CWAC-2

A few weeks ago Dan King and I were out in Julie P's pasture working dogs. I was working Linc, and he'd brought the sheep up. Dan and I were standing there talking with the sheep between Linc, myself, and Dan - like a triangle.

In a conversation with Dan King:

LC: It really drives me bonkers when Linc looks at me when we're working. *looks pointedly AT Dan* It's getting better but he still looks at me.
Dan: Does he?
LC: Yeah, and it drives me batshit. I can't STAND it. I'll be he's looking at me now. Is he looking at me?
Dan: No.
LC: How about now?
Dan. No.
LC: Is he looking at the sheep?
Dan: No.
LC: Is he looking at me?
Dan: No.

short pause...

LC: Is he looking at the sheep?
Dan: No.
LC: Is he looking at me?
Dan: No.
LC: Well what's he looking at then?
Dan: *rolls eyes* I don't know... he's just... looking around. OK, now he's looking at the sky.
LC: *looks at Linc* SEE? I told you!! He's looking at me. I look over there and he's looking at me. It drives me crazy.

long pause...

LC: Is he looking at me?
Dan: No.

What a long-suffering sort Dan is.

Conversations with a Crazy

This conversation with my brother the other night:

J: Your car stinks.
LC (me): What? Nunh-uh! It does NOT you punk.
J: Yeah, it does. You have GOT to do something about it.
LC: NUNH-UH!!! It does not stink.
J: I'm telling you it does. The other night I almost threw up. When I was helping you and Sandy with her car and I had to get your jumper cables out of the van? I opened the door and it smelled so bad I almost threw up. I talked to Ashley and she thinks it stinks too.
LC: Does it smell like mold? The other day at a trial it was all rainy and I left some towels in there. It could be like... stinky towels or stinky socks or something.
J: It doesn't smell like mold.
LC: Not mold? How about stinky socks? Sometimes I pull my socks off, and then take them into the house later.
J: It doesn't smell like socks.
LC: Ok, Ok, I'll do something about it. I've been meaning to do something about it really.

Although seriously I couldn't figure out what he was smelling nor could I figure out what I was to do about it

A conversation with Sandy:

LC: My brother says the van stinks and I need you to smell it. I can't figure out what he's
smelling.

Because she's my friend Sandy agreed to smell it.

LC: Ok, ready? Take a big deep fresh air breath.
Sandy: *takes a gigantic breath and puffs her cheeks out like a pufferfish*
LC: Ok, get in, close the door fast, take a deep breath, and tell me what you smell.

Sandy gets in, and I walk around and hop into the driver's seat.

LC: Ok, what do you smell?
Sandy: Nothing.
LC: Seriously? Nothing?
Sandy: Well, maybe a faint hint of dog, but that's it. This is a dog car. I have a dog car. I don't notice dog smells. You don't notice dog smells. We have dogs in our cars.
LC: Dog? Of course it smells like dog. But you don't smell anything else stinky?
Sandy: No.

Back to my brother:

LC: Seriously. What does my car smell like then?
J: Dog.

Really? I was afraid it might smell like pond muck or dirty socks. I can live with dog. I do live with dogs. In my car, in my house, and everywhere in between. Dog. My car smells like dog. Imagine that!

Tension

Linc seems to have a lot of tension when going between me and the sheep - and the tension exists whether he's at hand or away from my feet. It was one of the reasons I retired him at Robin's trial - I could see and feel his tension building every time I asked him for an inside flank. I was thinking that maybe fixing it at hand would be the way to go, so this past weekend down at Julie's I set us up in a corner - where the draw was - with a small group of sheep.

His tension is manifesting (outwardly) in several ways - putting his head down and zooming through the pressure, pulling wool, body slamming, and also in fighting me. I've tried various types of corrections, and anything that resembles a hard correction results in him fighting me harder. He seems to ratchet up if you will. Robin and I also figured out a few weeks ago that every time I'd ask him to walk up on the sheep from behind me he struggled to walk near my legs. If I touched him actually he'd rush the sheep, dive in, and sometimes pull some wool.

So we had lots to work on. We did a lot of work with my back to the fence, asking Linc to flank around between me and the sheep (and the fence that was behind me). Smaller, shorter flanks seemed to relax him some, but I had to get through to him first to be able to stop him where I wanted to. Most of the relaxing part was deciding what to let ride and when to let him know I didn't like what he was doing.

Corrections (when needed) from the belly as Robin says, as opposed to the screeching banshee method. The long low deep voice relaxes Linc. The screeching banshee voice makes him explode. The squeaky mouse voice makes him grab sheep. Say no to screeching banshee and squeaky mouse - they're like training your dogs while smoking crack. Not that I've ever smoked anything, much less crack. But it's alot like what I'd imagine training a dog on crack would be like. So I'm trying to just say no to myself.

I digress. I finally saw a HUGE lightbulb moment (and all I was looking for was really small changes) when I was flanking him between the sheep and the fence and finally got him relaxed enough to stop just before he went between the sheep and the fence. The sheep shifted slightly and moved a little bit away from the fence. I asked him to take a few more steps in and stop again. His eyes got soft and I could see the tension ease. It was like he was saying, "Ohhhhhhh! That felt pretty good. Maybe I will try that again!". After a few times of that he started relaxing there, and instead of busting through he started going through thoughtfully. After I moved us back out away from the fence he was relaxed going around out in the open also.

Staying near the pressure I asked him to flank back and forth between me and the sheep while not being on the fence - and he began to relax little by little, rewarding him with some fetches. My praising him seems to result in a victory grab so I couldn't communicate with him that way. So I interspersed the fence work and the more open work with an occasion to drive or fetch, and I could actually see him relaxing.

Every so often I'd walk over there and stroke him, and then send him around the sheep. The first few times I did that he was pretty wound up, but he was beginning to accept working with me, and that I wasn't the enemy but there to help him. It wasn't perfect, and I had to pick and choose what I'd accept and what I wouldn't. But still, we made some measurable progress this weekend. I'll be interested to see where we are this week. I might have to do it all over again. Then again I might not. I think part of what he needs is just (as Julie suggested this weekend) doing this stuff over and over and over until it begins to be humdrum.

This dog training thing - it's hard. I train MY dogs, but I'm not a dog trainer. In some ways I wonder if it's even harder to train one's own dogs - there's too much riding on it, as if it almost matters too much. Maybe years from now when I'm all old and leathery and am on my millionth dog or something I'll be able to be less critical of myself, my dogs, and my own abilities. Maybe.

Oh, and one more thing. The word from Sandy's dealership is that the fireball didn't do any more extensive damage other than that one fuse in the dash. Whew!

Photo by Robin French

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!!

Friday night I managed to rook Sandy, Pam, and Julie into meeting me at La Bamba Mexican Restaurant not too far from my house for dinner. Last week was a long week, and I thought we all could use some girl time. So we met, drank, ate, and were merry. We laughed a lot (as is usual) and then all headed home. I'd had something called "Swamp Water" and while I was OK walking to the car, at one point I'd not been feeling much pain.

Sandy's car wouldn't start. She tried calling several people, none of whom were interested in leaving at 9pm to come help her in a dark parking lot, so (insert hero music here) I came to the rescue. Or something. I pulled out this little rescue kit I had in the back of the van, and pulled out the jumper cables - aka POS fire bringers.

We had to talk a blond chick who was even blonder than Sandy and I into moving her vehicle so I could pull up next to Sandy. Did I mention I'm not in charge of these things? I'm not in charge. I get in. I turn the key. I expect it to work. On occasion I can even add a fluid (although I used to run my Mustang on 1 quart of oil only... habitually). But I'm SO not in charge of these things. Neither is Sandy. Yet there we were, in a parking lot at 9pm with a rescue kit.

So she and I stumbled through the jumper cable hookup - and we thought we had them hooked up right. I was patting myself on the back as I stepped away from her car. "Who's Ya Daddy!" was what I was screaming in my head as I headed over to my van when suddenly a gigantic ball of fire shot past my ear! I saw sparks and Sandy's car alarm started SCREAMING and the lights started flashing. I almost peed myself. I ran over to my car and (amidst prayers of "Please, Lord, don't let me get electrocuted") and yanked one of the wires off of my battery, and it all went quiet.

Sandy and I stood there and just stared at each other. Apparently we'd put them on wrong. I'd just colored my hair earlier, and my first thought was, "That dang ball of fire better not have messed up my hair!" followed closely by, "OMFG, I hope we didn't just kill our cars dead. Are we dead? No, I don't think we're dead, but I'll bet we've fried our cars! Oh {insert expletive here}".

So what do you do when you're not in charge of vehicles and happen to have almost exploded one or two of them? You call my brother, which is probably what I should have done FIRST.

Jeremy (my younger brother by 3-1/2 years) came up there and discerned that the battery was dead, and that we'd blown at least one fuse with our "antics". I think I heard something about "hair brained" but he seemed to be more amused than anything. He put some aluminum foil into the fuse (don't ask me... remember, I'm not in charge of these things) and Sandy and I ran out to Advance Auto to get her a new battery. We were doing all of this in the parking lot, in the dark, with nothing but two screwdrivers, a pair of vice grips, and a sheet of aluminum foil from the restaurant. Jeremy replaced the battery and rigged up the fuse, and off we went. Well, sortof.

We found out in short order that while we could get Sandy cranked she had no acceleration. Because she couldn't get across traffic to the left he took her right - which would mean going up a gigantic hill to get her to my house. Did I mention she had no acceleration? We managed somehow to get her to my Mother's house, and when she stepped out of the car she was practically shaking.

I mean, who wouldn't be? I take her out for dinner and her car won't start, a ball of fire screams out past our heads, and then she can't go more than 5 mph on a street where people drive the Indy 500.

I will say this... it's funny how a gigantic ball of fire whizzing past one's head will induce sobriety in 0.6 seconds.

Somehow we managed to laugh our way through the night, and I got her over to her Mom's where she borrowed a car to get home. Sandy's husband got her up and running yesterday, but he thinks one more fuse needs to be replaced - one he couldn't quite get to under the dash. We're hopeful that replacing that last fuse will make everything OK. So today Sandy, Julie, Kelly and I are going over to Rising Meadow Farm to wander around their Farm Fest. I'm planning to pump Sandy full of lamb-burgers and ice cream in hopes that she'll still be my BFF after the Great Ball of Fire.

Things I Learned Last Weekend

Things I Learned Last Weekend:

1. Paper money does not stay put in my back pockets but I'll take it however I can get it.

2. Sheep that jump over my dog and into a sorting pen that they don't belong in while flattening another sheep and knocking a gate completely down get caught and bodily thrown back out to where they belong by yours truly. I am such a brute. That annoys me, and it's rude. Note to sheep: Just Don't Do It. (was that the world's longest run-on sentence?)

3. Ants like cupcakes. For reals. RIP precious cupcakes.

4. I can back between two narrowly placed trees TWICE in one weekend and not hit them. In fact, I didn't hit anything with my vehicle all weekend long. This must be some sort of record.

5. It is actually possible to over-inflate an air mattress.

6. Dry socks are a gift from God.

7. It is a long way from the bottom to the top at Robin's when you're trying to run up the hill looking a bit like an overstuffed buffalo on crack.

8. Eventually a girl's legs get tired of stepping over gates and fences and need help from friends. It gives new meaning to the term "give me a leg up".

Ok, so I was going to list ten things but I ran out of steam. Oh wait, I learned two important things that ARE relevant:

9. Don't pick up the pen rope unless you're going to hang onto it. Seriously.

10. When your sheep come into the shedding ring if you have one looking to run away don't let her lead off. At the very least don't turn your back on her - she is sneaky like ninja.

Whistle for a Cure SDT Recap

This past weekend was one of new beginnings for the dogs and I. Nick and I both had a first - our first Open trial together, and it was Nick's Open debut! It was Linc's trialing debut in Pro-Novice. Surprisingly the fact that I was busier than a one-armed paper hanger working maybe accounted for the fact that I never even thought of throwing up on my shoes. I know, another first, right?

The trial field was great - Robin has spent weeks clearing out trees and brush, and has made it much more open and easier to see. The course wasn't terribly long - but it was challenging. The first day of Open a good bit of the fetch was blind, which was rather cool. The sheep were very good I thought - and though it was quite a mixture of hair sheep and wool sheep from two flocks, they worked pretty well for the most part while being a challenge as well. Nick and I traded off with Julie setting out and doing penwork along with the help from Denise, Peggy, Sandy and Dan. They were AWESOME - thank you guys! I think maybe I even prefer working up top - it's fun for me. It keeps me from obsessing and worrying, and it makes Nick happy.

We raised almost as much money this year as we did last year for Ovarian Cancer research as part of our friend Joan's team. She is such a special person that it's an honor to be a part of this and support not only the research but her too.

I'm not going to give a blow by blow of every step that was taken (I'm still too tired for that), but I'll give a decent recount if I can. Nick's first Open run he did everything I EVER asked of him and then some. He was sharp, thoughtful, listening well, and held it together really well. I was pleased to see him holding some of the lines on his own. His drive was a thing of beauty - only losing two points. Going into the shedding ring we'd only lost 12 or 13 pts. Unfortunately we wound up losing a ewe to the exhaust on a missed shed (totally my fault - I turned my back on her and she was GONE), and I retired because I couldn't see what was going on.

Dang. Shedding sure is a lot harder when you're doing it than when you're watching it. Oh yeah baby, I'm a darned good armchair shedder. In real time? Not so much. Yet. It's a lot harder to do the first time under the gun than it is just out in a pasture alone. When it's just me, my dog, the sheep, and no pressure we're like shedding fools. In the ring? Hah. For that matter there's a lot more pressure in general - there's a lot more to think about running in Open. There's a lot more that's expected and needed from the dog, and I cannot imagine how anyone could make breeding decisions when they've never gotten out of the novice classes. Open is a whole new ballgame. But really, that's another discussion. We're just at the beginning of our journey.

Our second run wasn't nearly as pretty - it took me until partly through the drive away to get ahold of Nick. By that point he had been setting out and pushing out the day before - and was quite full of himself. He buggered the sheep a bit starting his drive (and OK, on the fetch too) and was overflanking and winging around. I finally got his attention, and after that his drive was good. Fortunately the sheep were forgiving of his buggering and settled right down. I made a few novice flubs also - but we got around. We timed out in the shedding ring this time. Denise had given me some much appreciated advice (thank you Denise) after our shed the day before, so I was considering this as I went into the ring this time. I was disappointed to not have time to put it into action, but at least I was *thinking* about it. We got a score though! It wasn't a great score, but it WAS a score.

So YAY! We got a score at our first Open trial. That's not what I aspire to forever, but for the first one - with my first dog... I'm happy. Satisfied? No. Happy? Yes. I won't be satisfied to *just* get a score forever. But for today I'm floating.

Linc's Pro-Novice run was better than I expected. He gave me far more than I expected him to. I've been having a little trouble of late with him hesitating on his outruns. I was worried that this would be an issue... or that I might possibly find him hanging off a sheep on the way down the field. When he feels pressure from me he gets a little wiggy at the moment. I set him up to go left, and to my surprise he went like a champ.

He was a *tad* tight going out, but he kicked out and landed beautifully behind the sheep. He took his down whistle - dropped like a stone. The fetch was a tad off line (just barely missing the panels) but I finally convinced him to fix it after the panels. After the turn at the post there were two sheep bound and determined to head off towards the left. Two sheep were online going where I wanted, but I think he was afraid if he let off the pressure they would bolt up the hill. The two determined to go towards the goat yard were *really* determined, and I could see Linc getting wound tighter and tighter. I retired at that point - I felt like he was in way over his head. All in all I was more than pleased with him.

So it might not have been the most successful trial ever as far as scores go, but dang if my dogs and I didn't learn a lot. I was awful proud of both of them. Nick worked literally *all* weekend up top, and he held up physically and mentally - and still he wanted more.

Now we look ahead to the Lexington SDT in October. I missed the opening date of Jan Thompson's trial so won't be heading up there unfortunately. I'm disappointed, but maybe I should try paying attention. I'm tossing around the possibility of seeing if we can get in to run at Rural Hill since it's so close. That will probably be it for us and trials this year.

Later on I'll have a list of "Things I Learned Last Weekend".

Strange

People say strange things sometimes. I should know, because I know I say strange things on a pretty regular basis. Today I gave my cell phone number to a guy who has been doing a good bit of my trucking lately (at work). His response? "Ok, I'm writing it in my book this time, and I promise I won't use it to drunk dial you."

A man after my own heart... irrelevant, irreverant, out in left field, slightly odd and off topic. Maybe he SHOULD drunk dial me. Then again, I've never seen him in person, and those types of things can go very badly. The other day he said something about not being married. I wonder if he's hitting on me? That would be strange too. I would hate to see myself show up in a blog on PLFM.

Lastly, and completely off topic... I'm going to be doing some SERIOUS puppy squishying this weekend. The Chris/Zac puppies are coming for a slumber party at Auntie Laura's house while Julie and Robin are at Don McCaig's. Sadly I didn't get my entry in before he closed the open entries, so I'm opting to be sufficiently puppified instead. Yum! Puppies, all for ME!!! Then I get to send them home again, which seems just perfect.

While I'm at it this weekend I think I'm going to go harrass said defectees' sheep while they're gone. Linc desperately needs some practical stuff. I worked him this past weekend and saw some of the fall-out from the issues the weekend before. I think it's a minor bump in the road, so this weekend I'm planning to spend one day at Robin's place putting here sheep here, there, and beyond. It'll be good for him, and it'll be activity points for me because the four-wheeler scares me. Nick worked nicely for me - and I'm to work on more whistle, less voice, and more proactive handling. We can do that.

Oh, and for a quick itchy rash update... I think I finally turned a small corner. I think it has phased back into the land of the bearable until gone. Please, oh Lord, please go on and take it away. Maybe I should drop this livestock thing and plan to raise something less inclined to lay in things I'm allergic to... like garden gnomes... and goldfish.

Slackin and Slummin

Slackin and slummin over here. Sorry! It's been crazy around here, and I'm just sort of hanging on by my fingernails at the moment.

What have we been up to? Nick's all healed up from his neuter, but I didn't get to work him as I'd like due to his feet being softened somewhat by his layup. Hopefully he'll be good to go tomorrow. Last weekend Linc and I ironed out some issues working sheep in tight spaces, and dealing with the pressures there appropriately. We had some rough moments but I think we got it all squared away.

Also (insert whiney voice here) I'm partially covered by an itchy rash coming from an unidentifiable substance obtained from an unidentifiable place. I seriously want to claw my own eyes out. That being said I finally went to the organic co-op here and am getting a bit of relief.

Last week my air conditioner went out, and bless my Ex-Husband for fixing it for me. It appears that we're going to have some sort of friendship now, and while I'm not sure exactly how I feel about that (and I'm a tad leary) I'm glad to have some sort of open communication with him.

I'll be loading up the dogs early tomorrow morning and heading up to Robin's to work dogs, hang out, and prepare for her trial end of this month. I'm hoping to give Linc a chance to lengthen out his outrun tomorrow... cuz he's running Pro-Novice and Nursery at Robin's WFAC trial this month. I've also entered him to run Nursery in Lexington, VA end of next month. Nick will be running Open at both - and we'll be helping up top (either in the pens or setting sheep) at Robin's trial. So we've got a few fun things coming up.

Robin's WFAC trial is to raise funds to support our friend Joan Stout-Knight in raising money for Ovarian Cancer Research. You can get an entry form by going to http://www.sheepdogsonline.com/entry.doc . As it turns out we'll be running Open as well as the novice classes. They'd be thrilled to have any donations or in-spirit entries, so please consider getting involved in some way. We had a ball last year, and I think we will this year also!

The rescue Chi thing didn't work out because the owner of the dog refused to relinquish her when the time came. She still (the dog) shows up in my yard every few days doing zoomies and begging me to play with her (which I do). I feel awful for the wee one - I think it's possible they're intending to breed her (based on their belief that she should be bred before spayed, ick) and so on. It makes me sick to my stomach.

At any rate, hopefully I'll have good updates to report on Linc's work this weekend. I suspect I'm going to take him out there and be surprised and pleased with him. He's a good boy. Happy Labor Day everyone!

Junia Petunia the Lure Coursing Queen

(Photo by Robin French)

This week Julie and I crammed a bunch of dogs into her van and took them Lure Coursing. June may not be a very good sheepdog, but she is the Lure Coursing Queen!!! Holy Cow. This dealio was a fundraiser and was $5 per run. I took Linc and June but as it turned out we ran out of daylight so only June (and Pip, Phoebe, and Lark) got to run. Pip, Phoebe and Lark were at a bit of a disadvantage being their first time, but June was... probably the most in her element as I've ever seen her. June doesn't CARE if she brings it back. Oh no. She just wants to chase it. She's HAPPY to chase it. She might have flunked out as a sheepdog but if there was a job in life for her to chase a plastic baggie she'd be my go to dog. It cracks me up to see her ears become PRICK and she's OFF!!!

I've actually been feeling rather guilty because June doesn't get much in the way of work these days. Then again she doesn't really want it anyway. On the occasion that she seems to want to work I'll take her out, but most of the time she's just happy holding down the couch and catching an occasional disc. It made my heart all happy to see her lure course though. There was a guy there who might be starting up a club and if it's not too costly I might see about getting her involved. She'd love it.

What else? We worked on Linc's flank commands last weekend. Whooeee! Good dog - he was getting more than I thought. I haven't had a chance to work him this week, but hopefully will this weekend. That's the other downside to the economy - I'm blessed with friends nearby that let me come work my dogs - but not the gas $$ to do so as I wish I could.

Some of you saw me mention a little rescue Chihuahua on Facebook the other day (from my Neighbor's house), and it looks like I've got it worked out for her. She's absolutely adorable, and I really think she's going to make someone a fabulous little dog. I've coordinated with Chihuahua Rescue and Transport in NC/SC to get her into rescue, and it looks like I'll be fostering her. I'll probably post some pictures - if the little gal will slow down long enough. She's wide open, and just as sweet as she can be. Updates to follow soon, I'm sure.

Last thing - Nick gets his staples out tonight. It looks like his (neuter) incision is healed, and I'll talk to my vet about getting him back into shape to possibly run him at Don McCaig's. He's been on crate rest for almost three weeks now trying to get this thing healed. I think he'll be happy to get that colander off of his head.

Dude, I should get some pictures of that.

Attitude Adjustment

I need an attitude adjustment. Nick is getting one - via the great testicle exodus and now I need one to deal with HIS attitude adjustment. So far what should have been a simple procedure has been a PITA - to the tune of regluing, stapling, and so on. I think he's finally on the road to recovery though, but it's been a long drawn out disaster. Well, maybe disaster is too strong of a word. Mess. Between incisions that don't want to hold and blah blah blah it's just... ugh. My work situation has taken quite the turn for the worse, and while I'm quite grateful to have a job... still it sucks. So yeah, I need an attitude adjustment. I suppose I've not felt much like blogging while trying to slog through some of my life lately.

Linc, on the other hand, is being such a good boy right now that it makes me smile (see? attitude adjustment). These pictures are by Dan King who graced us last weekend with his really fun presence. Linc is a driving fool right now - and while his stop is suffering slightly it does my heart good to see him taking control, motoring along, and holding the lines pretty well all on his small bustle-butted own. I'm able to do most practical things with him - which is good given that Nicky boy is on the disabled list at the moment.

Thanks to Dan for this pic - it's beautiful. I found out this past weekend that Linc can hold sheep. I wasn't sure he could - but he did a nice job of it. Actually I wasn't sure he could let them go, but he seems to "get it". I do believe we're going to get along quite nicely. This weekend unless something more pressing rears it's head I'm going to try to see if I can proof Linc's flank commands. He seems to mostly have them, but I'd like just a little more (and lets face it - life would be easier with flank commands).

It's also been fun over at Julie's squishying puppies with Julie and Robin. See? Attitude adjustment. Something about puppies just makes my heart get all mushy. Having Dan (and of course Julie, Robin, and the other lesson folks too) around always makes for fun times, so a good attitude adjustment also.

What else has been up lately? Well, I got sent on a weekend trip to Asheville, NC to entertain one of our vendors two weekends ago. I got to see Biltmore again with fresh eyes, and drank entirely too much, ate entirely too much, but had a BALL. I got to stay in a hotel room, and didn't pick up a single dog turd for three days. That was more fun than I can really handle, so while in some ways it was good to get away it was also stressful to have to farm out dogs on a moment's notice and go be so... social. But hey... I'm evidently a little fun to be around according to the vendor, and the trip was a huge success. I managed to not get tattooed while there. That too was a big success.

So this weekend I'm going to play FarmTown on Facebook (yeah, OK, so I have a serious FarmTown problem), hang with the girls, and try to relax a little. I need it. Maybe later next week I'll have something to say.