Desert time again!

Hot damn....about time.  Weather has cooled enough for me to start taking the dogs out to the desert.  I think Champ only went a couple of times last winter because he was just a baby.  Wowser...was he excited to be in the desert.  I have just started letting him work my sheep in my small pen (about 1/4 acre).  He's pretty jazzed about that, too.  He's a pretty steady eddy about taking them out of the barn.  I have been bringing him up differently than my other dogs.  Number one, I had Suzy put a couple of pro months on him when he was pushing through my stops and biting.  It was well worth the money.  I didn't want him to end up like his Mom and be Mr. Independence.  The other thing I have done differently is just let him come along at his own speed.  I pushed Yoko.  I pushed her to grip, I pushed her to work the corners...I put a lot of pressure on her.  Not good. Champ is just learning on his own and with his own GOOD genes.  I try to just let him figure out what he needs to do as long as he is quiet and nice around the stock.  He is almost biddable to a fault.  I am trying to encourage him to think on his own.  He needs to figure stuff out.  But, he needs to figure it out in his own time, not my time.

He got his 50/50 good looks from his mother, Kilt and his sire, Buzz.

Love the right leg tucked under them.  Genes...baby genes :0)

Kilt and Champ have the exact same amount of eye.  Just perfect.  Enough to make nice drives and free enough to do nice outruns.  I love working Kilt.

The angulation assembly is a bit more abrupt than Kilt's and I credit Buzz with that and Champ's slinky style when he is fully engaged in what he is doing.  Wayne says it hurts him to watch him.  Ha.  It does look a bit uncomfortable.  Stylish, but I think I prefer his Mom.  I do love how he carries his tail.

A photo of Champ coming on the fetch.  Right now, he has a beautiful fetch.  He listens 100 times better than his mother does at 9 yrs. of age.  This is a GOOD thing.

Keen-Eye Kilt...love almost everything about her.

Yoko...you're a good girlie, too :0)