Alta-Pete Shedding Clinic - Day Two

Today's weather was just as nice as yesterday. We worked on building on what we learned previously and progressed into a marked shed. In the morning session each dog worked on it's weakness so not every lesson was the same. If there was a recurring problem it would have been the tendency for the handlers to push the sheep on to the dog as they were trying to set up the shed.

Penny Ohanjanian and her dog Moss work on keeping the sheep in a line as they set up the shed

Other than that, each dog had something different to concentrate on. Some dogs were still pushing hard on the sheep and ended up too close to them and causing them to be unsettled. One dog had a problem with anticipating the call in and actually worked on not coming in when there was a gap. Most of the time it was the handlers that learned what they could do differently to get the shed done.

Shannon Fritz's dog Ben comes into the gap

I got a lot of tips on handling Lad. Just like yesterday, it wasn't about the hold, it was about coming through the gap. Several times I would get excited when taking 1 or 2 sheep off and I would forget to keep him flanking through. Instead I would give him his hold command. Scott reminded me that Lad isn't very good at holding them and pushing them away from the other sheep so I needed to manufacture the hold by not relying on him to work the sheep by himself. I needed to tell him exactly what to do. I also learned how to let/get the sheep to line out and work parallel to my dog instead of pushing the sheep into a ball and over him. By the end of the lesson, Lad was took a single better than he had ever shed before.

Lad takes his best single ever for me...

In the afternoon, we worked on a marked shed. Out of 7 sheep, two were marked. We had to shed off two unmarked, regather them and then shed one collared off. I was proud of both Lad and I for being able to get the sheds done without terrible difficulty using the tools we learned in the morning.
Tomorrow I will be switching to Hemp for the International shed since that is where he needs the most work.

Alta-Pete Shedding Clinic - Day One

We had several requests for Scott to do a shedding clinic from our fellow Albertans. I also desperately needed help after my dogs did so well in the Bluegrass but I failed them in the shed. I had been to one of Alasdair MacRae's shedding clinics but that was 9 years ago when Bob was just a young dog and now I need help with Hemp and Lad. We decided to have a clinic here at our farm and today was the first day. It was perfect weather with some sun and some clouds. It never got up to 80F degrees and the breeze kept the mosquitoes away.

We had a great turnout of old and new friends.

Handlers watching the clinic

The range of experience varied from an Open Ranch Kelpie and handler trying their first sheds

Jerry Kurbatoff and his Kelpie, Jed learn how to start a shed

to a couple of National Finals double lift competitors and their border collies.

George Stambulic and Kate shed off a couple of ewes

We learned that no matter how good we thought we were, we all had room for improvement. Scott started out by asking us one by one to go into the ring and shed off however many we wanted out of about 10 sheep.

Louanne Twa and Isla do a practice shed

It didn't go unnoticed that we all had a favorite side to shed off of and we had some difficulties when Scott asked us to switch sides. He used this time to evaluate each of us and see where the literal holes were in our sheds.
Then came the lecture and theory portion of the clinic.

Scott diagrams some basic shedding situations

On a dry erase board, Scott went over the ideas we were going to be working on and what our individual faults were. It was such an easy going and comfortable group that I don't think anyone was self conscious but rather, quite eager to hear his thoughts on the matter.
Then we all went out and Scott helped us with our changes.
On our first day we were just working on the basics of a regular shed. Even the more experienced open handlers had things they needed to work on. The theme of the day seemed to be to make sure the dogs came through the gap far enough.

Lisa Wright and Hope practice coming all the way through the gap

Many of the dogs could get a shed done if the circumstances were right but if they had dog broke sheep that liked to regather behind you, it wasn't going to work. Our sheep didn't try to regather but were helpful enough to allow us to make sure our dogs passed through far enough. For most of the dogs it wasn't about the hold yet. We had two sessions for each of the 10 dogs and you could see the progression from the morning to the afternoon.

Dogs waiting their turn

We have provided the breakfasts, lunches and dinners at this clinic and it has been a wonderful way to gather over our meals and discuss the events of the day. Many people are enjoying the evening, walking their dogs in the sunset and a few of the men have gathered by the television to watch the anniversary dvd for One Man And His Dog. I think we are all looking forward to tomorrow's next step.

Jerry and Jed contemplate their lesson

Fetch Gate Nursery '10 - Day One and Two

While we are in New York state doing a clinic at Roger and Heather Millen's Fetch Gate Farm, they hold a nursery trial every year. The field is a great one for schooling the young dogs in a trial. It is lush green with a gentle slope (unless you are walking up it, then it feels like a big slope) and dog broke Katahdin sheep that are easy for the dogs to see. This year there were 8 dogs in the trial.

On the first day, Rainey did very well. Her outrun was the best it's ever been and her lines were pretty nice.

Diane Pagel's Rainey

She had a little trouble with the drive away but other than that she did well until the pen when she had some difficulty getting them in. She placed 3rd on the first day! On the second day her fetch and drive lines were not as nice so she didn't place.
Scout (the kelpie) also had a good trial. She had some trouble covering on the fetch on the first and second day due to pulling up short on the outrun but her drive was pretty good and she had a good pen both days.

Sherri Purcell's Scout

On the second day, Scout came in third - a personal best!
Kuro didn't have a good run either day. Some dogs do well when they sit for a few days and some don't. Kuro needs to be worked and had been sitting while we were clinicing. Fortunately, since he was already qualified, Scott was able to use the time to train on him and fix some problems that he would probably let go if he was still needing a leg for the finals.

Diane Pagel's Kuro

On the other side of the coin, Jr./Sweep showed that he could do really well if he has some time to sit and relax between trials. His biggest problem had been his outrun and on this field he really figured it out. He had a great outrun and a nice fetch.

Scott's Sweep/Jr.

His drive was nice too except for Scott's mistake. On both runs he turned short of the drive panel. On the first day it cost him the win but he was still able to hold onto second place and get his first leg for the nationals. On the second day, he still won and got his third leg for the nationals. Very good Jr!

Bluegrass '10 Double Lift

On a rainy Kentucky day Don competed in his first double lift. He rose above what we were expecting from a young 3 year old. He made only one mistake and that was the little bit of trouble he had on the turnback and he crossed over before he committed to the lookback. After that he worked like a pro and got RESERVE CHAMPION ! Congrats to Tommy Wilson and Sly who won the whole thing.
For more scores go to the Bluegrass website

The parade of the top 20 double lift competitors

For the first time, Canada's flag was included in the parade

Scott and Don walk to the post

Don's first lift

Don's second lift

Don on the fetch

Don

Turning the post

Don making the first drive panels

Don making the crossdrive panels

Don in the shedding ring

Don keeping the two groups separated in the shedding ring.

Don and Scott finishing up the shed

Scott and Don getting the pen

Reserve Champions Scott and Don and Bluegrass Champions Tommy Wilson and Sly

Bluegrass '10 Day Four Photos

Debbie Bailey caught a few pictures of Hemp yesterday in his run...

Hemp and I turning the post

Hemp and I in the shed

Hemp on the way to the pen

Hemp and I at the pen

Bluegrass '10 Day Three/Four

Even though the day is not over, I thought I'd better update you on how things are going. Tonight is the handler's dinner so I may not have time to do another update when the runs are over. First I'll just say briefly that Maid's run yesterday was a little Western. Running sheep and finally she'd had enough and gripped on the crossdrive.
In the underclasses they switched to different sheep. They were now the rerun open sheep. Every year this gives the babies a surprise and this year was no different. Kuro's first experience in the nursery class didn't work out and he ended up with sheep back at the setout and one in a corner. When he ran again in the Open Ranch he got it figured out and ended up in 3rd place.
Scott ran Megan in Open Ranch and even though he didn't finish the course with her, (she sliced a flank on the drive and the sheep ran back to set out) he is really liking her.
I haven't seen any of the younger dogs today and they are still running the Open Ranch right now. The open field is hot as usual. It was a cool enough this morning that I was able to run Hemp without having to wet him down. He's been keeping a cooler head which is his main problem. He overheats himself with excitement before he gets to the post. He had a good outrun and lift and had a decent fetch. At the time of day he ran (and quite a bit all day) the sheep have been taking off to the handler's right and the fetches have been so far off line that many people are getting DQ'ed by the judges for being off course. Hemp never had any problem with that. I was proud of him holding his line. His drive was pretty nice too. We missed the crossdrive panel high and that was about the only thing that wasn't good and considering the wind was blowing in the wrong direction, he was really trying hard to please me. When we got to the shedding ring, the problems started happening. My sheep really wanted to start running. I've been told I didn't make it any better but Scott was running on the other field and didn't see my run so I had to rely on other people's opinion. I had a missed attempt and then after much running and flanking I got the shed. At some point in this run, Hemp got the idea I was mad at him. I thought it was because of all the hard stops I had to blow so he'd hear me on the crossdrive in the wind. A person who's opinion I respect said it was in the shedding ring. Regardless, the run continued to fall apart. Hemp was physically good but mentally spent and wanted to take a break. He kept thinking I was calling him off and tried to recall to me. I finally got him to regather the sheep in the ring and we got to the pen. We almost had it. Those sheep really wanted to pen but Hemp was spent and when I asked for a very important stop, he couldn't give it and we ended up timing out at the pen. I am not upset with the dog. I need to re-evaluate how I'm handling him if he's becoming sensitive to me. He handled the sheep well around the course and got a 74 with no pen. I know that I'm glad that I finally get to participate in one of Scott's shedding clinics this June because I really need it with both Hemp and Lad.
On to the Superstar: Donnie made the double lift! He got an 87 today and had to struggle for every point. It was hot and the sheep weren't happy. He made all his panels and had a nice fetch but it looked like any minute he was going to grip off. Scott said his drive was off line alot but from my angle it just looked a little bit. His shed kinda took Scott and Don by surprise when Scott saw an opportunity and decided to call Don in on it at the last minute. I didn't see his breakdowns but I know they accepted it and they made the pen look easy. I'm so proud of both of them. Don is very green at this (it's his first double lift) so Scott is going to take it easy on him tomorrow, especially if it is in the heat.
Scott's run dropped Hemp and I off the double lift leader board but we couldn't be more happy about the result. There were only 13 dogs left to run so Hemp stayed in there almost until the end.
Don't forget to check the bluegrass website for the younger dog's scores for today.

Bluegrass '10 Day Two

Sorry I didn't update last night. We went out to dinner and there was alot going on here at the trial so it got late.
Yesterday was a weird weather day. It was cool in the morning for quite a while but then got hot, very hot. Then a HUGE storm came in and poured crazy hard rain but cleared out about 20 minutes later and then it got humid and hot. If you look at the scores on the bluegrass website you will see the trend because the sheep reflected the weather.
Maid ran when it was still cool but the sheep are crazy in the morning (don't know which is worse, the crazy sheep in the morning or the heavy ones in the afternoon). Her lines weren't very good and the judges called a missed attempt as a shed. If you are not familiar with scoring, a missed attempt is usually 5 off your 10 point shed. If you then shed a good one on your next try, you will get away with a 5 point shed -as opposed to getting your missed attempt called as an actual shed and pointed as a bad one. Then you get only 1 point because it was so bad, even though it was actually a missed attempt. So that was what happened to Maid. Her shed got one point and they timed out on the pen. Their score was a 49 so they won't make it to the double lift on Sunday but their next run today could still give them a chance for day money.
Hemp ran after the storm in the heat. The sheep did not want to move. The 4 runs before us (with the exception of one older dog who got them off the top but didn't finish the drive) couldn't move them and the 3 runs behind me couldn't move them either. It was not a good time to run. Hemp had a good outrun and lift and then started to fly about behind his sheep so I gave him a steady and he laid down. (note to self and note to anyone else - DO NOT try to fix problems by training the day before a big trial - Hemp was running through his "there" at the last trial so I tried to fix it and ended up making him stop instead of "steady") This was a big mistake because once you have them moving you want to keep them moving. I was afraid he'd tire himself out before he got down the fetch so I thought I'd just settle him behind them but when he laid down the sheep started to graze and they didn't want to move again. I started out by whistling him up. After a few minutes, when that didn't work, I tried voice, asking him up. That didn't work so I finally started getting grumpy with him. I stressed that if he didn't get up he was going to get in alot of trouble. I thought about walking off but I've never made the walk of shame and I didn't plan on doing it on my strongest dog. We were losing ALOT of time trying to get the sheep re-lifted. One scribe told me that the Welsh judge, Hefin Jones, thought about calling me off, but when Hemp finally got them moving, he was impressed. As soon as I saw him shift them a little bit I started telling him what a good boy he was and kept him coming. I could NEVER do this with Hemp usually - he would lose his mind and race the sheep or attack them if I talked to him that much. It was dangerous but I couldn't let him lay down again. Just before the fetch panels I went back into regular mode with him and slowed him up and made the panels. The sheep like to jump over the fence to the handler's right and join the crowd for some reason so the first drive leg is dangerous. I chose to start the drive leg a little high so we could drift down onto the line and not get too close to the fence. It worked and Hemp had a great drive. He lost only 4 points from one judge and 3 points from the other. It was a very different Hemp though. He was a little fried mentally by that difficult fetch and he was actually very smooth and quiet through the drive. It allowed me to make tight turns and have good lines. When I got to the shedding ring, I knew I was about out of dog and didn't want to risk him in the heat. I decided to lay him down and see if I could maneuver a shed without having to move him much but I wasn't going to try to hard and if it didn't happen then so be it. We timed out in the shed. I was very happy with his try. It took alot of heart to move those sheep after he had stopped. (I wish he hadn't stopped in the first place but most dogs weren't moving them at that time of day anyway) He got a 64.
Kuro was the star of the day - he won the nursery class with an 84! He is now qualified for the national finals. He made all of his panels and his only problem was being a little low on the crossdrive but he did very well. We are proud of him! He definitely gets the "Most Improved" title from our kennel. I can't say enough about how good he was.
Jr. needed some help on his outrun and didn't do that well. He got a 50.
Rock, in the Pro-Novice class, retired on the drive but did fine leading up to it. We found out that the day before he had gotten a 7th place! Not bad for a dog who wasn't planning on going to the post at the start of this trip.
Lad ran early today. The sheep are very jumpy this morning and have been very difficult. I didn't think it would be too bad for us but we had a bad fetch line and although our drive lines were very good, the sheep were running and just when we thought we had the panel, they would jump around it. We missed both our drive panels and then in the shedding ring, they wouldn't let me or Lad near them. I had a big hole and called Lad in but he didn't come in fast enough and we had a missed attempt. I decided to call the run and retire. The score wasn't competitive anymore and the judges have 134 runs plus a double lift (plus they have been judging on the nursery field for 2 days) - I didn't want to waste any one's time. He had given his best shed in his last run and the judges didn't like it well enough to call it so I figured this wasn't getting any better. We are very sad as he likely doesn't have enough points to make it to the nationals this year either.
Maid runs later today, and Hemp has about a 10:30 draw tomorrow which is a good time to run. The sheep will be a little more settled than first thing in the morning and it should still be coolish. I will try to refocus and shake off the doldrums so that Hemp will have his best shot.