Kinloch Wynn

Scott's first nursery dog this year is Diane Pagel's Wynn.

Diane Pagel's Wynn

Wynn was bred by Angie Driscoll from Kinloch Sheepdogs in Wales and was imported along with his sister, Kiwi, by Diane when they were 8 months old.  Both pups were sent directly to Canada to our kennel.

Wynn in training at Alta-Pete Farm

Wynn has been with us ever since while Kiwi is sometimes in training with us, and sometimes goes home with Diane to her Delta Bluez kennel in Washington State to get practical farm experience.
Wynn's father is Bobby Dalziel's Joe, a winner of over 80 open trials in the UK.

Wynn's sire, Bobby Dalziel's Joe - photo by Angie Driscoll

 Joe has also won the Scottish Nationals twice and the International Supreme.
Wynn's dam is Angie's Meg. Meg is a US bred dog from Geri Byrne in Oregon.  When Angie moved from Alberta, Canada back to the UK, Meg went with her.

Angie Driscoll's Meg, mother of Wynn - photo by Angie Driscoll

 Meg is a littermate to Derek Scrimgeor's Fleece who twice placed fifth in the English Nationals.  Meg herself has won several open trials (the first one when she was only 2 years old) has run in three Welsh Nationals, and ran on the Welsh team in the 2010 World Trial.

Nursery Dog Wynn

We are excited to have Wynn in North America and we are hoping he will follow in his father's famous footsteps.  He is a bold worker who gets better all the time as he gains training and experience and we are hoping to breed a bitch to him at the end of his nursery year.  Wynn's first trial will be the Happy Hollow Sheepdog trial in Russellville, MO on April 28-19.

Heppner 2012 Day Two

Scott ran much later in the day today.  The sheep were heavier and hungrier and were getting difficult to push around.  Most dogs seemed to run into trouble on the drive away line.  June was good and  bad.  Scott said that her outrun, lift and fetch were better than yesterday and the start of her drive line was great.

June- photo by Diane Pagel

 He was feeling really good about her because she was having no problems moving her sheep.  However, the trouble started with a little low hock grab as she was getting near to the pressure of the drive panels.  She survived that and had a good crossdrive and third leg of the drive. On the shed,  as she came through, she grabbed one on the nose.  Not needed, but at least it was on the nose and probably was the only reason she wasn't called off.  However, she had to re shed and appropriately she lost alot of points for the grips.

June re-doing the shed - photo by Diane Pagel

 It is only fair that if a dog isn't called off for a grip, they are hit hard enough in their score that they can't win the class. They did get their pen and June ended up with a 75 and was in a 3 way tie for 8th place.

June and Scott at the pen - photo by Diane Pagel

 Scott said he wasn't unhappy with her.  Her run around the course was very good and she didn't lose her temper when she gripped.  She simply thought that it was needed.  Scott will work on her gripping only in the correct places.
Donnie ran well today but drew a rogue ewe.  She really didn't want to play well with the others and kept trying to go off on her own, eventually leading the others with her.  On the fetch, the sheep had been pulling to the same side, for every run, both days.  This ewe, decided to make a switch and skipped over to the other side making all the sheep miss the panels.  Donnie got them back under control but had more problems with her on the third leg of the drive.  When she took off away from the other sheep, it got messy and Don found himself holding her with the other 3 sheep behind him.  He had to turn back to pick them up and then finished his drive, shed and pen.  His final score was a 78 and he was also in a three way tie, this time for 4th place.
Lavon Calzacorta and his Tess handled the sheep properly and won the day with an 85, with Patrick Shannahan doing well again, this time with Riggs, and getting a second place.  Another run worth watching was Norm Close and Blaze, who had a 73 with no pen.  
The good news is that Scott was pleased with both of his dogs.  They both need to review when a grip is needed and when it is not but other than that, they performed well and it paid off with June winning the overall on her first open trial and Don winning the second overall!


Heppner Open Day 2
1. Lavon Calzacorta and Tess 85
2. Patrick Shannahan and Riggs 82
3. Francis Chai and Chime 83
4./5./6. Diane Deal and Zorro 78
            Jo Ferguson and Gage 78
            Scott Glen and Don 78
7. Jim Cooper and Sweep 76
8./9./10. Ruben Cardenas and Vangie 75
              Karen Child and Jim 75
              Scott Glen and June 75


Overall Champion: Scott Glen and June
Reserve Champion: Scott Glen and Don

Heppner 2012

Once again I am left to mind the home fires while Scott attends the Heppner, OR St. Patrick's day trial.  I would love to see this trial some day but we have too many customer dogs here to take on the road yet, and lambing has just finished up.  Scott traditionally goes to this trial and then heads to Washington State to give a clinic and lessons at Fido's Farm.  I have to rely on hearsay  since I've never seen it but I've been told the sheep are always difficult so maybe it's best I stay home and get a little more training under my and my dogs' belts before we start our trial season.
Scott uses this trial as a test to see how his dogs are going to work in a trial situation after a winter at home.  It shows him what he needs to work on, and what is working well.
Don ran fairly early in the day.

Don - photo by Diane Pagel

 He had a good outrun and fetch.  He made all his panels, but Scott said he was a little off on his crossdrive line.  He felt that he should have given Don his sheep a little bit more and relaxed on his control of him.  Don did what he was told but taking command of his sheep wasn't as easy with Scott holding on to him tightly.

Don convincing a ewe to move - photo by Diane Pagel

 He had a good shed

Scott and Don shed two off - Photo by Diane Pagel

 but didn't make his pen.  Scott took some good natured ribbing about not finishing, with several people telling him he should go back and watch his own penning videos! Don ended up with a 74.  Scott knew that with some of the real good handlers still to go, that the run was likely to fall in the standings and shortly after, Patrick Shannahan with Andy laid down an 85 that held through the day to win.  It was pointed out on facebook that there just couldn't have been a more appropriate  person to win on St. Patrick's day.
This was June's first open trial.  I was very nervous about her first walk to the post.

June fetching her sheep - photo by Diane Pagel

 June has often expressed her disagreements with sheep with her teeth and since the Heppner sheep have a reputation, I was worried.  Scott had worked all winter on smoothing her out but she can have sharp, quick movements that upset sheep so I kept my fingers crossed that she would remember her training.  I shouldn't have worried!  She was a very good girl.

June turns her sheep around Scott and the post - photo by Diane Pagel

 Her outrun was good, and her lift wasn't perfect but she got them coming and Scott said she stopped when she should and she moved them when she should.  Her eye never held her back and she was brave with the sheep.

June and Scott pen the sheep - photo by Diane Pagel

 She ended the day with an 80 and was second in the first round earning her first 9 points as an open dog.
Tomorrow they go again.
Many thanks to Diane Pagel for scores and pictures and to Monique who put me out of my misery early on and gave me a June update on facebook!

Heppner St. Patricks Day - Open (52 dogs)
1. Patrick Shannahan and Andy 85
2. Scott Glen and June 80
3. Maggie McClure and Lil 78
4./5. Francis Chai and Loon
       Vickie Close and Gael 77
6./7. Angie Unitz and Butch
       Lavon Calzacorta and Gus 76
8. Scott Glen and Don 74
9. Ray Coapman and Jill 72
10. Diane Pagel and Nan 67

Nan

Scott's  alternate dog is Nan.

Nan

Nan is a quiet, biddable dog who's pedigree might surprise you. Her father, Debbie Bailey's Ben, comes down  a long line of tough dogs, including Dale Montgomery's Huck, Lorne Smith's Hemp (grand father to Scott's Pleat) and, ABCA hall of fame dog, Dodie Green's Soot.  No slouch himself on the trial field, Ben has also been a successful stud dog siring several quality open dogs.

Debbie Bailey's Ben, sire of Nan - photo by Christine Koval

 Her mother, is RC Tomlinson's Dat, out of his good bitch, Penny and Jim "The Bomber" who goes back to Templeton's Roy.
Right now, Nan is a dog without a class. Scott was planning on running her in Nursery classes last year when, 2 months shy of being ready to trial, she broke a bone in her foot.  So she sat out most of her Nursery year.  Scott did throw her in the Fetch Gate Nursery trial last June and on her first run, she came up a star and won it.  However, after that her lack of training showed through and the couple other times he ran her, she was over her head.

Nan holds a single

 There was a possibility of Scott running Nan as his second open dog this year but it was deemed that with her lack of training and experience last year, she should start back at the bottom and work her way up. June will run as his second open dog instead.  Nan will start in the Pro-Novice classes and if she proves herself ready, she will create a dilemma for Scott and force him to choose between her and June in open for next year.

Nan catches a run away ewe

 We are hoping to breed Nan to Scott's Don this summer if we can find someone to whelp out the litter for us while we are on the road.

Looking Ahead

This is the time of year when Scott and I take stock of our previous season of trials, look to make improvements, and plan for the next year:

Scott and Don had a very good year in 2011.

Scott and Don in the National Finals double lift

 He won days at Strang Ranch, Dr. Ben's, Wild Rose, and Bow River.  He was also the reserve champion at the Bluegrass, won the Western Canadian/Canadian Championships, won the first round of Meeker (before gripping out in the semi finals) and  the semi finals at the Nationals. He finished up the Nationals in 4th place with a best shed trophy. His disappointments this year were usually due to a turn back that wasn't quite clean enough so Scott plans to help him along with that this winter.  At 5 years old, Donnie is well seasoned and we have high hopes for him this spring and summer.

Scott also had a nice year with Maid.

Maid fetches sheep in the early morning at the 2011 Bluegrass

She won a day at Heppner and won the overall, she also won a day at Wild Rose and the overall.  At Bow River, she won a day and won the double lift.
Scott decided to sell Maid at the end of the 2011 season and he is now auditioning two young bitches for the roll of Open Dog #2. 

The first dog, June, is one that readers of this blog will be familiar with.

June on the third leg of the drive at the Bow River Classic

 June is a daughter of Don's out of his first litter.  Last year, Scott ran her in the nursery classes.  June won days at Dr. Ben's, Wild Rose, and the overall Nursery at Bow River.  At the Canadian Nursery Championships, she had the win within her grasp after placing 2nd on the first day and laying down a good run on the second day but gripped out at the pen.  Fortunately, Scott still took home the trophy with Cy Peterson's Reba.  June again lost her temper at the USBCHA finals and gripped off on the fetch with the difficult sheep.  Needless to say, Scott has been spending the winter smoothing her out and settling her tension before he runs her in open this year.  So far, he is happy with the results and, this week anyway, June is forging to the lead.

Scott's second, second dog is Nan.

Nan

  Nan is out of Debbie Bailey's Ben and RC Tomlinson's Dat.  Nan broke her foot in the spring of last year and didn't get her training finished in time for very many nursery trials.  She did win a day at the Fetch Gate Nursery trial but was over her head at Wild Rose and Bow river.  Scott has been spending the winter catching up on her training and giving her some experience.  She is a smoother dog than June with alot of patience.  Add to that the fact that sheep like her and you can see why Scott is having a hard time choosing.  June with power and bravery, or Nan with a cool head and a way with sheep?  He changes his mind from week to week and I don't think there is any predicting which one he will pick. 

I'm excited about Scott's nursery dogs this year.  They are still developing and are a long way from trialing at this point in the winter but they are showing alot of promise.  I will write more detailed entries on them later but his two main dogs look like they will be Diane Pagel's Imp. Wynn (Bobby Dalziel's Joe x Angie Driscoll's Meg) and Scott's Alta-Pete Tick (Scott's Don x Maid).

Last year I had been hoping that my Hemp dog would be my number one.

Hemp turns the post at the 2011 Canadian Championship double lift -photo by Kristi Oikawa

 Although, Hemp is a great work dog, we tend to fight each other on the trial field.  It's mostly my fault because of the amount of emotion I throw at him in a trial.  We started rough last spring but things started to settle and work out for us as the season went on.  He surprised me by placing 6th at Dr. Ben's and missed the finals at the Calgary Stampede by only 0.12 seconds.  He again surprised me by placing 6th at Bow River but started his habit of doing well enough the first day to make me think we had a chance at a double lift, but then fighting me on the second day and doing nothing good.  He apparently likes that 6th place slot (I'll take it!) because he was again 6th on the first day of the Canadian Championships and although we struggled on the second day, we made the double lift. Even though we didn't finish the shed, our  method was losing us no points. We just have to learn how to get those last 3 sheep off!  This winter has been more about changing my style of handling with Hemp rather than changing him.  We continue to work on his pen flanks and practice the International shed, and I am trying to keep his head cool with my handling.  He is still my favorite work dog but has been dropped to second place in line for my trial dogs.

First for me, as always, is Laddie.

Lad's International shed at the Soldier Hollow Classic - photo by Louanne Twa

 He was 7th one day at Strang Ranch, 3rd at Dr. Bens, 10th at Wild Rose, 6th at Bow River, and 5th at Shaunavon. He really raised my hopes at the Canadians when he placed 4th on the first day but when he couldn't find the sheep on his second day I was very depressed. Lad is never a sure thing on an outrun even if he's picked them up in the very same place the day before. He redeemed himself at Soldier Hollow, where I had never been able to do anything good before, when he placed second on one of the days and made the double lift.  Laddie did qualify for the National finals but didn't do anything when he was there.  Fortunately for me, the on line broadcast was sold as a dvd and I was able to go over my run with Scott.  Turns out, even though Laddie isn't a world beater, there is still room for improvement if I change some of the way I handle him.  It was evident that I was forcing him on and never giving the sheep a chance to line out.  Obviously, I have more handling changes to work on this winter.

I'm looking forward to debuting my nursery dog this spring.  Ford is a son of Tom Forrester's Pete and Norma Stewart's Lena.  This cross has been very successful for Lori Cunningham and her Matt dog and I had hoped to get one just like him.  Ford is similar to Matt, and shares his cool head but time will tell if he has anymore of Matt's abilities.  So far I am enjoying training him and this year is just a practice year for us.  He will only be 17 months old at the Bluegrass so my plans (and I BETTER stick with them) are to be willing to step away from the post when and if he has trouble. It is important not to push such a young dog but to keep his trial experience positive to make a better and seasoned dog for next year's nurseries.

What trials we will start this year with is still up in the air.  Other than the Bluegrass, and Dr. Ben's North Carolina trial we are still trying to figure that out.  We are hoping there will be one or two more at the beginning of May that we can get to.  In the mean time, we continue training and keep our eyes on the prize - The National Finals. (link)

On Line Sheepdog Training Lessons

There is a new concept in sheepdog training coming down the pike. Lora Withnell was sitting around one winter craving more. More dog time, more sheep time, more clinician time. But the rain, snow, lack of daylight, was keeping her from getting it done. She came up with a novel idea. Why not have clinics on line? So she went to her buddy Geri Byrne and the two of them came up with Little Horse Mountain Productions' Sheep Dog Training Courses.
Instructors have been lined up to do weekly lessons and answer questions from the viewers. Starting at the top, Lora and Geri have picked their first instructor to be Alasdair MacRae. Alasdair has pre filmed several courses for you to learn from. After Alasdair, we are honored to say that Little Horse Mountain Productions picked Scott! We are still in the planning stages for Scott's lessons so if you have a burning issue, feel free to send me an email at jennyglen@altapetestockdogs.com and we'll see if it will fit into the curriculum. These courses are not designed to replace lessons or clinics because every dog is different and there is no substitute for one on one help. Lora's dream was to provide more information to those who eat, sleep and breathe sheepherding. Especially in the restrictive winters.
I hope we'll get to interact with many new people when Scott's lessons begin!

Best Shed Trophy - Addendum

I wrote in my last post that Scott had won the best shed trophy more times than anyone else. I was wrong. As I was placing the cup on our shelf for the year, I noticed that Alasdair MacRae had also won it four times. Does that surprise anyone? He won it twice with the great Nan, and twice with Star.
I remember talking to Alasdair in 2004, the year Scott won the Nationals, about the upcoming double lift. He told me that Star couldn't win it because she was too hot mentally and she would tire herself out before she could finish the shed. It turned out that no one got the shed that year and Scott won it based on the best outwork. However, it is a testament to Alasdair's handling and training that he was able to bring out her best work later on and win that best shed trophy twice. Happy retirement, Star.