Finally, A Break In The Weather!

   Maryland has been dishing out some of it's most miserable summer time weather over the last month with heat and humidity in the dangerous levels. I always err on the side of caution and will be the first to admit I loathe being overly hot so Diva and I haven't been out to work stock in forever. Today however we finally got a really nice break from the oppressiveness and made our way up to PA to deliver some Hotstyx and work cattle. Tee Creek is just a little over a week away so it's time to get serious and put our game face on. My game plan for the day was to work on small spaces and pressure in the pens, walking straight up on the heads, and practicing continuous flanks until told other wise.

   We started out with a nice group of 3 that needed to be pushed on as they were very interested in grazing. This is the type of cattle we are likely to encounter at Tee Creek so it was a good training opportunity. Diva is doing very well at driving her cattle and also going to head but we struggled with her not completing her flanks when I was asking her to peel them off the fence and get around. I also had her put them in the 3 sided pen, hold them, and then take them back out a few times. She did well with her hold but was slower than I wanted in taking her go bye (in to me) flanks to neatly tuck them in the pen. This seems to be something I am going to have to work on more in general and so I chose to not nitpick today in favor of rewarding her for what she did well and boosting her confidence. Our big highlight for the day came when I was singling out cows and having her walk up on their heads while they were grazing. They had been moving ok off of Diva but not giving her 100% respect so far. Diva surprised me by really focusing on the cow I had her walking up on and taking things step by step without using her bark and bounce technique. When she was within gripping distance and the cow still hadn't moved off or even looked away I told her "Get a hold of that!" and surprise surprise she made a very clean nose hit that had the cow and myself shocked! Only one of us was delighted though ;-). Yay for Diva! Even better was she immediately stopped pressure when I asked her to and then went back to driving. That was the only time she hit but definitely not the only time she was in their face making them move. I can see where when I am giving her permission to get in there she is doing it in a confident way and she isn't harassing after they turn.

   The second time we worked a new group that had one steer that didn't want to stay with the group and would head back to the re-pen if possible. I worked Diva on being more precise with her flanks, especially at the course obstacles where Mr. Steer would skim by if she wasn't careful. We also did more flanking exercises and I finally got a few nice continuous flanks that weren't flat on the away side. When we re-penned this group I had Diva put them in and take them out a couple of times which was great pressure work for her. She was much quieter working in the small spaces and only used her bark when she had to make motion. Unlike the first trip in she also wasn't distracted by having to walk by the other holding pens with cattle staring at her.

   Normally I would only work her twice but the 3rd group was a group of calves that are lighter and a little less predictable that the seasoned cattle so I wanted to take the opportunity to see what she would do after having to push so hard in the previous sessions. Right off the bat she went in stronger than these calves needed and then when they trotted off she got sucked into the motion and was tuning me out a bit. She was also reluctant to make a space to peel the calves off the fences and they weren't as willing to come off as the older cows. It took me several attempts to get her going all the way around and while I was happy with her effort she was a long way from pretty trying to get in there. On a good note, she quickly figured out that the calves took less push and was doing a nice standing stop and walk up which gave them plenty of opportunity to turn away calmly.

  For not having worked in a few weeks she was very good and I was smiling from ear to ear at the end. We will likely have time to get in a couple of work days at Dawn's when we get to NY next week and I hope to get out and work sheep once this weekend. All in all I feel very good about where she is at mentally and physically pre-trial. Tomorrow she has an appointment with Dr. Z to get "tuned up" but I haven't seen any signs of lameness since her last appt. so this more maintenance than anything else.  

Don't Over Think It

   T-minus 1 month until Tee Creek and after having found out last week that I got into all 4 cattle runs it seems that all I can think about is what might happen. I have crawled in to bed every night and played out possible scenarios until I fall asleep, which I am almost certain places me pretty close to the edge of obsessed ;-). Perhaps the most laughable thing about this is that I have trialed there before, know the cattle (somewhat), and it's course A all weekend long! In my mind though I figure that if I go over it enough when push comes to shove I will have an answer. I have pictured everything, from where I will stand once I open the take pen gate, down to which side of the chute will work better for sending Diva deep into the corner coming out of the second panel to set up for the center. I feel like I may soon need to make myself a T-shirt that says, "Keep Calm And Trust Your Dog". Diva has got this, I know she has. She is a much better cattle dog than she was a year ago and we are a much better team. We have trialed on some pretty challenging stock and learned some of the tricks of trialing from those with more experience. I shouldn't be concerned at all but the nervous excitement of finishing her WTCH has me twitchy.

    With the summer weather in full effect we have had very few chances to get out and work. High heat and oppressive humidity don't make for much fun. We worked sheep last Wednesday at Hog Dog but sessions were short and far between to save the dogs and the stock. I focused on more inside flank work with Diva and straight walk ups. There isn't much to report that I haven't written about before. She continues to be much better to the away side as far as inside flanks go and needs reminding the first couple of sends to keep moving regardless of what I do. I suspect that this will be a work in progress for us for sometime. I have a picture in my head of what I want it to look like and suffice it to say that it isn't there just yet ;-).

   In other news we have started back to agility training as well. On Friday we had our first private lesson to work on actually training the running A frame. Diva has needed some remedial contact training for a while and I need some serious attitude adjustments. I have been getting so serious about Q'ing that I am taking the fun out of agility and putting a lot of pressure on Diva. Just scowling at her is enough to flatten out her performance all together and at the last trial we attended I was grouchy with her all day. My main goal is to go out there and run fast, trust my dog, and have fun. In looking back at videos and pictures of me when I am working Diva I rarely ever smile. I am not sure why this is but my guess is that it has something to do with concentrating. Diva is very tuned into me and she is sensitive to pressure so I need to fix this problem quickly. A smile and a little praise in the middle of working go a long way with her and so I am reminded of something my Grandmother always told me. "You get more with honey than you do with vinegar." Good call Grandma! It works with dogs and husbands ;-).

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!

    It's become a yearly tradition that when the ram lambs at Hog Dog are ready to be sold I take them up to Amanda's place in PA. What this involves is a very tricky loading session followed by an amusing drive. I suppose if we ever end up with more than a handful of lambs I will have to think of a new method but for now I clear out the back of my truck (it has a Leer top ;-)), put down some rubber mats, and in go the lambs. It sounds pretty simple but let me assure you it can be an action packed event. First I had to catch one of the 4 lambs from the holding pens (a feat in itself!) and then carry it to the back of the truck. Then with one hand holding both hind legs secure I open the top door and let down the tailgate. In goes the lamb and then slam goes the doors before he decides to jump out! Each time it gets harder for the obvious reason...I now have sad lambies in there and they want out! If I hadn't had Taylor with me to work the gates while I sheep wrangled it would not have been possible, but with the two of us the job got done and off we went. I suppose when you live as close to DC and Baltimore as I do it's not every day that you see someone driving down the road with a truck full of lambs looking out the windows. I think it's hilarious to watch people do a double take on the highway! By far the most fun though is when we stop to go through the Burger King Drive thru. The lambs start calling and people with their windows down can't figure out what is happening :-). This year's group were good travelers though and did very little other than try and keep their balance. 2.5 Hours later they were quite happy to unload from the truck and meet their new pasture mates (3 of Kelly's ram lambs :-)). I am always relieved when the delivery is done and we can get down to the fun part...working dogs!

   3 weeks and 2 days post injury Diva and I were back in the pen and ready to work some cattle. The plan was to stay calm and just let Diva just move the cattle around so I could gage if she had any confidence issue we needed to resolve. Because she is out of shape after her lay off and I didn't want to have her covering a lot of ground so I had her working in the HT field. Diva came in strong and never really looked back. Actually a little too strong for my liking. She was all charged up and getting in close on the heads! There were a couple of times when I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying anything that would distract her as she had gotten in very close quarters stirring things up. At one point she ducked a kick to the head and I thought for sure that she might check her bravado but nope, right back in she went hell bent on making a point.

    We only worked for about 10 minutes but it was enough to show me that Diva is not only feeling good, but she is in a good place mentally. Her confidence on cattle continues to grow and I may be looking at some point having to start telling her to take it easy, lol! We ended our day at Amanda's working the call ducks where Diva was having enough fun to blow me off. I can't even be mad about that because I am just so excited to have her back working again :-). Last night I kept watching her, waiting for any sign of stiffness from the days events, but she was moving great and acting fine. It's the simple things that mean the most and yesterday was a wonderful day for Diva and I!

*Sorry, no pics or video this time!*

On The Road To Recovery

    Some of life's best lessons are delivered in painful ways. The trick is not getting so hurt you bear emotional or physical scars that prevent you from taking those lessons and moving forward to a better place. Diva getting stepped on by the cow was an emotional lesson for me and one that stemmed largely around guilt. I felt ultimately responsible. She may have come in hot and to close but she wouldn't have been in that arena if I hadn't chose to be. I have to wonder if working stock is like falling off a horse? If you don't get right back on does fear and self doubt set in? I have never been one to let something stand in my way, and I don't plan to make an exception this time, but I do wonder what it will be like taking that lead off and stepping into the arena with cattle again.

   In the past 3 weeks I have done everything I can to get Diva back on track physically. Thanks to Scott's fast action we were able to start ice therapy on her back within minutes and continued to do that for the first 48 hours. I also started giving her relatively high doses of Traumeel immediately after and continued that for the better part of two weeks. Traumeel has a lot of Arnica which does wonders for bruising. Once we got back home I started doing heat therapy 4 times a day for 15 minutes at a time. Diva let me know how much she enjoyed heat therapy by stretching out and falling asleep with a content look on her face at each session :-). Just 6 day after the incident Diva went in to see Dr. Z and start acupuncture and cold laser therapy. Dr. Z mentioned she had a spleen meridian deficiency which is the area that controls inflammation and bruising and that she was very reactive to palpation of her right hind quadriceps. Surprisingly she was not all that out of alignment skeletally. To say that Diva was unimpressed with acupuncture would be an understatement, lol! Most of the needles went in fine but over her kidney area it was very sore and she got squirrely. Once they were in she settled down but never really relaxed. I noticed an immediate improvement following the acupuncture though, especially in her back!

   The first test came just a couple of couple of days later when Diva went to stay at Kelly's while I was out of town for a wedding. 6 Aussies in the house is a recipe for play and running. Kelly did a great job of limiting Diva and saving her from herself ;-). She had one time where Kelly mentioned she looked a little sore upon getting up after laying down but that was it and it didn't last more than a couple of steps. We went back in this past Thursday to see Dr. Z again and I was ecstatic to hear that all her reactivity in the quadriceps was gone, her  groin and cruciate felt great, and the area in her back was down to a very small localized area. Dr. Z did acupuncture again but because she was so much improved we decided to fore go the cold laser treatment. This time Diva was much more relaxed about the needles and she even snoozed while they were in! She was still showing a spleen deficiency so the Dr. and I decided to schedule one more session for the following week. The best part though was that Diva has been given the OK to start straight line jumping again and to get back into stock work (conservatively at first ;-))!

    Yesterday I set up the jumps at home and did a small set of 4 reps through an easy grid with the jumps at elbow height. Diva was so excited and clearly ready to go. We also played a little tug with her new Angry Birds toy and I tossed the Frisbee for her to "catch". So no one freaks out, I had her sitting a few feet in front of me and I tossed it at mouth level ;-). On Monday we are headed out to work stock. I have every intention on putting her on cows in the small pens to work on some things that are more mental than physical but we will end our day with ducks so I can watch her shine!

 

Heat therapy is very relaxing

 

The eyes say it all. Not impressed with acupuncture!

These were taken at Kelly's house before we went out to MI. Diva loves working the lambs!

 



SEMASA's 35th Annual Great Lakes Stockdog Trial

   What does it take to make a champion? Courage, strength, skill, desire, intelligence, commitment? I would argue that it takes all of those things but perhaps the most important thing it takes is heart. Heart is that something special that makes it all come together. Heart is what it takes to dig deep and go beyond where your body tells you to stop. Heart is over coming a challenge when it would be easier to quit. I have been truly blessed because this post is the story of a dog who gave me her all....she gave me her heart.

    In the days preceding our trip to Michigan I had Diva in to see the chiro. She had been having some on again off again mystery stiffness upon rising and I was worried she was experiencing a flare up of Lyme. We decided to run a blood test but upon palpation of her lower back it was discovered that her pelvis and sacrum were out and the muscles surrounding the loin were inflamed. After doing an adjustment and cold laser treatment the area was much more free and the Dr. and I discussed that her issue is likely related to our tile floors and slipping as she chases the kids around the house. I was relieved that it wasn't her Psoas or cruciate and that the blood test revealed she was negative for any tick born diseases. We headed home with Diva looking better than she had in weeks and I was optimistic about a great weekend ahead. Not only were we closing in on her WTCH but for the first time ever Scott was going with me to a stock trial! Even more significant was that he was willing doing so on our 11 year anniversary :-).

   Due to work commitments we weren't able to leave until Saturday which meant that I only entered Sunday and Monday's trials on sheep and cattle. This gave me 4 runs per type of stock and the best chance possible to get that one cattle Q and 2 sheep. We made the trip uneventfully, got settled into our hotel, and had a our anniversary dinner at Red Lobster in Adrian, MI. Scott was impressed with Diva's hotel behavior but not so much with our plan to start early the next morning at 6am ;-). On Sunday morning I was nervous but excited to get started. One of the best things about stock trials are the people and the Michigan club was no exception. The facility was very nice (loved the mowed arena!!) and the people were very welcoming. The trial was set to start with cattle and Diva and I were the 7th advanced dog to go. I sat down eager to watch the cows and see if I could gain some insight into their behavior. They had been challenging on Saturday with no advanced dogs able to get anything into the center pen and many dogs struggling to get them to work at all. Sunday quickly proved that they were going to be difficult again but what I was noticing was that it seemed the less a dog gripped and got into it with them the better they were. The difficulty was first in getting them started going up the fence line and then of course setting up the center and preventing them from running back towards the re-pen. These were pretty young calves and from what I was told they had never been separated and penned like this before. Without prior exposure to dogs to teach them to give to a bite what we started seeing was a few calves that just got frustrated and would run over, or past, a dog no matter what.  Despite this there were a few dogs who worked really nice and did the best they could under the circumstances. When it came time for Diva and I to go I was nervous but also resigned to the fact that they likely weren't going in the center so what the heck! Diva started out strong and the cows were definitely moving off of her. I was excited to see her enthusiasm but that quickly changed when she made a bad choice and straight lined into the shoulder of a calf that had broken away from the group. The calf kicked out and when he came down he landed directly on her back effectively stomping her to the ground. You know that moment when your heart stops and you feel like everything has slowed down? I watched as Diva got up and noticed that she immediately looked for me. In turn I evaluated (through a glance) that she was walking on all 4 legs evenly and started encouraging her to get that calf and turn him around while I moved in to help her if needed. As it turns out she was likely in the throws of a big adrenalin rush and needed very little help to get back in there and make that calf move. All of this happened within seconds but it felt like forever. We continued our run and got all the cows through obstacles 1 and 2. The set up to the center pen was less than stellar and I used my two attempts without success. We re-penned as quickly as possible and I left the arena knowing that Diva was hurt and just not feeling it yet. My heart was in knots thinking about how he had landed directly on the part of her back that we had just treated. Already you could feel the heat so bless Scott's heart he headed out to the gas station for ice so that I could make ice packs. The AM and PM trials were set to run concurrently which meant we had about 6 dogs before we went again. It gave me enough time to ice her once and do some gentle massage.

   Below are the videos of those cattle runs on Sunday. When we went back in for our second cattle run I knew right away that Diva was not going to be the same. She was not moving freely, eating poop, urinating (despite being pottied before), and going so slow. I was having to cheerlead her all the way. Her confidence level had taken a hit but it was her body that really held her back. It made me so proud when she continued to try despite everything. Dana McKenzie was our judge and she wrote on our score sheet, "Nice Pup. She is trying her heart out to please you." What you will see on the video is NOT how Diva normally works stock. I have some reservations about sharing because the world is a judgmental place but in the end I think it is more important to recognize that stock work is dangerous and there are consequences for our choices. I agonized all afternoon as I continued to ice her back about pulling her altogether and heading home. She was never lame but you could see a stiffness to her back when she first stood up and then she would stretch and look a little better.

Sunday Cattle AM
This is a short clip taken before the camera battery died. Diva gets stepped on and we have to work hard to getting them started going up the fence.

 

This is the second part of that first run. Scott has to switch to his phone (love my cheerleading husband!). At this point Diva isn't acting hurt but I can tell that she is going to feel it once the adrenalin wears off. My attempt at the center panel was not all that great and in watching it back I should have flanked her on the away side to head them off and stop motion. She was not fast enough getting around on the go bye to be effective with the speed they were moving at.

 

Sunday Cattle PM



 

 

   Something about her demeanor told me that going on as planned with sheep was ok. I could see that she didn't really want to quit. Sheep in general are much less dangerous and she always works them calmly so I thought the movement might be better for her than getting stiff in the car. The sheep were working very nicely which also helped my decision ;-). Diva went out and turned in some very nice runs with scores of 99 and 113 respectively. It was obvious that she was not her normal enthusiastic self, especially to those who know her, and with that in mind I am certain that had she felt better our scores would have been even more impressive. Ultimately that matters very little since I am not chasing finals points. What mattered was that she earned two qualifying scores and her ATDs title! We decided to take her back to the hotel to rest and continue the ice therapy with the intent to pull our sheep runs the next day and see how she looked before deciding on cattle. Below are the videos from our sheep runs on Sunday.

 

Sunday AM Sheep (99)

 



 

Sunday PM sheep (113)

 

 

    When Monday morning came I was surprised to see that Diva was looking much better than the evening before. She still had heat on her back but the stiffness was less and if you didn't know her you wouldn't see it. We headed back out to the trial anticipating doing our 2 cattle runs and calling it a day. You know what they say about Assuming right? I assumed that cattle would run first but the course director and judges decided to run sheep which left me with a choice to make. Pull her or let her go in and test her body? I must emphasis how nicely the sheep were working which is what helped my decision yet again. We did our 2 sheep runs on course A and Diva again pulled in two qualifying scores with a 94 and a 110. Her mannerisms while working (urinating despite being pottied before and the sniffing) still let me know that she was not 100% but honestly I didn't expect her to be. I was happy to just have her out there with me!

 

 

Sheep AM Monday (94)

 





 

Sheep PM Monday (110)

 

 

   As luck would have it Michigan decided that we needed some rain to make our cattle runs more fun. This made day 3 for the cows and they were noticeably less cooperative than the day before. By now they were used to doing course B so getting them going up the fence for course A was a challenge. And then of course we still had the problem that so far no cows had been put through the center obstacle all weekend long. Diva and I were the 4th advanced dog in the first trial and while we worked hard the center obstacle was as elusive as the Q, which we missed by 3 points! In hind sight I could have settled the cattle longer and used my second attempt but I was being careful not to over tax Diva. When it came time for our last cattle run my heart was in my throat. This was our last chance to get our WTCH this weekend and I was also determined to make the center obstacle. The commentary on the video is hilarious :-). I made some handling choices that likely cost me the Q and the audience was pretty vocal about it ;-). Their plan and mine were vastly different. What did happen though was that Diva and I were the first and only advanced team to get any cattle through the center obstacle. That alone was a triumph and worth the weekend. Diva gave me 110% and got it done. We didn't get our WTCH but I am not worried. The WTCH will come. I learn so much each time we trial on cattle. I have learned that might doesn't always make right when it comes to livestock. That when you think you have settled the stock you should probably take another 30 seconds to *really* settle them ;-). That a good dog is the one who goes home with you at the end of day. That there will always be another trial and that the only person you are truly competing against is yourself.

 

Cattle Monday AM

 



 

Cattle Monday PM

  

 

  

    If you are lucky like I am you have a good dog laying beside you. A dog who will give you that little bit more when you ask. A dog that lets you know you are their whole world when you look into their eyes. I have often wished that Diva had more of this or less of that, but what I didn't appreciate fully was that she has heart in abundance. We will be taking the next 6 weeks mostly off as I set about getting my partner back to 100% by whatever means necessary. I have spent hours since the trial massaging, stretching, applying heat, and just being there for Diva. It's time well spent in my opinion and I look forward to making our return at the next trial and getting that WTCH!

 

 

*Photos below take by Liz Wise*

 

 

Of all of the photos taken this weekend this one is by far my favorite. Just a girl and her dog but the bond is obvious!

 

 

 

*Photos Below taken by Amanda Farnsworth*



   

 



 

    

Improving Inside Flanks: Step 1

   Yesterday Diva and I made it out to Hog Dog for what was day 1 of implementing our "homework" from the Terry Wofford clinic. This isn't going to be a terribly long post because frankly what we did was pretty boring and very basic. I am not saying that it wasn't insightful though!

    The set up was us in the round pen with three sheep. I like the round pen at Hog Dog for exercises like this because it is relatively small in diameter and well, it's round :-). This seems to naturally invite the smooth continuous motion I am looking for. On the down side if you aren't careful or you do to much in such a small round area your dog can quickly lose their nice square flanks. So with my back up against the fence and Diva at my side I sent her around on the away side flank and when she got to the top, before she turned in at balance, I gave her another flank command combined with an out to keep her going. As soon as she got past the stock I gave her the flank command again and called her in to me. Sometimes this went really well and other times my poor timing at calling her in had her coming in straight line by the stock. Not such a big deal on broke sheep in a tiny round pen with no where to go, but in a trial situation the sheep would have been long gone by my center obstacle :-/. I did this direction several more times until I had success getting what I felt was a more continuous circle and then changed direction to work on the go-bye side. This side was much harder as Diva isn't as wide and she really, really, wants to balance as soon as she is on the back side of the stock. I had to make more adjustments in my position to have success but in the end I got enough to call it a day.

   What I noticed about myself was that I say commands way to many times (Duct tape anyone?) and the tone of my voice escalates. I am a firm believer that tone makes much more sense to a dog that the actual words itself especially with a sensitive dog, which Diva is. The louder I am I can actually see her start to lose focus on the sheep because she is trying to figure out what I want. In a 30' diameter round pen there should be no space between us that Diva couldn't hear me whisper and so the next time I am out I plan on trying just that. I am going to whisper and be very careful of my tone of voice and we shall see if Diva *hears* me better.

Here's To Having A Good Plan...

  So I know I left the last blog post kind of hanging in regards to what my *homework* was but I did so because I feel it's an important enough topic to have it's own page. I am also hoping that by writing it down before I go out and try to put it into practice that I will be better set to think on my feet if it doesn't go exactly how I envision it. I am a firm believer in the power of the mind which is what usually keeps me awake the night(s) preceding a trial. I will run through my game plans over and over trying to work out the best strategy for several different scenarios. If I am lucky this will get me some extra sleep over the next couple of weeks ;-).

  Terry's advice was simple...go back to the basics and work on inside flanks. It didn't matter what type of stock I was working but I was to start and end each session with inside flank exercises. The middle of our training would be configured of a healthy dose of driving so that I didn't suddenly end up with an orbiting dog with no sense of walk up and push at trial time. How we were going to accomplish this was by doing the most baby step of all. In a small pen with my back up against the fence I am going to flank Diva around and BEFORE she stops at balance I am going to pat my leg and call her in to me. Rinse, repeat, and for good measure, repeat some more(In both directions I might add)! When I am no longer having to pat my leg to get her in to me and I can send her around continuously in both directions we will move up to a little larger area and start the entire process again with my back up against the fence. Gradually I will step away from the fence and we will progress to playing the around the clock game with flanks. Once that is reliable then comes handler movement to make sure that her flanks are independent. This isn't something I expect to get done before SEMASA but you have to start somewhere and anything I do between now and then can only improve our performance at the trial.