Breaking Cow/Calf Pairs

Enya doing a nice job of moving everyone quietly

Doesn't this look so silly with the calves next to the Holstein?

Enya holding her pressure and waiting for the calf to turn with it's mother.

Diva hasn't seen many outdoor kitties. She really wanted to make friends with this guy but he wasn't all that impressed, lol. Her mind was totally blown later in the day when he ran up a tree and she couldn't see where he had gone. 

Diva driving them nicely before she stirred the pot

    Sometimes it seems like the universe is conspiring against you, or at least that is how it felt this past weekend when Scott, the kids, and I tried to go to NY for Memorial Day. What started out as a celebration of having my truck back quickly turned into a long day that ended with my truck on a tow truck and us right back where we started. To add insult to injury my FIL's truck caught on fire and burned beyond saving on 495 as he was heading home from helping us. The Hyon family is no stranger to adversity though so we rallied the next day, loaded the Volvo wagon, and finally made it to Gram's.

  My Mom's 3 adult ewes all had there lambs, 5 total, so I was excited to get up there and see them. Sheep are far from my favorite farm animal but I must admit that baby sheep are adorable and wildly entertaining with their antics. It was nothing for me to sit around by the barn and snap a few hundred photos. Mom is up to 16 sheep for now, so this fall she will have 6 mature ewes to breed. Next spring should bring even more lamb chaos, lol!

    My plans while in NY were very limited as we were only staying for a long weekend and ended up being shorted a day due to vehicle troubles. Dawn and I agreed that Sunday morning would work out best for both of us so I met her at her place anticipating we would work sheep. Surprise, surprise! Dawn suggested we go over to Sue's to work her cattle because 3 of them had recently given birth. I will be honest and say that up until this point I have avoided cow/calf pairs with Diva. This is for a couple of reasons. First, I know she isn't a strong dog on cattle and breaking cow/calf pairs is intense. 2.) I don't own any cattle and this isn't something you will get at a trial so, it isn't a skill set I put much emphasis on. When we arrived at Sue's we were greeted by some of the cutest calves ever. For those who aren't familiar with Dexter cattle they are a smaller beef breed. Sue also has one lone dairy heifer, who happens to be exceptionally tall even by Holstein standards, so when the calves were next to her it made for a very odd perspective. We all went into the pasture together but Diva and I hung back in the shade while Dawn and Enya got a feel for the group. These were all previously well broke cattle but with 3 babies under a month old it was clear the dynamic had changed. Enya is an exceptional cattle dog so she did a great job backing the challenges down and waiting for the calves to move off. That in my opinion is the biggest challenge to dog breaking pairs. The calves know nothing about dogs so they are curious or indifferent which makes them stand and stare. When mom moves off it takes a patient and confident dog to walk in and wait for the calf to follow. Where this all goes south is if the calf doesn't follow or mom feels like the dog is to close and she comes back to "save" her baby.

    After Enya had moved them around a little bit we decided to give Diva a go. It started out ok but Diva felt the pressure and threat from the mother cows  and I had to force her to stay in the pocket. Getting her to walk into the heads in the corner was also an effort and took a lot of encouragement. She wanted to bounce out and try and make motion with motion which is a pet peeve of mine. Trouble for Diva started though when I sent her to the far end to turn the cattle back and one calf choose to just stop and watch her. Diva paused and then made her big mistake. She knew I wouldn't let her kick out so she fainted a dash in and barked at the calf (something that works for her on adult cattle most of the time). All hell broke loose at that point because said calf's mother turned back and came running in full attack mode. Diva ran for cover and I can't say I blame her. Momma cows on the defensive are nasty!! Once she turned away I sent Diva straight back in and Dawn quickly sent Enya in to help.Between the two of them the group was moving again but they were now all on the defensive. That same momma kept trying to challenge and started bawling her head off which brought the bull racing from the barn to answer her cry for help. It was a situation where we knew that  if we continued to push nothing good would be gained. We let the dogs move them up the pasture together one time and then called it a day.

   Diva would have been fine if she hadn't barked but she lost her patience and confidence so she reacted. I know it wasn't an "I'm in charge" bark but more of a "stop looking at me weirdo" kind, lol. I didn't go there expecting her to be a rock star because I know her limitations very well. She will always be extremely kind and is fantastic when working weaned calves that are flighty but she is not a dog that see's a charging cow and stands her ground to meet them. She has always had a sense of self preservation and that is what holds her back in a way from being dynamic on cattle. I learned long ago that I can help her confidence by working her in specific ways and very regularly so this is what I will need to do in the next 4 months leading up to Nationals.