Making New Friends Along The Way

I haven't run the Craigslist add for a while but out of the blue just before we moved I got a call from a gentleman that lives in Westminster, MD who not only has sheep but also has a couple of Aussies. He was really excited to find someone else with an Aussie who was interested in working stock. His younger dog is a cute black tri Crown Point bitch and he owns a small flock of Katahdin sheep. We chatted for a while about his goals with Storm, his set up, the sheep, and what not. Again luck was with me, because as it happens his farm is on the way to agility classes. We agreed that I would come over on Tuesday evenings before class to work and any weekends we both had free. Jeff has a nice little farm and some good sheep so I think that this is going to work out well for both of us. 

On our first visit I watched him work Storm first just to get an idea of where they are. Storm is a very keen dog but she is as many young Aussies, fast and close working. Jeff is also where we all have been in that things are going along so quickly it feels a bit like a circus with sheep and dogs circling the person :-). Storm's response to all of the pressure of sheep and person being so close and no one moving is to grip. She is not nasty though so I think once she sees that she can go slower and things will move then it will all come together. I did work her once myself on that first visit and it was a nice compliment to the fact that my own timing has improved since I first started out with Diva. I found that if pressure was applied and released appropriately she widened out nicely and even started stopping at balance and walking straight in. The big thing here is I want to help Jeff make progress but I don't want to come across as a trainer, because I am not. So what I think (and hope) will happen is that Jeff and I can have a nice friendship where we each get something from working together and watching the other work. The last time I was out to visit we discussed where he could add some hold pens/obstacles and using Diva to help with some necessary chores as well as separating off of some of the older lambs and starting to dog break some more sheep. Jeff is also planning on getting some ducks soon and his neighbor has a field full of nice Angus cows ;-). 


So how did Diva do on her first visit to a new place with new sheep? She did great! Her driving is really coming along and I am adding some finesse to her flanks and outruns. I have been working very hard and getting her to hold pressure on the sheep and it is paying off. I think that we have reached a nice zen between us and I am very much looking forward to testing our skills in the upcoming trials in June. It's time to start adding some titles to the end of her name ;-).