Is It Spring Yet?

   I think I can safely say that pretty much everyone I know is so over this winter and ready for spring. Unfortunately Mother Nature just keeps dishing out the winter weather. Lucky for me I managed to get in a little sheep time this past Sunday morning when we had a brief reprieve from the snow and the bitter cold. I have been anxious to get out and start tuning up Diva for the spring/summer trials which are fast approaching and I also wanted to get Myst on sheep again to see how she is doing maturity wise. 

   It actually worked out well to have Jessica along because my ankle is not yet up for a long hike up the big pasture to retrieve sheep. It was however the perfect opportunity to send a green handler with an experienced dog out to do a nice easy large field fetch ;-). Call me cheesy, but as I watched Diva and Jessica head off over the hill and out of sight I couldn't help but feel a little proud. You see, Jessica used to come out and watch me work sheep at Hog Dog way back when Diva was just a pup and I was finding my way. So as they disappeared from view I held my breath and waited to see if they would find success, which of course they did :-). Jessica was surrounded by sheep and Diva was being a tad to pushy, but down the field they came and they both looked pleased with themselves. It is interesting to see what your dog does when working with another person and even better when it is a novice handler that doesn't micro manage. Diva was pushy but she was also covering and watching her heads really well. I admit I am guilty at times of expecting her to just fall in behind and wear quietly because that makes a "pretty" picture. Between having a few months off and Jessica not giving her any commands what I saw was a much more raw version of Diva. It gave me an idea. I have an opportunity to let Diva do more and give her back some of the freedom I took away when I didn't know better. My ankle doesn't allow me freedom of movement and so I am going to be forced to help her less. Ultimately I think this is a good thing!

    Which brings us to the part where I talk about working Myst. The last time she was on sheep I wasn't able to go in so Rae graciously stepped up and offered to help Jessica. Myst was wound up and acted very much like a 6 month old puppy. Knowing how hard headed and tenacious Myst is I knew that it was probably going to take a come to Jesus moment to get her thinking and that doing so would not turn her off. I don't want anyone to think I go around beating puppies, because I don't, but a well timed correction can do wonders ;-). We had sorted 3 nice sheep into the round pen that were smart enough to stay close but not so dead broke that they wouldn't split or move off in a drive. Myst of course made a straight line for the sheep and was fast and tight but she wasn't trying to grip so I concentrated on giving her some where to move them and changing direction. When it was obvious she was just getting herself more amped up I stepped in and caught her with the stick just enough to get her attention and that was pretty much all it took. You could see her slow down both in mind and body and she never missed a beat as far as staying on contact with the sheep. From there the work we got out of her was just lovely. Nice changes of direction, wearing, still wanting to control the heads, but also listening and reading her sheep. She is tighter on the go bye side and doesn't push out as well as she does going away, but for 7 months old and only her 4th time on sheep I was extremely happy. She proved she was ready to take some pressure and that she wouldn't wilt when corrected. For her second time in the pen I started her out but then turned things over to Jessica while I watched from the fence. Like most green handlers Jessica's timing was off but Myst stayed honest and they did some nice fetching around the round pen complete with a couple of downs. I was happy, Jessica was happy, and Myst was tired. Sounds like a perfect day! We will continue to get out now, hopefully at least once a week, and see how she does.

    Diva's work sessions with me consisted mostly of doing outruns and trying to get her more round on the go by side. She was doing nice inside flanks and driving the sheep to set them up for the outruns but her habit of looking back at me is still there. A sure sign I talk to much ;-).  I didn't ask for anything to difficult and we didn't work that long. I ended the session doing a little exercise at the free standing pen but found I was giving to many commands and getting frustrated with her lack of precision on the flanks. Hardly fair when she hasn't worked in a long time so as they say, a smart woman knows when to quit ;-). I gave her something to be successful doing, praised profusely, and we went home. Diva celebrated with a raw bone and I with an ice pack for my ankle.