low stress cattle handling and herding to move livestock on the open range.  The book is by Steve Cote and is named, "Stockmanship: A Powerful Tool For Grazing Lands Management." The book describes the Bud Williams method.

 

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Steve Cote from the National Resources Conservation Service in Arco, Idaho has written an easy to understand book on cattle herding on extensive rangeland. This book contains many diagrams that show you how to turn, move, and sort large and small herds of cattle. The cattle herd will stay together, drive easily, and stay where you put the without fences. Low stress handling methods will also reduce sickness and facilitate grazing management. Learning these methods will enable ranchers to quietly move cattle in pasture rotation systems and keep them out of fragile riperian areas along streams. In grazing rotation systems, a common mistake is to allow mother cows to run wildly into the next pasture. This results in stressed calves that get separated from their mothers. The Bud Williams cattle herding methods will make it possible to move the cows in a slow controlled manner, so they will remain with their calves. This book is separated into individual PDF files for the cover, introduction, and each chapter. This will make it easier to download and print.

BOOK

Trial Wrap up from Saturday

I went to a new trial this last Saturday. Some friends came over on Friday and worked the sheep so Callie would have an idea of what to do. I gave them my best trial sheep to work. These ewe are hardly worked and I got them from Cheryl. They are very nice and light. It was dumping rain so I did short sessions with my dogs, and  then left those two to work in the rain.

 

The trial was just over an hour away, which was a blessing, and by the way, the name of the trial is Bless Ewe trial. Farm Romney, some with attitudes, some fleet of foot, some slow of foot but challenging to work. It's been a long time since I work sheep like these and my dogs need more work like this!

 

Nan ran first and was on the muscle....like really on the muscle. The first sets were slow but her set ran like deer.  She had a wonderful run, straight lines and a super drive. Stuffed them in the pen and called her through for two sheds and she didn't hold and we timed out. These ewes have no desire to shed and I think there was one shed all day. The sheep were well fed and in great shape. Some of them were food enhanced! Nice ewe and beautiful fleeces. I am not a spinner and wanted to rub my hands on a black ewe lambs during one of my runs but that wold be a no go. Her fleechelooked nice!

 

Maid was second and her set was slow. She had to push hard and handled them well. She was slow to listen at part of the fetch but then began to work well. Nice first leg but one huge ewe fought her and she held her temper. Nice turn and start of a nice cross drive then she turned then to head up the field. I flanked her away but she wouldn't take a full flank so I walked about the time she had it with Grumpy. We worked well on parts and not so well on parts but the issue that I had before was solved when I had my lesson with Scott. Overall, she is working better with me and we will get it all sorted out.

 

Rain was late in the last of the Open runs and got a older ewe. She wouldn't move so I got a rerun. She gripped her hocks a few times to get her to move but she didn't even flinch. Her rerun was better but she still struggled moving the heavy ewes. She got them down the field so I walked to help her on the drive. Since I turned this time into a training session, we did the drive and then to the shed. She may have a hard time pushing heavy sheep but she had no issues coming into a wee hole and holding a sweet shed. She is a shedding machine. The ewe was startled to see Rain appear in front of her and she wanted to be with  her buds but Rain held her ground. So her run was successful in my eyes and I was thankful for the rerun.

 

The day was wonderful, sun and no rain until the very end. There was a few nice runs, Lora with Bella laid down a sweet run for a score of 88. Lucy was second with 75 and Nan had 75.

 

PN was tough but the dogs rallied and there were some nice runs.  Kathleen laid down a smoking run with Gael to show how it was done! They she had a nice run with Josh. She has been working with Josh to get some push and it sure succeeded!

 . Darkness fell as the last run ended. Timing was perfect.

 

Too tired to write more but I had a blast. My friend drove and I fell asleep on the way home. I was the Course Director and it wore me out! Plus the cold just sapped my energy. I was going to take pixs but never did as I had to do the CD duty. I did take a pix with my iphone and it is a nice shade of black and gray. Bet you are dying to see that!

 

 

 

 

Compendium of Veterinary Products Book

Today, Jeffer's Livestock has this Vet book for sale. They only are offering 21 books at this price. It has the complete products listings of veterinary products and their proper use. Contains cross references, charts of biologicals, ingredients and withdrawal times.

LINK (all gone!)

Dogs and Gorilla Glue® – Never a good mix!

I read this great article and thought you might like this. I appreciate ww.dogtrainingcollars.com  for making this post possible.

 

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Maybe you’ve already heard of the dangers that Gorilla Glue® poses to dogs? Maybe you’ve even heard stories or seen some of the cool X-ray images of dogs that ingested this stuff? But have you ever seen video of why Gorilla Glue® is hazardous to your pets. My guess is that you likely haven’t, because such a video hasn’t existed… until now!

This is cool! Check out the time-lapse video below to see what happens “When Gorilla Glue® Gets Wet”, then be sure to share it with your pet-loving friends and family. Gorilla Glue® ingestion is a serious and common dog emergency, and once you’ve seen this video, there’ll be no forgetting about or mistaking the danger! *Don’t worry, the video isn’t graphic – but it is cool and eye opening, and important for every dog owner to see.

It’s pretty impressive (and scary) how such a small amount of glue – about 1 ounce in this video – can expand to a size that will cause an obstruction of your dog’s stomach necessitating surgery to remove. Don’t you agree? Especially when you realize just how quickly it can happen – it only took about 45 minutes to an hour in this video!

 

 

Now you might be asking yourself: “Why in the world would a dog eat glue?” Well, in the case of Gorilla Glue®, apparently it smells and tastes sweet (I've never tried it myself though). But honestly, even if it didn’t, are you aware of all the things that dogs ingest on a regular basis? From socks and towels, to pacifiers and even knives, many dogs could care less about what they’re eating, they're just happy that they’re eating!

Does your dog fit that description? I suspect that many of the Lab owners out there know exactly what I’m talking about – right? And I know that the owners of the dog pictured in the radiographs below now appreciate this!

So, it’s important to recognize that dogs do ingest Gorilla Glue®, and that they do so fairly often. If you want to help your dog avoid surgery and having a stomach that looks like the one pictured in the X-rays above, be sure to follow the simple suggestions that I’m providing below. And don't forget to help your friends and family keep their pets safe, too - be sure to share this video with them and tell them about ThePreventiveVet.com.

Important things to be aware of and do to prevent your dog’s ingestion of Gorilla Glue®:

• Recognize the danger (recall video above).
• Keep such glues in sturdy toolboxes or secure drawers/cabinets. Store the toolbox on a stable, elevated shelf and choose drawers/cabinets that are high up and well out of your dog’s reach (be sure to take into account their height when they’re standing on their hind legs - otherwise known as "counter surfing").
• Clean up spills promptly and completely.
• Don’t allow your pets to be around you and your materials when working with Gorilla Glue®.
• Put away all of your work materials when you’re finished working with them and clean up during breaks. (Or take steps to keep your pets away from your workspace until you are able to thoroughly clean up.)
• If the above steps prove difficult to follow, then just avoid the potential for the problem entirely and don’t bring Gorilla Glue® or other such adhesives into your home or other workspace.
• Recognize that it's not just Gorilla Glue® that causes this problem; it's all the other diisocyanate adhesives out there, too. It's just that Gorilla Glue® is the most popular and most heavily advertised of the bunch.
• Recognize that this emergency can affect cats, too. It's just that it tends to affect dogs far more often, and that's why this article focuses on the problem in dogs. Fortunately though, the preventive steps provided above will also help to keep your cats (and children) safe, as well.

I hope you've enjoyed this video and found it, and the tips provided, useful and educational. Have a wonderful day, and, as always... Be Aware. Be Prepared. Be Preventive!

LINK TO ARTICLE

Dog Cartoons are cool

 Some of these are close to home!

 

The words the spouse hates to hear!

This is for Jennifer Glen

 

 This is Maid on the bed and her reaction 

A good one.

My dogs would be wagging

Tess....need I say more.

Thankful for family, good dogs and life.

We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving, Jeff, my mom, Aunt Kimiko, Nelson and me. Of course, the four wolverines known as Tess, Maid, Nan and Rainey were in attendance. As soon as my mom and Aunt arrived, the dogs sprung into action; first by barging me out of the way to greet them with wags, barking and general mayhem and secondly; when I told them to go to their beds, they ran behind my mom who then said, “It’s ok” and I relented. It has been a traditional greeting now and my mom loves the wild abandonees of it all. The girls appreciate the fact that when my mom arrives not only they get lots of treats but only have to listen to her. She goes into the kitchen with her hands full of bags but the dogs seems swirl all around her but never in the way. They end up at the treat jar when my mom tells them to sit and they sit fast as lightning and I wish they downed as quick as that on the trial field. Their eager panting tongues hang out in anticipation of the treats and soon they are rewarded. A full bag among the four girls and I know better than to tell my mom what to do as she will soon fill my belly as well and heaven forbid, that I piss her off. She loves feeding the girls and they adore her.  When she was cooking shrimp tempura she had the four black and white fan club at her feet. I caught her feeding pieces of hot tempura shrimp to the dogs and told her that was not good for them. So she reached over and snagged a piece of turkey for them.

 

At this time, I felt it would be a good time to finish the mashed potatoes. I added half and half, sour cream, crispy bacon bits, butter and garlic. Filled the gravy bowl to the rim and also put out the corn and bacon stuffing. The turkey was cut up and put on a large platter. It was joined by asparagus with mushrooms, fresh homemade cranberry and raspberry sauce (made by Nelson), Japanese cold rice sushi, yams, sweet potatoes, shrimp tempura and tons of homemade pies as well as store bought. We were hungry.

We made Nan, Rainey and Maid wait at the beds for their portion but Tess wandered over to the table. We figured since she won’t be here much longer she could have free rein. Soon she was eating shrimp tempura tail, turkey, the veggies and whatever else my mom and Aunt could feed her. Soon the other girls snuck over and they all huddled under the table next to mom and my Aunt and got their share. I pretended not to see and they made themselves scare near me as they know if I saw them, I would make them go to their rugs. When my mom comes over, I let them sneak over to eat as it gives her great pleasure to hand feed the dogs and it’s a small price to pay to see her laugh and be happy. But when I think they have had enough, I let her know and the girls go back to their rugs. Maid will lean her head ever so gently on my mom’s knee and is the best of gently taking the food from her hand, that she gets a good portion. Plus my mom loves her little cross eyes and gives her extra for that pitiful look when she looks at her.

We ate well, family and dogs and soon pushed back from the table and talked. It has been a tough year but we managed to make it through. I am grateful that my heart surgeries are finally over and that chapter is closed. The elbow is healing quite well and I go back next week for (hopefully) the final checkup. I have been doing the PT to keep the full range of motion and although it hurts, I still do it. It does hurt when the weather goes to cold and the barometer drops. It’s to be expected for the rest of my life but I look at it as a weather guide.

After dinner and clean up we wandered down to the barn. My mom and Aunt love this part as they get to feed the animals and it gives them great delight. The sheep recognize my mom and run up to the fence and immediately start baaing to her. She gave them lots of bread and they also ate it out of her hands. A couple of them are seasoned vets to this and stick next to her so they get more than their fair share. She gave the poultry bread and soon they were around her feet and she laughed at how they fought over the bread. The geese saw her and waddled up and began to honk for theirs. Soon the barn was a bunch of animals all crying for their Thanksgiving feast. No one got worked on Thanksgiving but everyone got extra rations. I love to see my mom and Aunt being so happy when they feed. I saw the four girls gathered at their feet and were getting pieces of bread. I sighed. My mom saw me look at her and quickly stated, “The bread just fell down.”

I was going to take photos but forgot as I was enjoying watching them feed the animals. I heard stories of when my mom was a child and how she had a pet chicken, of how bananas were rationed during the war and hardship and now as a family we not only eat well, are well but enjoy life and are happy. It’s a good feeling. Later we had dessert of Tiramisu, cheesecake and Nelson’s home plum and apple pie. Needless to say, I was stuffed and soon passed out on the couch after everyone left. With the girls, of course. It was crowded but we all managed to find a spot on the couch. I woke up with a cramp in my leg and saw that Rainey was stretched out and I was shoved in a corner. Maid had the pillow, and Tess was against the foot and Nan moved to the floor. The girls had no cramps and were annoyed that I made them move off the couch!

But later that night, they forgave me when I went for my second round of turkey dinner and they got their share. Hopefully by forgiving me, they will run well on Saturday’s trial.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us.

 

 

Enjoy your time with your precious dogs as their time is short but their love is not.

 

My beloved Tess. We are grateful you are here for this Thanksgiving.

 

 

Cool Thanksgiving Cakes

Here are some great looking Thanksgiving cakes. You won't be seeing me making  any of these cakes. My cakes are sheet or round cakes with frosting on top. Any deviations from that, will send you running for cover and going on a diet for about 12 years.

 

I am pretty impressed on these cakes. Too beautiful to eat. Well, maybe, I could be tempted.

 

Notice the cow?

I will have to admit that this is the only Turkey cake that looks good.

 

Wow!

 

 Wonder if the leaves are edible?

The amount of work on this one amazes me.

I can smell the flowers on this one!

Ewe-Tube

Kelpie and Sheepdog Books for Sale

I am selling of my Kelpie Books. I will also be offering some Border Collies book in the near future. Price below includes shipping and insurance to the USA. For Canada, add $10 more. For outside of the USA, contact me. Books will be shipped after the check clears.

 

AUTHOR	TITLE	PRICE	CONDITION
T G Austin (Tim Austin)	Breeding and Training Sheep Dogs (small thin book, soft cover)	$85	water stains but good/fair, rare
Tony Parsons	The Australian Kelpie (hard cover)	$200	Excellent
Tony Parsons	The Working Kelpie (hard cover)	$150	Excellent
Norm MacLeod and Tim Austin	Australian Kelpie Handbook (hard cover)	$250	Excellent
AD (Tony) Austin	Training the Working Kelpie (hard cover)	$250	Excellent
Con Kingwill & Brenda Munitich	South African Sheepdogs Training and Trials (hard cover)	$95	Very Good
Tim Austin and artwork by Pieter Zaadstra	Our Australian Kelpie (hard cover)	300	Excellent

AHBA Trial wrap-up

This weekend I went to an AHBA Trial. It was at Elsie Rhodes farm and put on by Elsie and Barb Davenport. These trials are a wonderful venue and you should attend. I was asked to judge one day of this trial back in the summer so I really looked forward to it. I also needed to get another title in another area of the AHBA. I already have the Level III in HRD (Sheep) with Tess and Scott.

 

This time I took Rain, daughter of Tess and Scott) to get a Level III Title in HTAD.  Since I judge on Saturday, I ran rain and Barb Davenport judged Rainey. Her score did not count in the placing since I was judging but it did count towards her title. She got like 91 or so, out of 100. It was a nice sized arena, and you had to take the sheep out of a pen, go to center post of the arena, go 90 degree to the side and put the sheep through a Y chute, then 90 degrees back to the center post, do another 90 degree to a set of panel, go through them and turn 90 degrees again. The back to the far side to do a pen, then a gate sort of the five putting two into the pen, hold off the three, then pen them. Rainey did this quite handily and the sheep were very heavy. This could be her calling as she was very quiet and had them totally under control.

 

I ran her today since Dave was judging. She had a pretty much flawless run withe wild white sheep that had caused trouble all weekend. They did not pen and would break from one end of the arena to the others. When I judged the handler who had this set, most of them retired. When I saw this set, I was worried but Rainey went into the pen like a pro and scooped them out. They bolted as soon as they got out but she covered them and brought them back to me. She marched them next to me like little soldiers until we go to the pen. We had them in the mouth three times and they refused to go in. Finally we muscled them in. We were both determined to do it. It was tough! The rest of the run was great. This penning cost us first place and High in Trial but I was happy how well she rallied to keep the sheep under control. She got third place and a nice ribbon for her efforts. Most of the points we lost were at the pen.  So she had her HTAD (sheep) and we still have to get her duck title. I am going to get ducks so we can practice before we go. Rainey was quite pleased with herself. I thought it was only fitting that Rainey carry on the tradition of her parents in the AHBA course.

 

Saturday I was the judge and the weather was nice then turned horrible at noonish. I was wearing my heated vest and now am thinking of getting heated pants. It was cold, wet and very windy. The first runs were the ducks runs. The ducks were very difficult and would go back to the draw. But most of the people kept working on it and got success. If you put too much pressure on the ducks, they would pop and run off. Driving the ducks proved to be a real challenge too! They had to do three panels, driving, hold, take and repen so it was not easy.

 

Then I judged Junior Handing, which is the dog is novice level. The sheep have to be gather then taken through three panels, then held off a gate and penned. The handlers were very patient and dogs listened and it was very successful. All passed and I could see some nice dogs!

 

Last was sheep which had three level. The ducks had the three levels. Level one you could walk through the course withe the stock,  Level two, most of the way you could walk and Level three yo had to stay towards the back of the arena and do a lot of driving and also a gate sort. I was very impressed on the quality of work that I saw.  Everyone passed, aside from the handlers who chose to retire.  The white sheep proved to a challenge and the handlers had difficulties with them. The sheep were in great shape and certainly never missed a meal. I can't remember most of the dogs runs but the notable ones were an Aussie, "Woody" (Twin Oaks) and Gin and some corgis, "Rocky" and ?  (Pembroke and Cardigan), a ACD named Lokota, a Kelpie "Moktje (SP?) and Tori, Maddie and Tyke, excellent Border Collies and couple of Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs. There were more but forgive me as I forgot!

 

For lunch, they rolled out the welcome wagon and had turkey with all the trimmings. OMG, it was fabulous! It certainly was a great touch for a wonderful trial. They go all out to make this a five star trial. Thanks very much for letting me judge, and letting me run. This is a must go to trial!

 

I got home and am tired as two days in the cold, wet and wind just sapped me!! And I never took my camera out. I was going to take pix today but ended up scribing instead! They will be having another AHBA trial in Feb! I will be going with Rainey!

 

 

 

 

Alta-Pete June picks a winner for the caption contest

Well, I was out of town so Tess couldn't pick a winner. Luckily for you, June's mom stepped in and picked a winner.  It was a tough role for Jennifier Glen and she stood up to the challenge.  We appreciate she took on the role as there were a lot of great captions.

Laura Carson said... "That awkward moment when you realize you've dropped the soap."

 

Please go to this form, fill it out with your info so I can send you a sheep/border collie prize.

 

CONTACT FORM

 

 

Here are the other submitted captions.

 

Canines 'N Ewe

Ewe can wait

Ok it's ewe's turn

Are ewe serious?

 

Kelpie and Collie

Push off ewes, there's only room for one bitch in this tub!

 

Bob brown

I just want a drink, so don't go cutting your eyes at me!

 

pgrant

You really should have cleaned up before the trial!

 

Meg Nicklas

Can't a girl have a bath with a little privacy without all of ewe lookin..at me?

Hold the clock. I call, "Time out!"

 

Clear Cut

"HEY! Get your own margarita!"

 

Kathy

"So, how does that eye thing work from in there?"

 

Scribo Ergo Sum

Hey buddy, I drink out of that...

 

Dangerous Dreams Farm

What happens when sheepdogs rearrange their priorities.

What's the magic word?

Sheepdogs Gone Wild: Spring Break at the Ranch.

 

Laura Carson

That awkward moment when you realize you've dropped the soap.

Keep it movin'! Nothin' to see here!

 

Charlie Ellis

Cooling break! Then back to business ewes!

Bye-Bye, Bear

Well, Bear went to his new farm. He will be the guardian of Dwarf goats and chickens. Amy was so happy to get him and as she left, he was snuggled in her arms.

But before he left, I took some last photos. Now Heidi is the only pup left and will soon help her mom guard the sheep. In the meantime, she is enjoying hanging out with the sheep, getting stuffed toys to play with and raw bones to chew. The ewes have shown her to respect her and she follows them very quietly. The lambs have stood up to her and they like her. They all pal around.

All the pups used to fit in this bin. Now Bear and Heidi barely fit in it. Bear is to the right. He is a smooth coat and Heidi is a rough coat.

Now since I haven't given them any bones, they are losing interest in me.

So much in fact, they went to sleep.

Cartoon A

 It's a cartoon type of day. It was a long day at work for me and I am wiped out. So you get cartoons today. Of course, I love dog cartoons.

 

Maybe they need to read the signs?

 

 

 

 

 Totally appropiate!

 

 

 

I can be accused of this.

I am not even going to go there.