From There To Here: May 2014

Nothing more fun than getting together with a bunch of friends for a girl's day of working dogs. Yesterday Jess and I drove out to Berryville, VA to meet up with Heather, Rae, and Nancy at Keepstone farm. My goal this year is to get Diva's AHBA championship and if possible I would like to do it entirely on cattle and RLF (Ranch Large Flock). Why, you might ask? Well it's simply a personal preference because as I get farther along in my herding journey I am putting more stock in cattle work and ranch/farm based trials. I don't think less of the other classes, or types of stock, but my own goal is to use Diva in ways that most closely stick to what the original Australian Shepherd was bred for. Our first AHBA trial is in early June and it is a cattle only trial in NY. We have only worked cattle once in the last 6 months and that was when I was still on crutches in February. The other exciting event was that Myst was finally old enough to get her first exposure to cattle!

Diva and I started with a group of beef calves that were very light. There was one in the group that was quick to make a break for the draw and while he tried a couple of times Diva did an excellent job of turning him back and putting the group together. What impressed me the most though was how quickly Diva was able to establish calm control and her patience. The calves went from tail up and flighty to allowing Diva to work relatively close while they walked along. I sometimes forget that Diva really has something special when it comes to young stock in my quest to make her this "bad ass" working dog and this is a disservice to her. Fortunately I was smart yesterday and remembered to praise as she was working and make a huge deal out of her when we were finished. A little praise in the middle of a work session goes a long way and Diva knew she was making me happy which resulted in a very happy Aussie. Win/win, I think so :-). Jess got some good pictures so I will share them with you.

If you have been following this blog along then you already know about Myst and how well she has been doing on sheep for her age and limited exposure. Normally we only work her at Hog Dog but for any puppy to continue their stock education they must gain experience at a variety of farms. Myst is still as keen as ever and the 3 lambs sorted off weren't as knee knocker as she and Jess have been working. It was entertaining for me to see Jess getting flustered but I am 100% sure it wasn't amusing to her ;-). We have all been there though with the speedy pup and the sheep that just don't want to settle enough for you to get a handle on things. It's all about good timing and Jessica will get it eventually. For only being her second time working away from home and second time working in anything other than a round pen she was a good girl. Fast, but good ;-).

We also took the opportunity to give Myst her first off leash exposure to cattle. There was one beef group that was pretty easy going so at first I had Jess just walking Myst around behind the cattle on leash and letting her get the idea. It's always a little scary to let them loose for that first time, especially when they are very keen and you know that a kick is likely at some point. I cautioned Jess that no matter what happened once Myst was in close to not say anything to her because that can distract them and get them really hurt. My expectations were just to have her check them out and push them around with out any commands. As long as she wasn't doing anything that was dangerous the idea was to just give her the opportunity to move them and start learning on her own. I know that the methods for starting pups on cattle varies widely but I am not a fan of using a line unless the dog really needs it for safety reasons. I suppose that there are probably just as many people out there who think turning a young dog loose is crazy too ;-). Myst did pretty much exactly what I figured she would do, straight to the heads and wanting to check these things out. Jess and I said nothing and she got in a little close which earned her a glancing kick to the head. It was not a hard kick (glad I picked the group I did :-)) and she ducked which made it barely graze her...no yelp, no running away. She went straight back at it and got the cattle moving. So what I got from watching her move these cows around was that she is very brave, very interested, not the best sense of group (she likes the break aways though, lol), no problems taking the cattle far away from the humans, and wants to go to the heads. Towards the end she was getting out a little bit and starting to work with me rather than just getting caught up in the motion. I was very pleased for her first time! The next time I put her on cattle we will head up to PA so that I get her in a smaller area and start helping her push from behind. Perhaps we will also give her a chance to meet ducks ;-).

Myst was pulling Jessica to the cattle from the get go, no fear!