Jim (10 m/o) - First time on cattle
Decided to put Jim the client dog on cattle for the first time today and to say he blew away my expectations would be an understatement. Look at his calm but confident forward, his feel and thoughtfulness and even his first heel bite. Impressed by this dog đ
Hendrix ran at Kingston again today and I was happy with his work. He scored 77 despite some handler error at the post and some wobbling on the cross drive. Had a really quick and fast pen and a solid shed.
His combined score is now 145 after two runs which is well above the highest weâve ever scored at Kingston (in previous years we made the double lift with scores between 119-136), but scores on average have been noticeably higher this year. Still some runs to go but I suspect we will be just a few points shy of making the finals this time around. Weâll see though.
In other news⊠We just got home to find new goats at the farm. Theyâre not used to people or dogs and so when I went to go look at them they took off over their electro net enclosure and had to be fetched back.
So Hendrix got the call to help bring them back home. It took some figuring out to move them. They will have plenty of grass and weeds to get on their feet and fatten up a bit and in time once theyâre a bit better off should learn to move off a dog easier.
Iâm a Beardie believer after seeing how this young Beardie/border collie cross pup showed so much in her first venture into a bigger area this past weekend.
These were some of her very first moments in a field of this size and she was keen and excited but also pretty damn cool. Bright future ahead for this dog I think.
Jim - July 23, 2024
Some nice work from client dog Jim (~8 months old) who is a goofy pup off of stock but is thoughtful and very intuitive when on the job.
Last month Hendrix was the Reserve Champion at the Ranch Masters Classic near Cardston, Alberta.
With two ~900+ yard outruns, this is one of the toughest double lift courses you can find anywhere.
Just finding the sheep was a huge challenge for the dogs that made it to the finals so dogs needed to have a lot of fitness and heart to scoure the huge course and hills to get on their stock.
We didn't get the shed done before timing out (none of the finalists did), but if the trial happens again in the future there will be a longer time limit to better factor in how huge the course is.
Singling practice with Hendrix
Jet came here for training a few months ago as a nervous and fearful young female. She was sent by two good samaritans who rescued her from trainers who used a shock collar on her⊠and who knows what else. When they first got her from that environment, apparently you could hardly touch her or get close to her because she was so anxious and traumatized.
At first she would only work in bursts of speed and aggression and would switch off her mind, dive in and bite any time she encountered pressure â likely because she had been shocked so often by someone who clearly had no idea what they were doing.
Fast forward to this month and Jet has come a long, long way. Yes it has taken a lot of work, and that road is far from finished, but sheâs a different dog and continuing to change. She is the most affectionate and sweet little border collie Iâve met and lives to be close to folks and loved by them. On stock, she is still far from perfect but given her rough start can at least now be trusted to be around sheep, sent into corners and even sent at distance â something that was impossible before. Sheâs not vibrating between worry, anxiety and aggression (because of trauma) anymore. Sheâs starting to feel safe enough to actually think when working stock vs just operating out of a place of constant fear and tension.
And Iâm happy to report that sheâs also been sold to a working home that will be able to give her the affection and purpose she definitely wants. It wasnât the plan when she was rescued and sent here for training but in addition to growing and recovering in her time here, Jet also has made an impression on her new parents that won her a new forever family. To the credit of those who originally rescued her, they took a chance on her being able to come back from the brink with no expectation of reward and yet here we are.
Jet is now in her second year of life but in a lot of ways sheâs just getting started. She wonât be winning any trial
Short run for us today! đ„
Sent Hendrix into a tight space to stop a ewe running off early in our run when I should have let her go and recollected the group after. Poor guy had to solve a tough situation that didnât need to exist â though he did the right thing given what I handed him.
Handler error!
Hendrixâs round 1 run today at the 2024 Calgary Stampede.
The sheep this year are particularly fantastic in that they almost all demand perfection from dog and handler. If you give it to them, theyâre as good as you could hope for. But they will call you out on mistakes at the drop of a hat and make you pay as well.
In this run Hendrix worked as good and better than I could ask, but some minor handler mistakes at the chute led to a lot of time lost there. Bit too slow on my part to hit the exact spot our set wanted to go through it.
But weâre sitting decent heading into round 2 and Iâll dig a little deeper to hold up my end a bit more tomorrow.
Lennon - July 3
I try to alternate cattle and sheep work, as well practical and trial prep, as much as possible with this dog.
Just like I did with Hendrix.
Some folks Iâve met donât get why I do that, or why I specifically seek out puppies that are, to put it mildly, a lot.
Especially because it definitely makes it trickier sometimes to get success with a young dog, in sheep field trials in particular, at the start.
But personally, Iâm not half as impressed by a dog that wins some nursery trials at 2 years old on one type of stock as I am by one that can be a competitive threat on most days, on both types of stock, at the highest level trials, at 4,5,6 and beyond. Then go and put in hard, long days of work moving tough pairs or a mixed flock in close or at range.
In my opinion thereâs plenty of the first kind of dog, but I know only a select few in Canada and the US who are the second kind.
So to each their own but, for me personally, Iâd rather die trying to build the latter than settle for anything less.
(Video of Lennon who just turned 2 working sheep from this afternoon on home ground. Far from perfect but better than last week, and better than the weeks before that)
Jim - July 1
Todayâs session with client dog Jim who will be 10 months old next week.
Lennon - June 27
Lennon turns 2 years old today(June 29).
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Look at how, with just a single âcome byâ to start his outrun, he handles himself to solve this tricky situation.
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A metal panel had fallen down next to some barrels and one of our cattle had snuck into the corner to eat hay. Without skipping a beat Lennon wedged himself under the fallen panel and into the tight corner to dig it out without a trace of tension, doubt or emotion.
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This dog is the real deal and heâs just getting started.
Took young Jet the client dog to try out cattle yesterday.
Not gonna lie itâs pretty fun moving cattle around with a little dog that maybe weighs 22lbs on her best day đ
Lennon - June 27
Working on his whistles.
Heâll turn 2 in 2 days.
Lennon driving some pairs - June 2024
Lennon - June 18
Confidence đ
Jim Day 1 - ~9 months old
Jim is a young dog I just started training today. He only knew lie down but heâs very steady with stock and heâs starting to pick up âthatâll doâ and walk up.
Couldnât be prouder of Hendrix today in Open 2 of the Ranch Masters Classic.
To describe how much heart he showed I think would be impossible.
His 1000y+ outrun, lift and fetch were pretty darn solid on a day where an unusual east wind (for this area) right in handlers faces was playing havoc and making it often impossible for dogs to hear at much distance.
He couldnât hear me at the distant drive away panels but we stayed in it and timed out in the shedding ring.
If not for the wind with the way he was working we might have had a sizzler score on our hands but heâll be reserve overall aggregate champion between yesterday and today and will run in the Double Lift tomorrow for a shot at the top prize.
Good boy Hendrix â€ïž
Sorting Calves - Lennon June 5
Lennon helping me sort calves from their moms and load them onto a trailer so they can be reunited on some fresh pasture.
A hard job in tight that isnât for the faint of heart.
Lennon isnât 2 years old yet but Iâm very proud of the dog heâs become. He has a big motor and a bigger heart, and while training a dog as pushy as him wasnât for the faint of heart⊠the upside is you can take him to do a new job (like pushing a herd of pairs) and within a few minutes he knows the job, has the mind to do it and you donât even have to say anything to him.
