Aha.....Light bulb moment

Gotta have a few of those light bulb moments to make your effort worth while. This morning was one of those mornings. Thirty degrees in the desert, nary a breath of wind, and all I needed was a sweatshirt on. My type of morning. My dogs and the sheep liked it, too.
In an earlier post, I said I would like a lesson or two to help me work on some glitches with Yoko and Kilt. I think I solved one of our problems this morning with Yoko. It all boils down to "timing" and being "consistent."
Thankfully, Yoko is willing to stand on her head for me. So, whatever problems I am running into are MY problems. I'm not getting the message across to my pup. Yo has a medium to loose eye, but if she doesn't square off her flank she will catch the eye of the lead sheep and nail it (as in bite it). Most of the time she does this at a distance from me. Sometimes I get off my butt and go to her; other times I have just growled at her. I need to be with her or go to her EVERY single time to make sure those flanks are correct. You have to be quick with the smart ones. They pattern train really fast. You can't be lazy. That's something I have never been accused of, but I can see I have fallen into a complacent mode.
Why does she bite? My friend asked me if it was due to a lack of confidence? I had to think about that for a moment. I'm thinking that any bite other than to a heel to push or to a head that is confronting is a bite out of lack of confidence or out of frustration. Probably means we just need more work, working different sheep, and working different environments. Do you think?

Meditation

"Seeing the shortcomings of others is easy. Seeing your own is difficult, but much more important."

Working my dogs by myself is almost like meditating for me. I'm always trying to study my dogs reactions to the requests I'm asking while watching the responses of the sheep. Sometimes we (dogs and me) all take a break, sit on the ground, and just watch the sheep graze. Sometimes I think about nothing. Sometimes I think about too much. I think, I'd rather think about too little. :0)

I've run into a few snags, both with Yoko and Kilt that I could use a little help with. I wrote to several well respected professionals in So. Calif. for some help (lessons) and was told by them that they are suffering burn out or they were maxed out. Ahhh...such is life. I will continue to struggle and ponder the possible solutions. I've come this far pretty much on my own. Hey, I made it to the open division without sheep. I've received a couple of placements. I guess I can croak now.

LOL...In all seriousness, there is still work to be done; lessons to be learned. Driving to local ranches and to the desert keeps me active. My dogs love it and I enjoy it immensely. I've learned a lot. But, there is so much more to learn. One day at a time.

Yoko the GOOSE dog

What a beautiful day and what a FUN morning. It was a bit warm for working in the desert, so I thought I'd pack up my crew (Jet, Kilt and Yoko) and work at a local ranch. What a pleasant surprise that the ranch now has Ducks and Geese. It's always fun to do something out of the ordinary. Jet is a good "fowl" dog. Kilt has only been on Ducks once (in a trial and she was DQ'ed...imagine that...haha) and Yoko has never seen a bird bigger than a seagull.
After separating the Ducks from the Geese without the help of my 4 legged friends, I had Jet move the Geese out to a small arena. He was none too excited about it. He has never liked working fowl. He just does it because I ask him to and that's the type of dog he is.... Mr. Congeniality. When one of the gander's honked at him and tweaked him right on his nose, he looked semi-mortified while looking towards me to see if I was going to do something about it.

Next it was Kilt's turn. The first time a Goose changed directions back into her face, she grabbed it by the neck. Ahem....."Killllllt." She let go and realized that I was unhappy with her response.

Actually, it turned out to be a good experience for her getting her flanks square. Small square flanks. Good practice for Kilt. She did okay.

Next up....daughter of Jet and Kilt, Yoko. Yoko has a lot of Jet in her and a lot of her Mom in her. She is pretty much a 50/50 spilt which is good for me. And, should prove good for trialing. Remains to be seen. After the first initial jump in their faces with feathers flying she settled right into padding along behind them. That one particular gander turned on her and hissed at her one inch from her nose. Yoko is her mother's daughter. She held still and curled her lip up over her nose. She gave the Goose the "Kilt GRIN." I laughed so hard I almost wet my pants. "That'll do Yo."

Happy Halloween

"KILT...Please don't jump"

Pt. Pleasant Trial

"I'll give you another chance to redeem yourself. You don't have to end it this way."

The weather was picture perfect for Tom and LisAnns trial, the range sheep were fabulous, the trial folk friendly, and the judging by Derek Fisher, fair and consistent. Kilt and I didn't have any stellar moments, but we came home with lessons learned. Fail often to succeed sooner is my new motto. I stole that from my friend, Jeanne.
The only semi-depressing note was that people asked, "Why didn't you bring Jet?" Kilt and I still need a lot more mileage, but I ADORE this bitch. Hard headed..yes....pushy...oh yeah...difficult to have ride in your truck...no doubt there, nasty with strange dogs...notorious...THEN what's there left to like?
Working is ALL Kilt wants to do. She doesn't care if it's billy goats, lambs or range ewes. She just wants to WORK. And, she comes back grinning ear to ear when she is done. It's like the difference between a Toyota and a Ferrari. I just don't know how to drive (handle) a Farrari. I'm the owner/operator without a manual. But, am I having FUN yet? You bet. Was I disappointed with her runs? Yes. Only because I expect such great things from her. Back to the drawing board and much more milage needed. And, thanks to all that gave me advice and suggested new exercises for us to practice.

The best laid plans....

Here is a 30 second video of me and Yoko training out in the desert. Notice how cool, calm, and collected I sound UNTIL..........hahaha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTBPD_Wib-A

There is something to be said for living in a small rural town. This morning on my way to the desert I had a blow out on the stock trailer. The trailer was sitting on the rim. Thank goodness for a tandom axle and thank goodness for such wonderful town folk. A newly acquired friend (as in "this" morning) needed a cheater bar to get that blown tire off. He filled my spare with some additional air and put it on for me. While another neighbor followed me home to be sure I arrived safely. I LOVE my hometown of GREEN VALLEY.

A short miscellaneous movie from this a.m.
Yo the cow dog meets Carne and Asada