Herding Fun Day

Porter & I (and Stout!) attended a Herding Fun Day / Training Day at FairWether in Versailles on Saturday. This is the place where we take lessons from Wendy.

Porter & I only ran once, since technically we weren't on the list. But a couple people weren't there so they let us in. I could have ran a second time later in the day, but I didn't want to take someone's sheep who had actually signed up ahead of time. So I was happy that I had decided to come out & watch!

We actually had one of our best runs ever! We ran the Started A course. We had a bobble on the outrun, but I was mostly to blame for that. I didn't really set him up well at the cone. And I was still worried about getting that initial "bend out" so I pushed to hard, too soon and caused him to try a :come by" instead of "away to me."

But once he was re-directed, he had a beautiful wide outrun (Wendy was holding the sheep, so that could have been part of it). He was way back behind the sheep, although he didn't "drop on the top." The sheep were already walking nicely to me so I didn't push it.

I got the sheep through all the obstacles the first time! With no escapes! But as we continued on the course he did get tighter & tighter. Wendy had to yell at some instructions to me on the cross drive. I got paralyzed wondering which way to flank Porter as I stood on the fenceline with the sheep... But we made it across without much trouble.

Porter was starting to back-talk & push by the time we got to the cross drive. I chased him off once and he settled a little. We walked back down the fence line to exhaust. It did take 2 tries for me to get Porter placed to hold them off the gate. But I was just being picky. We could have easily exhausted them the first time, but I wanted a hold.

And then we celebrated! It definitely would have been a qualifying run! I even tried to get myself nervous like I would be at a trial beforehand. And we still did well!

So there's about a month left until the Cardigan Specialty. I feel much better about our remaining training time now!

(photo from 2011 CWCCA Specialty near Houston, TX)

I stayed the entire day on Saturday so I could watch some friends & agility students do instinct testing with Wendy.

I was really impressed with all of them! There were 3 Pyr Sheps, 1 border collie mix, & 1 Aussie / border collie / golden retriever mix. I think all passed with instinct, some with more than others :)

And obviously I'm finally learning some of this herding stuff, because I could see when the dogs were "turned on." Some I could see kick themselves out wide to cover the heads, some split then did little head checks to bring them back together... And some I could see the desire, but not quite having the experience to execute. I could even recognize the barking as insecurity.

So I may finally be getting it  :)

(photo from 2011 CWCCA Specialty near Houston, TX)



Tenley Dexter Herding Clinic

I attended a herding clinic February 11 & 12 put on by Tenley Dexter up near Indianapolis. The dogs stayed home due to the bitter temperatures (it was in an unheated barn).

This is the first time I've been to one of her clinics, though a lot of the ideas were familiar. Both of our herding instructors were there.

I think the 2 most important things I took away from the clinic were:

1. Adjust your training to fit your dog, don't try to make your dog fit into your training.

2. And herding training makes you a better person. Sounds a little dumb when said just like that, but I have to admit that I've noticed a big difference in myself since I started this sheep experience.

I’ve learned a lot more patience. I’ve learned respect - not just to respect the dog or the sheep, but to demand respect for myself. If you let your dog take an inch, he’ll take a mile. It’s the exact same thing with people  :)

I’ve learned sometimes you have to abandon the big picture to focus on the details. If you get all the details correct, the big picture falls into place. But at the same time, sometimes you have to ignore all the little mistakes to catch a glimpse of the final product. You can’t tell someone they’re wrong, they’re wrong, they’re wrong, without telling them occasionally that there was one little piece that was right. That’s what makes dogs (and people) give up & quit. You can nitpick the small stuff, but don’t forget what the end result actually should be.

I’ve learned to control my emotions. A command is just a command. Correct then move on. Don’t dwell on the correction, it was just a mistake you pointed out & now you’re on to the next thing. Anger has no place on the field & no place in my daily interactions. Sure, there’s a time & place for it, but “acting out of anger” accomplishes nothing.

Can I even say “identify the lead sheep & apply your actions toward it, the rest will follow” also applies to dealing with people?  :) I don’t care what “everyone” thinks, I care what a few people I respect think. The others only think what that person thinks anyway… Or they will think for themselves in time… Or they will think whatever someone else tells them to think…  :)  I only have to sway that one person and the rest will follow along with the herd.

Slow, deliberate actions accomplish more than rushing & circling. When in doubt, stop, take a breath, and re-evaluate the situation. Let everyone settle down for a minute :)  Stop & let the sheep, I mean people, think for a second & they’ll usually make the right decision (if the dog, I mean you, are correct). It’s always easier if the “sheep” think it was their idea to begin with! Some “sheep” you just can’t force.

Is that enough of the sheep/people metaphors? Because trust me, I can go on  :)