While I was visiting New York this past week I got to go work at the farm Amanda is leasing and it was a total blast! I am sure Amanda will read this so I might as well embarrass her good ;-). Part of being great friends is being proud of someone's accomplishments, and Amanda has given us much to be proud of! She has a lease on a lovely farm where she not only keeps her sheep, but also has use of another lessee's cattle and the farm owner's pigs. It was easy to see how her new work load has really brought out the best in her stock handling and dog handling. I will go into details later about our fun that day but before anyone doubts the level of work that can be found in Upstate NY let me be clear that this wasn't just working livestock in a groomed arena. The cattle have access to many acres of chest high grass mixed in among an orchard of trees. You can't see them until you are nearly on them. It was exhausting trudging through the tall wet grass for us humans and the dogs were forced to gazelle leap just to see anything. Amanda and Milo have done a great job dog breaking the cattle and I am impressed that she gets them moved from one pasture to the other with just her and Milo.
Our day started with a dire weather prediction for torrential downpours and possible flooding but true to form we didn't let that stop us. Dawn picked Diva and I up and after a quick stop for Starbucks and Dunkin' Doughnuts we headed to Amanda's. The rain was behind us for most of the trip and we thought we had caught a break, but shortly after we unloaded the dogs and started working it started pouring. I had borrowed an umbrella from my Gram so that I could continue to take pictures (obsessive, I know). As it turns out that little purple umbrella would later make a big and crucial impression on the cattle. Anyway, those of us not working huddled under the barn over hang to stay out of the rain as much as possible while one pair went out and worked the lambs. Amanda and the farm owner had stumbled upon a great deal where they purchased 22 Katahdin/Dorper cross lambs at a very reasonable rate. Most of them will be re-sold but in the meantime they are great fun to work. The lambs are very sensible and the pasture they are in has tall grass, a glade of trees, and is rather long. It made for a great blind outrun which Enya and Dawn did a lovely job with. When it was our turn to work I was impressed with Diva's quickness in covering and how nicely she was taking directions. She was very tuned in but not working flat and the lambs stayed calm even when we pushed them into a corner and then brought them back out. When it was Amanda's turn to go out and work we went back to the barn and scooted under the overhang to watch with Dawn.
This brings us to the best part of the day for me without a doubt. In the barn we were standing next to is where the farm owner keeps his 3 pigs. They have a stall but are also allowed out into the field and loose in the barn. The pigs were very curious about who and what was standing just outside their door and so they kept trying to stick their snouts out. Diva became fascinated by them as well and Dawn was only stirring the pot by allowing Diva to slip her head in the barn and go nose to nose :-). Amanda had told me that she had worked the pigs a little with Milo but that they didn't move very well and the dog had to be pretty forceful. I absolutely love trying new things with Diva so working the pigs was something I couldn't pass up. My thought was that it would likely end with Diva trying but not being very successful since she doesn't grip. Never the less, in ASCA swine were once a type of livestock used in trials so I knew it could be done and this was our chance. Once Amanda was finished with the lambs we all agreed it might be nice to get out of the rain for a bit and work the pigs in the barn. When we went in the door Diva was all about the pigs from the get go. I had to repeatedly call her back to me just so that we could get our stuff put down and get situated. When I sent her out to approach them I had no idea what she would really do nor did I have any idea how a pig "worked". The rest happened so fast that it was a big blur. I am pretty sure I was smiling like an idiot and yet also open mouthed in shock. Diva showed no hesitation in approaching the pigs and when they didn't move I said "get em'" and it was on! She was tough, gritty, and she was hitting heads hard to make motion! The way she locked on to them reminded me of how she gets with ducks but without the kindness ;-). She wasn't hearing that'll do so I had to really raise my voice and call her off to be nice to the pigs. We were all surprised and Dawn joked that we needed to check the one to make sure it wasn't bleeding (which it wasn't). So my sweet Diva who never grips had no issues figuring out that to make pigs move you have to work the heads and you have to bite them. Now I know that it was just 3 domestic pigs in barn and not to get to excited, but you had to be there to see it in action and to know Diva to understand how cool it was. Next time we are up if the weather is better we are going to try working them outside in the pasture. So Diva is totally in to working pigs and she made it clear while watching Enya and Milo take their turns that she wanted more action. We only worked the pigs once though because let's face it having a type of stock that needs to be chewed on to make them move is hard on the stock and we must respect the fact that they belong to someone else nice enough to let us use them. Amanda has a good thing going and Dawn and I wanted to make sure she keeps it that way :-).
From pigs we decided to try and find the cattle so we could move them from the orchard pasture to one that has been mowed recently for ease of working. The rain was down to a drizzle at the moment so we all headed into the pasture. Diva and I were holding the two escapes near the gate we needed them to go through and Dawn and Amanda spread out with their dogs to locate the cattle. Of course the cattle were in the furthest corner of the pasture and the last place that they looked ;-). When I tell you that the grass is chest high and that you can't see more than 20 feet in front of you it is no exaggeration. finding 13 head of cattle on 20 acres of this in wet conditions is HARD and uncomfortable. Dawn and Amanda had the cows coming down to the gate finally but at the last second they made a hard break for the bushes and scooted around us all. Failure. I think we were very close to giving up at that point but a few deep breaths and we rallied. Diva and I went out this time to the corner to get them and Dawn positioned herself where she and Enya could hold a side. Amanda and Milo hung back by the gate until we were set up. Again, keep in mind none of us can see each other or hear each other and the dogs had to gazelle leap to see over the grass. My jeans were completely soaked through but thank heavens for boots that stayed dry! When we got to the corner I tried to send Diva on an away so that I could push the cattle down the fence and back around to the gate. Diva was bouncing to see where she was going and she ended up not getting out wide enough which instead turned the cattle back and pushed them down the wrong fence line. The cattle were light so they ran off out of my sight and I was left yelling to Dawn that they were coming her way. I could hear Amanda and Dawn also communicating so I started back towards the gate going cross country because something told me I needed to be at the spot where they had gotten away from us last time. 20 acres feels like a million miles when you are hiking through it in the rain and soaked to the bone, lol, but when I made it to the spot I was just in time to see a bunch of cattle facing me and thinking about running through. Enter Diva and the magic purple umbrella I was carrying. I sent Diva forward to one side and then I waved my purple umbrella and yelled "hey cow" to startle them. Meanwhile Amanda was holding one side and Dawn was holding another. Purple umbrellas are scary I guess when you are a cow so the squeeze play worked and the cows turned and went in the gate! Success! Of course by this point the dogs, humans, and cattle were tired so we needed to take a break, lol. The rain was becoming more persistent and harder so we took shelter under a tree and took our turns working. This field was mowed but still very large and with a lot of trees to hide behind and the cattle seemed to have an affinity for picking the farthest corner from us ;-). Amanda and Milo did a great job of dog breaking the cattle. They are light but not stupid and they turn off a dog well, even the one momma with a new calf. Diva had no problems moving them or turning them but when they decided to head for their corner and I sent her out to cover I was simply out of dog for the day. She went but not fast enough to get to the heads and turn them back. I wasn't upset, she had a right to be tired...we all were. I decided to call it quits with the cattle. After Dawn and Amanda worked the cows we all headed back up to the barns so that Dawn and I could get ready to leave. The rain was really coming down and everyone was completely soaked. Just for fun I had Diva push Amanda's older sheep around in their pasture which had really deep grass. It's a nice challenge for the dog when they can't see the stock well and don't know the farm. Diva was happy to bounce out and bring the sheep back and the grass didn't really phase her. We ended with some very tired dogs but it was so much fun to get out someplace different and try new things! Amanda snapped some pictures of Diva working which I greatly appreciate so I will share them with you. The pig photos were very dark since we were in a closed barn so I had to lighten them quite a bit.
So what did I take away from this other than a lot of fun and laughs. A smelly dog! Poor Diva went straight from the car in to the bath tub because a wet dog covered in sheep, cow, and pig poop might be a happy one but they are also stinky!
No comments:
Post a Comment