When Diva I and I first went out into the pasture with the girls I had her on leash. It always hard when you are in a new place and with unbroke stock and even more so when the owners are standing there watching you to see how it goes ;). I had been told that a couple of the older cows in this group had once been worked by a dog but it had been years so my plan was to play it cautious and just feel things out. When Diva and I approached most of the cows moved off easily but there was one all black cow that turned and held her ground. Diva barked and as we walked up on her she backed up but it took her a while to turn away. As soon as she did I pulled diva back and we let them walk off. My hope was to reward the cows for moving and teach her the dog would release. We spent about 15 minutes of doing this and the cows were working great. The owners were satisfied that Diva and I weren't going to hurt anyone and they went back to the house.
I decide to take Diva off her leash (safer that way) and just keep moving them around nice and easy. Diva was feeling pretty pumped since she hadn't seen cows in a couple of months so she went out ahead and started pushing. I learned a very important lesson in that moment about ear cows and their intelligence because that black cow noticed I was no longer close to the dog and she turned to Diva and gave chase. Diva barked and tried to hold but the cow didn't stop and Diva made a break back for me. I of course did what need to be done to salvage Diva's confidence. I went running towards the cows and turned her so that Diva could chase her back to the group. Everything needs to be a win for the dog if you want them to stay confident and what Diva needed at that moment was for me to have her back. She never got hurt but something passed between her and that cow that gave her cause to hesitate. We worked a little bit longer because I wanted to end on a good note but I made sure to stay closer and get in there before the cow came forward. It wasn't the best of things to have happen but we worked through it.
Day 2 showed me that any hope that cow would reform over night and become a model citizen were wishful thinking ;). She had decide that Diva didn't have what it took to make her move and so the entire session was one of me having to get up there and make things positive for the dog and uncomfortable for the cow. I think when I left that day I was being to hard on Diva. My expectations of having a dog that would blaze in there and take charge were not helping and I was looking for something in Diva that she wasn't prepared to give. I took a small video that day to show the interaction between Diva and the cow. In truth Diva was doing an ok job.
The third time we went out to work Kelly was able to join me for a few minutes with Raven. I took Diva out on leash to watch Raven in hopes she would pick up on what was needed and get a little motivated. My other hope was that Raven would set that cow straight and I wouldn't have issues with her turning on Diva. Lesson #2: Ear cattle are smart and she was smart enough to know that Diva is not Raven ;). Raven of course had no issue. The cow turned, Raven hit, the cow decided that wasn't what she had in mind and then moved on. Watching Raven work is a thing of beauty for me. I could watch her all day long. Even when she is being naughty she is just so talented it makes me smile. Diva has a similar appreciation for Raven I think. She was certainly excited watching her work so I decided to let her off and see what happened. She was happy to go where Raven went and I think if Kelly had had more time that day we could have used that to our advantage. Without Raven she still was not willing to get very far from me or to go to the heads. I worked for a little while after Kelly left and made sure to end on a good note.
Day four was 2 days after our time out with Kelly and Raven. The difference in her confidence level was pretty obvious and we got a lot accomplished. Diva was able to hold some pressure and push forward to turn our nemesis cow and she was doing this at a pretty good distance from me. I have to smile at her as she uses her bark to make her point. She even does it with the stiff legged pounce and fluffs her hackles a little. Whatever it takes to make her feel confident! I put together a video of that session. You'll have to excuse my handler mistakes. I started to say a few things and then changed my mind. Mostly because she was pushing and going with the motion and I didn't want to stop her while she was feeling good. As her confidence grows we will gradually tighten down the rules. For now I am pleased to see that she is eager to keep working and having enough fun to blow me off.
When you don't own your livestock and lessons are few and far between it can be hard to make progress. I think this is something that everyone who gets into herding has to deal with. For some it eventually leads to a lifestyle change. Perhaps buying a new home, renting property, buying livestock, or just carving out more time in an already full schedule to get to lessons. For me most of those are not possible so I had to think outside of the box.
I know I have mentioned before what a great situation I have for renting sheep. It's close to home (11 miles), reasonably priced, kids friendly, and there is also an agility building there available for use. Without those sheep and the generosity of their owner Diva and I would not be where we are today. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate that! Unfortunately what I learned though is that all types of stock are not created equal and what you train on sheep may not be there on cows or ducks. I decided I needed a way to connect with people who owned livestock and pursue more variety in our training. My solution was to run an ad on Craigslist. I know that once again I was probably causing the heads to shake of many an experienced stock person but I didn't care. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. My thought was that at least if they contacted me they were open to the idea. I don't do well with rejection so this was much easier on my ego ;).
As it turns out not only was I successful on that first ad but I have been successful several times since. Some of the offers I turned away because they weren't a good fit (safety first!) and others worked for a period of time and then faded away. Each of these opportunities has taught me so many things. Most of the time the stock I have been offered use of are not dog broke so to make this work you have to be comfortable around livestock, confident in your dog, and objective about your skills. I tend to be the type that likes a challenge and Diva doesn't stress to hard in new situations so it works for us. I would love to one day own my own farm and have sheep and cows at home but I also believe that in doing what I do with Diva she and I are going to be well prepared for trialing and handling any kind of stock we might encounter.
This brings us to my latest find. I ran an ad a couple of weeks ago and got a response from a gentleman who has 6 cows on a farm only 6 miles from my house. He admits that the "girls" are only kept around to keep the property taxes low and so he doesn't mind me doing what I would like with them. They are mixed group of Brahma/beef crosses pastured in 2 lovely 4 acre fields. Sound to good to be true? Well, it is true and the best part of it is that he isn't charging me a thing! Shortly after I got that response I received another from a gentleman with a small flock of wool sheep and 200 head of dairy replacement heifers. We are planning on meeting up in a few weeks :). It's moments like these when I know that where there is a will there is usually a way!
These are the "girls". The one to watch for is the all black cow on the left. She is proving to be a pretty big challenge but we are making progress.
I've been thinking a lot lately about the old adage "You always ruin your first *insert whatever here*." and how it applies to performance dogs. Certainly some performance sports are more forgiving of rookie mistakes but what of the ones where a green handler training a green dog can lead to permanent behaviors? I think we can all agree that some dogs are more forgiving of mistakes than others and the word "ruined" is very much subjective too. Do you define ruined as getting injured, no longer willing to try the work, or maybe ruined is a dog that does the job but without the natural flair it once had?
I tend to be the type of person who likes to gather information and then take it and find my own way. I know this isn't every one's cup of tea and along this journey I am sure I have gotten my fair share of whispers and rolled eyes. I used to be bothered by these judgments but what I have learned since I got involved in performance is that not everyone that tries things on their own ends up being successful. It's no wonder the "old timers" shook their heads when I took my puppy and rented sheep time :). I will be honest, in the beginning it never even occurred to me that Diva and I would fail because I am a problem solver. If one way didn't work I was going to try another and another until it did. Of course now, with some mileage behind me, I can see just how much Diva played a role in this success. Had she had less drive or biddability things could have gone differently. Had she been less honest and more intense things could have gone very bad! I have been very fortunate to have her to learn with.
So have I ruined Diva? I personally don't think so. We may have gotten from point A to point B faster if she wasn't my first performance dog, but our journey isn't over yet. I used think that the things I did with Diva were for her education but, since I have had the opportunity to start another puppy on stock, I can clearly see that Diva has given me an equal amount of lessons. To be a "first" dog is a special thing!
This is going to be a short entry because mainly I want to share 2 videos from our work on Tuesday.
The first is a clip of Diva going out on an outrun to collect our sheep. She doesn't not have a pretty pear shaped outrun but she is effective and I love how she flipped back around and picked up the old ewe who had been laying on the fence away from the flock. I didn't have to say a word and she showed off her very nice sense of group. This should be a lesson to me that when the sheep split I need to keep my mouth closed and let her do her thing, she knows what she is doing ;).
The 2nd video is of us driving the sheep down from the top of the large field to the smaller working fields. A few weeks ago I posted a similar driving video and I think it is obvious that she has made progress. For one thing she actually drove down the entire field in one continuous action and she did it while having to deal with distraction (for her at least). I had my children with me and they are down by the black truck in the background. Diva takes watching her kids as a serious job so every time they would laugh or yell she would look that way and pause.
About two weeks ago I started to notice that Diva wasn't moving as easily as she usually does. Nothing serious, but a hitch every now again which is enough to clue me in that it's time for her to visit the chiropractor for an adjustment. Diva isn't the most stoic of Aussies but I have learned to appreciate that about her when it comes to performance. She will almost always give me signs to let me know she isn't right and this prevents me from pushing her someplace her body can't go at that moment. The heart of an Aussie often sees them working through immense pain and discomfort and sometimes this can lead to permanent injuries and expensive vet bills. Unfortunately it usually takes about a week and half to two weeks to get an appointment with Diva's chiro.
On Tuesday when I went out to work sheep with friends I really noticed that Diva had an obvious limp after doing some ball chasing with her herding buddies. In light of that I decided to not work her yesterday and started giving Traumeel. My poor girl was hurting enough that when she got up from laying down she wouldn't stretch :(. So this morning I made the long trip across the Bay Bridge to get Diva adjusted and it was not a minute to soon. Her entire pelvis and sacrum were locked up together so that she had very little movement in her back. 2 ribs were also out of place along with her sternum and some odds and ends in her neck! What a mess! You could tell by the serious look on her face during the adjustment that she needed this and immediately after she shook, licked her lips, and sighed. The remainder of today is one of rest and more Traumeel but I can already see the difference in her expression and movement.
There is a lesson here. Though I know that not everyone believes in or has the resources to have their dogs regularly adjusted by a chiropractor we should always keep in mind that we ask these dogs for a lot and that just as with human athletes they need certain maintenance to remain in their best form. Knowing your dog and reading the subtle signs is a valuable skill with a breed like the Australian Shepherd. Most of the Aussies I know work hard, play hard, and have the heart to back it up. As I said above, just be careful you don't ask the body to go where it can't at that moment.
Good news for Diva though! She is ready to get back to work tomorrow and we have an agility trial in 2 weeks. Time to get going on those open titles and start accruing ATCH points in jumpers :).
In the stock dog world appropriate and deliberate gripping is a much coveted thing. To further add, a natural inclination to hit low on the heels or at the nose of the stock is a thing of beauty to watch. The timing, body posture, and speed is impressive. I have the good fortune of knowing a dog that does both well (among other things :)) and because of this I have at time been disappointed in Diva through no real fault of her own.
Diva did not come with a natural inclination to bite. Even as a young dog she has always been very kind to her stock and I can't ever remember needing to correct her for taking a cheap shot. Given that she is my first stock dog this was probably a blessing but now that we are farther along in our training and working cows I find that there are times when I want her to bite. So where I find myself is in a position of having to train in what wasn't bred in. Can I do this? I think so. Diva is biddable and she likes to work her stock. I doubt that her bite will ever be as natural looking as a dog doing it purely from instinct but I will feel better knowing that she has it if she gets in somewhere tight and needs more than just her bark.
So how does one go about training a dog to bite appropriately? I am sure there are many techniques and if I had my own stock to work with it would probably go a lot faster ;). Not to many people are willing to volunteer their sheep for bite training purposes because of obvious reasons! No one wants to sour a nice sheep and if it's a sheep that has some fight you probably don't want to put your green dog in there until they are more comfortable. Big dilemma. I started my game plan by doing an initial assessment of Diva's strengths and weaknesses and when I put it all together I decided that Diva lacked confidence in holding pressure and therefore she was never going to go in and bite. I made up some dry exercises for at home to try and condition a bite response to "get a hold" and I also worked on getting a solid "watch it". For on stock work I visited a friends farm where we used her experienced dog and a chute to give Diva and idea. I have to admit those first sessions were a mess and I was pretty dishearten. Diva could not stand and look at the stock while they were stuffed in a corner. She would fidget, she would whine (loudly), and she would break her stay and try to avoid. This was not how I had imagined it in my dreams. Patience and hard work do pay off though and Diva eventually made some progress in learning to hold pressure. I learned that sometimes the greatest lessons about stock control have nothing to do with motion at all. I continued to work on pressure exercises and Diva continued to improve. She still doesn't hold pressure really well on cattle, instead preferring to bark for power, but on sheep she has made progress.
2 weeks ago while working on the free standing pen in the large field Diva made me tears come to my eyes. I know it sounds silly but from a training perspective it was one of my proudest moments. I had her pen the sheep and then I sent her in the pen to get around them. Out of the blue one of the ewes put her head down and stomped and Diva locked eyes with her. I said nothing just waiting to see where it would go and low and behold Diva bit the ewe on the nose, turned her, and pushed the sheep out of the pen! She has since hit one other time on the same in ewe in the same pen. It's not much to some people but for me it is 6 months of work and a milestone that I won't soon forget.
It's no big secret that I have been on the hunt for my next puppy. Diva needs a playmate and my plans for her are coming together. She turned 4 at the end of January and I have my eye on MVA 2013. It would be nice to have an up and coming young dog but I have to say that although I enjoyed that sense of accomplishment with Diva I will be looking for a pup that comes with a natural inclination to hit heads and heels.
There has been some active discussion on FB about pen work. Questions about what you do, how, when, ect. Where Diva and I work regularly there isn't much in the way of small pens so I have to make do with what is there. In the large field there is one free standing pen and then there is the small pen that is home to the shelter for the sheep. It certainly isn't tight (unless you have the whole flock in there) but it does present it's own training opportunities with the dog having to go around the shelter at times and trust taking your commands. I don't work in this pen very often but periodically I like to take Diva in and work on staying quiet, moving the sheep about, and baby inside flanks.
The videos below are a series taken yesterday of Diva and I doing some of those exercises. I didn't edit so what you see is all of what happened during each clip. There were a few times when I had to step forward and help her but over all I like how she handles working around the shelter.
In this clip she is supposed to be driving them back up into the shelter but she makes a little mess and I end up sending her around to regroup. The very old ewe that isn't all that impressed by Diva hangs back and you can see how she bounces away from the pressure. That is still a work in progress for her and I suspect getting her to stand and hold pressure will always be a weak point.
