Scotty See Sheep?

Scott, do you see your sheep?

It sure looks like you do!

Scotty... bring those sheep to mama.

Looks like Scott has got it covered...

Scott. Please deposit these sheep into the pen. Yes, the one with the American flag on it. And yes, make sure you get that pesky black sheep in too!

Jude, the uber-puppy, aptly nicknamed the Klondike Bar, is in awe of his great-uncle Scott and his way with sheep.

Lacamas Valley SDT 2010

Last weekend Scott, Jude and I drove to Camas, WA to run Scotty in the 2010 Lacamas Valley Sheepdog Trial. We stayed in Diane's very comfortable RV at the trial site. I drove down on Wednesday afternoon to help Diane set up the camper and just to get settled - I hate rushing around. I didn't have a run on Thursday but I wanted to watch the other ProNovice runs and see how the sheep behaved. My runs with Scott were scheduled for #44 on Friday and #4 on Saturday. Unfortunately, no one was able to take pictures of my runs so there are no pics to post here - I'll try to write as descriptively as possible though ;)

Last year, Scotty and I were pretty new to trialing but I still entered in him 2 ProNovice runs at Lacamas. Our first day, we retired on the fetch as we lost the sheep to the setout behind a hill and were excused. The second day we faired a bit better and completed our run, scoring mid-pack. Losing our sheep on that first day was handler error - inexperience and freaking-out came into play.

This year, I had familiarity with the field/sheep type and a year of trialing/stock work with Scott under my belt. Albeit, Scotty is no spring chicken; he's 11 years old now so he's slower than your average border collie. To our advantage though, this year's Lacamas sheep were heavy lambs that were not dog-broke at all. Their heaviness slowed things down a bit and I think that worked for Scott very well. Scott has never had a problem pushing any type of stock around - probably has something to do with his strong breeding and working on a large cattle ranch for 5-6 years!

Our Friday run was being judged by Rob Miller. The sheep were growing heavier and heavier as the day wore on. There were 64 runs scheduled to run that day and my run at 44th took place around 3:30pm or so (they started at 7am). Dogs kept timing out on their drives as the sheep were just unwilling to move. They were getting hungry and many sets would just graze during the fetch and drive. Dogs that didn't have that special "power" came to a stop and had trouble pushing the sheep. There were many grips happening as well, most warranted though as many ProNovice dogs are youngsters who tend to grip to just get some type of movement.

For this first run, the set out crew was having trouble with my set. We waited about 3-4 minutes for them to get the 5 sheep out to the set-area. They'd push the sheep out about 25 yards and the sheep would run back to the set out pens. In the past, this would have tweaked me out a bit - it's always easy to blame "bad sheep" or an "unstable setout" on how one's dog lifts and fetches. Some people will blame the set out on the way their whole run goes if it doesn't go well. I made the concious decision to not let the flighty-set of sheep get to me. I sent Scott on the away to me side, which is the side the set out pens were on. Scott's outrun was nice and wide, he sighted his sheep and while he came in a bit flat, I felt this was warranted given the heavy draw those sheep had to the setout pens. His lift was beautiful. Scotty totally knows how to fetch sheep to me, so when I saw that he had a soft yet authoritative lift, he "had" those sheep and was correcting himself to get online. I kept my mouth shut the whole time and it wasn't until those sheep when through the middle of the fetch panels that I slowed him down with a soft "lie..." Our post turn was a bit wide but efficient. The first leg of the drive was S L O W. The sheep were extremely heavy and Scotty was pushing hard. We were a bit offline as the sheep were a bit squirrrely and would turn to face the dog (this happened on most runs that day). I recall that we missed the first drive panel - the sheep were also drawn to the exhaust on that side a bit. It was just slow going. I got my sheep back online and we began the crossdrive. Again, slow but straight (Scott is an excellent driving dog). We made it to our cross-drive panels and while I can't recall if we made them or not, our sheep popped offline up a small incline and didn't want to come back down. We had 7 minutes to complete the course and time was ticking. Scott did manage to get the sheep to move again toward me. Unfortunately, we timed out about 50 feet from the post, which means we didn't complete the drive. So, we automatically lost all 30 drive points and our 10 pen points. However, because of Scott's excellent outwork, we managed to get a score of 44. That put us in 17th place on Friday.

Saturday, we were 4th up. Becki Maloney was our judge. At the handler's meeting we learned the 1st run scratched so I was actually 3rd up. Again, my sheep were not set in the "ideal" way. Right after I sent Scott on the away to me side again, the set out dog lost the sheep at the top and they started to trot offline to the left. I hate it when that happens! But, again, I wasn't about to let that spoil my run or be an excuse - the set out sheep "is what it is." You just gotta deal with it. Scotty's outrun was a bit tighter because he saw the sheep taking off. He managed to get behind and lift them as they were on the move - again, not an ideal situation. His presence thus moved the sheep to the right and the unanticipated dog-leg fetch began. We were running just 4 sheep today which helped them be not so heavy (compared to Friday's runs). Of course, this meant the sheep were faster and having been exhausted a few times into their "safe zone" the sheep were making a beeline to the exhaust. Scotty had the sheep but he refused to release the pressure on the fetch and would not flank for me to the comeby side in order for us to make the fetch panel. We ended up about 20 feet to the right of the panel and the sheep were making a beeline to the exhaust now. As they got closer, Scott finally took my comeby command and steered the sheep into my direction at the post. We had a very wide and ugly post turn. We started the first leg of the drive (left hand drive today). The sheep were a bit easier to push around today - perhaps because there were only four and that it was first thing in the morning. We hit both drive panels and were offline a bit at the turns and that last leg of the drive to the pen. The drive again was complete when the sheep reached the post. When they got to the post, I was ecstatic. Now, today we had 6.5 minutes to complete the course but the drive was shorter than it was on Friday. Not wanting to time out again, I jogged to the pen. We had a little bit of a ruckus at the pen but not circling - when the 4th sheep meandered into the pen, I quickly closed that gate! We got our pen! There were only 7 pens total that day so I felt that was an accomoplishment in itself. Our score was a 55 with this run. At the end of the day, after the 60th run was complete, we ended up 12th.

I'm very happy with how both runs went. I'm happy with how my dog worked for me and how he put full effort into his work. He listened well and was really teaming up with me. I'm happy with my whistles too; all that practice in the car on my way home from work is paying off! And, I'm happy that I kept a cool head when given difficult-to-set-sheep and didn't let that affect either run.

It took a year to get a cohesive working partnership with Scott - just like my trusted herding advisors told me it would. I know I'm very fortunate to have a well-trained, biddable, thoughtful and powerful dog like Scott to learn on and trial with. He is not only Jude's Obi-Wan Kenobi, but mine too!

Wessel's Dirt Blowing Trial - ProNovice

This past weekend Scott and I ran in the Wessel's Dirt Blowing Trial in Dayton, WA. As expected, there was dirt and it was blowing. However, I'm told it was much "cleaner" than last year!


Dayton is approximately 230 miles east from my house - it took about 3.5 hours to get there, each way. So, with a 6:15 a.m. handler's meeting on Sunday morning, I trekked over the mountains the night before. I recently bought a 2-person tent; very manageable for one gal to set up herself and roomy enough for one gal and her sheepdog!

The sun was out at 4:30 in the morning; I forgot how obvious sunrise was to you when you are in a tent. I was up and about at 5:15 or so. I shotgunned my Starbucks Frappacino Mocha and got my dog fed too. I was scheduled to be run #7 on the "Hill Field." My judge would be Lavon C. - the same judge who thanked me off the field at Lacamas last year because I lost my sheep and dog behind a hill! For this trial, I wanted to show this judge that I had improved in the 10 months since I last run under him! In addition, later in the day, I was to run on the "Flat Field" under Derek F. I've taken lessons from Derek in the past so I was eager to show him how much my whistles have improved and just overall improvements in handling my dog.

The "Hill Field" was up the road a bit, so Diane and I drove over there and set up our chairs. The first few runs didn't go too well - it appeared these range ewes (even having been worked by Open dogs the two days prior) were still a bit, well, rangey! They weren't the people-loving woolies we usually encounter at our local sheepdog trial!

I ended up running 5th due to a couple of scratches. Diane P. took pics of my run on the "Hill Field" with my Panasonic camera... (click on the pictures below to make them bigger and clearer!)

Here are Scott and I heading to the post. The whole trial field is in view here

I'm telling Scott "Look" before I send him on his outrun. I have to hold on to him when I tell him to look for sheep though or else he'll jump out like a false start!

Here is Scott coming up on the sheep.

Here is Scott's lift. He lost ZERO points off this! I'm very happy with him.

Our fetch was not great; offline and missed panel. However, most of that was due to me overhandling my dog.

Our drive actually wasn't too bad, but there aren't any pics to prove it! Here we are trying to get the pen. This proved out to be a difficult task for me and my dog on this run as well as the run on the "Flat Field"

Well, shoot. We timed out at the pen after having more than enough time to actually get it. The sheep were just too squirrely for me to figure out. They broke off into pairs at one point! My inability to get a pen on this field or on the "Flat Field" proves I need more practice with sheep that don't like people!

Here is Scott driving the sheep to the exhaust pen.

We ended up with a score of 49 on the "Hill Field." Out of 90 points possible, that seems low. However, we were one of the higher scoring teams for this particular field.

About 3 hours later, I was up to run Scott on the "Flat Field." It was about 80 degrees at this time and the sheep were starting to get fed up with this whole sheepdog trial thing.

Earlier I said I wanted to impress the judge, Derek, with my whistles. Well, this trial was probably one of the worst examples of my whistling ever! Literally, one "away" whistle fizzled out as if it was a songbird being strangled to death. Not good.

We fumbled through the course and again, timed out at the pen. Scott wasn't as quick with responding to my commands this time and the whole thing seemed to be a bit out of control. I was probably underhandling him on this one! Overall, I got 33 points total (yes, out of 90).

However, I finished the course and was not DQ'd nor did I have to retire. In total, the combined trial score I got that day was an 82.

In the greater scheme of things, compared to the rest of the teams competing that day, Scott and I didn't do too bad! Overall, combined, we came in 7th! Geri Byrne won overall with her dog Danny. Click on the score sheet below to make it bigger...

All in all, it was a really great trial and great experience. I hope to be back next year, perhaps running one of Diane's dogs in ProNovice. Saturday night, I took this picture of a lovely Aussie who was competing in in the ProNovice classes too. Isn't he adorable!

Sheepdog Trial Stars

On Sunday, January 24, 2010, the McDonald's held their final Eweful Acres Winter Series sheepdog trial. It was well attended in all classes offered. In the class I entered with Scott(ProNovice), there were 29 dogs competing! It was a good day and it was a long day. But most of all, it was a day where a lot of dogs got to show off their skills! Some great photos of the dogs in action were taken, and so I'm going to show those here, in my collection titled "Trial Stars." Be sure to click on the pictures to view them in a larger size!

Okay, this is me, posing with Scott (my dog) and Faye (Tony's bitch). Faye is a daughter of Nan and was being run by Diane at the trial in ProNovice/Ranch.

This little girl is named Bella. She is owned and handled by Lora W. and she recently had a litter of pups thus, she lost all her hair. She is running in ProNovice. Bella is a real sweetie.

This is Emma - she is the most flashy/photogenic/pretty red head dog you'll ever meet! Emma is owned/handled by Kathleen T. They are running in Ranch/Novice.

Here is Diane running Faye in the ProNovice class - heading toward the chute obstacle. Diane also ran Faye in Ranch and won that class! Faye is Nan's daughter.
Here is Lucy. Lucy is owned and usually handled by Monique F. but at this trial, Diane was running her in Open because Monique was in Florida.

Here is Nan. Nan won the Open class. This picture was taken right before Nan completed a great shed with Diane. Their shed and their pen/chute were flawless!

Here is Lora with her little bitch Nell. Nell is a smooth coat Border Collie and is cute as a button. She is running in ProNovice but will soon be in Open I bet!

Roo - the big red dog. Roo is working the sheep through the chute here while running in Open with Diane. Roo is "a lot of dog" on the trial field. He is also the sweetest big-red dog I've ever met.

Here is Ruby. She is being handled by Ron G. Ruby is working her stuff in Ranch.

Here is my baby, er, I mean my working Border Collie dog Scott. Scott and I placed 13th in ProNovice. I love Scott, even when he doesn't listen to me in trials (errr).
This is Tick - he's not a Border Collie! Tick is an Australian Shepherd, owned and handled by Trudy V. Tick ran in ProNovice.

This is Tigr - she got 2nd place in Open. She is from Spokane and is being handled by Ron G.

This is Zoey. I cannot recall who Zoey's handler/owner is but they make a lovely team. Zoey is running in Novice.

2009 Herding Reflections

I am very happy that Diane, my herding instructor and friend, has given me nearly 2GB of photos she has taken over the past year or so of me working with Scott and Mattie. As I look through the library of images, I am actually quite surprised of all I've accomplished in the past year with my two dogs.

I haven't actually counted but I think I ran Scott in 12 USBCHA Pro-Novice trials in the past year - that's about one a month I guess. I've learned a lot, such as the basic shepherd whistle commands, the nuances of pace, timing, control, draws and pressure and how it all varies with different courses, sheep and even weather. I've also learned how to have a rewarding working relationship with my dog and I've learned a lot about myself as a handler.

Running such a well trained, powerful and stylish dog such as Scott has its advantages and disadvantages. As an advantage, Scott has the ability to rate his stock and adjust his power to suit the stock naturally. This makes my job much easier as the dog is applying the proper amount of "push" so I have to think about one less thing out there. It really becomes my job to utlize Scott's power and control of the sheep he has but keep him "listening" to my commands to push the sheep around the course as accurately as possible. However, as I found out over the past year, as a new handler with a dog like Scott, Scott was totally aware that he can get away with "stuff" on the course (like slicing, gripping, flanking to his own desired side, etc.). Thus, I will say the disadvantage of being a new handler and running a "pro" dog like Scott is not being able to tell when he is "self herding" and blowing me off. After a few clinics and lessons and quite a few trial experiences, I am finally beginning to see his "cheatin' ways" and I'm getting quick enough and assertive enough to correct him so that we don't completely get off track on the course.

In our first few trials, okay probably our first 8 trials, Scott was definintely in charge and we were making some "interesting" mistakes around the courses. I suppose it's a testament that Scott and I make a great team though as we don't seem to make the same mistake more than once or twice. At some trials we'll lose tons of points on our outwork, while on some we'd lose it all on the drive. Once or twice we couldn't pen at all, and sometimes we were just too slow and timed out. It seems that once I think we've fixed a problem, a new one comes up! I am thankful that Diane is usually watching my runs and is extremely observant as to what I am doing right and what I am doing wrong.

Lacamas SDT, Camas, WA

Heading to the post: On the River SDT, Acme, WA

Winter Series, Acme, WA

Carnation Fun Day SDT: Carnation, WA

On the River SDT: Acme, WA

Winter Series, Acme, WA

Winter Series, Acme, WA

Scott fooling around, Lacamas SDT

On the River SDT, Acme, WA

My herding training with Mattie is also coming along well. We are out at Diane's farm about once a week now and although we are still in the round pen, Mattie is turning into quite a nice little farmdog. In fact, this past weekend was Mattie's first time with ducks and she did very well.

When we first came out to Diane's, Mattie and I had some big problems, mostly because we both lacked confidence in one another. Let's just say that if you're a passive-aggressive handler you will have a passive-aggressive dog. Anyway, Mattie is a Smithfield Sheepdog and the breed is notorious for being "sporty" on stock and being a bit of a biter. Honestly, Mattie wasn't the best choice of dog to start herding with but she is my dog and she isn't going anywhere so I will just need to work it out. Mattie can definitely move stock - no one argues that. She does have quite a bit of power to her but she doesn't know how to reliably wield it yet. She exhibits a bit of "eye" like a Border Collie but will also growl like a Rottweiler and nip/bit/tear like a Australian Cattle Dog. She's quite a gem and perhaps in 3 more years we'll be able to rely on her to move just about anything.

Mattie comes to balance naturally on stock, she has learned her come-by and away flanks and I even got her drive sheep 30 feet through a panel in a calm, controlled manner while practicing at Fido's Farm in Olympia. I am very pleased with how far she and I have come this past year. My goals for 2010 with Mattie is to get into bigger spaces and start working on driving. The Smithfield is a drover and I feel that she'll be an excellent driving dog. My other goal for 2010 is to run Mattie in a Novice trial next Winter (arena trial perhaps). While she may be able to do the work required in a novice trial, it will be difficult for her to ignore the distractions of the trial itself - specifically, the offleash dogs in the parking lot! We'll take it month by month and see where we're at.

So that's my reflection on the past year with regard to my herding with Scott and Mattie. It's been a great year and I'm looking forward to the coming year.

Lacamas & Dogwoods

On the weekend of the 10th and 11th I was down in Camas, Washington (near Portland) for the 2009 Lacamas Valley Sheepdog Trial. This is one of the largest, most "proper" trials on the West Coast. This is the kind of trial that if you don't get your entry fee postmarked on the morning that entries open up, then you don't get in kind of trial.

I ran Scott in the ProNovice classes on Friday and Saturday. The sheep were TOUGH! 5 lambs that had only been worked by a dog once before on a different field. On Friday, Jerill's aunt and uncle showed up to cheer me on as they live close by to Camas. The were able to take some pictures of the Friday carnage before my camera's batteries went dead. That was fine though because Friday's run did not last long. I sent Scott on the away side to cover the heavy draw the sheep were feeling to the setting pen. I won't make excuses for me or my dog but we were not alone in how our run went that day. Scott lifted the sheep tight and flat and as I tried to swing him to the comeby side to cover that horrible draw back to the pen, the sheep just kept running faster. Then, 3 sheep stopped and two kept running. Then one of the three started running in the opposite direction. Basically, I had pushed too hard on the sheep with my dog - Scott is a strong dog and sheep are scared of him so having him up close trying to "cover" the setting side was making the sheep more panicked. Learned my lesson! I was able to get four sheep back together by using a look-back command to bring the two to the other two and then when trying to bring those four back to the one that took off by itself, the dog and the 4 sheep went behind a hill and things stopped - no dog and no sheep appeared. I did some blind flanks to the away side to try to get Scott to move them into sight but I was "thanked" by the judge. Like I said, this trial was a big deal, no nonsense trial and the judge doesn't want to waste time on a run that could potentially hurt the sheep - the judge needs to know what's going on, even behind hills!

Scott too close to the lambs. They took off back to the set. Scott just couldn't swing around them in time to turn them...

Here's where the sheep split into sheep-buckets. What a mess!! Scott managed to slow them down but because he was close, some panicked more than others. Panic = Sheep Splitting

On Saturday, Scott and I had an improved game plan of how to tackle the course. Because so many handlers lost their sheep to the set out, like I did, the course directors moved the sheep 25 yards up from the set out area. This helped. While our lift and fetch on Saturday was a little bumpy (lost quite a few points due to reflanking and Scotty being tight and a bit fast) we did make our fetch panels! I turned the post quite wide though and had a little bumpy/wavy first leg of the drive. I think 4 of the 5 lambs made it through my first panel, but unfortunately, I pushed Scott too quick on the turn and pushed 2 or 3 lambs back out the panels, which is a big NO NO! Lost more points doing that. The lambs got back together though and I started a the crossdrive. This crossdrive, typically one of the most difficult tasks for a dog in a trial, went beautifully. Scotty is an excellent driver and I was sure to keep him off the tails the sheep. We made our panels! And then to the pen... it was a little wavy-gravy getting to the pen and the sheep missed the ideal point-of-entry into the pen, so I had to spend a little more time getting Scott to get them back to the ideal sweet-spot. The sheep, because they didn't know people weren't receptive to "sheep sheep" calls, so thanks to a tip from Diane the day before, I didn't crowd the sheep at all. After getting the dog and the sheep and myself in the right spot, the sheep pretty much went into the pen with no issue and I got the gate closed in time. We ended up scoring somehere mid-pack of the teams that received scores. Not too shabby!


Today Jerill and I ate at the Mt Si Bar and Grill for breakfast, then went to the Mt Si Nursery to get some plants for autumn and to fill in the spaces of the plants the elk have eaten as well as those plants that didn't survive the 113 degree temperatures we had earlier this month.


The nursery was having a big sale on trees, so I bought myself the cutest dogwood tree! I love those and I have the perfect spot in our triangle garden for it - protected from elk.


Along our driveway I try to keep it pretty; there is just something nice about driving into home with nice flowers and shrubs alongside the drive. I found some small perennial ground cover plants that are supposed to bloom in November - January and then some other plants that are supposed to bloom in early spring. And, they're elk-resistant. I also replaced the dying annuals on our front door step with some fresh autumn annuals - pansies and marigolds. My freesia from May is still going strong and my Begonia is as vibrant as ever! I also decided the dogs needed something to chew on today, so I put each dog in their own little safe area (Scott in his big crate, Mattie in the kitchen, and Lucky in the family room, and each received their favorite bone or chewy. Scott prefers bully sticks (of course), Lucky likes cow hooves and Mattie LOVES these beef shanks.

My new dogwood. I can't wait to get this into the ground!

New plants along our driveway

The front door. Begonia on the right, Freesia on the left. Winter pansies and a new orange marigold for Autumn.

Mattie and her big bone. The placemat she's eating on was won in a raffle at a flyball tournament, before we even had Mattie. There is a little sheep on the corner of the mat; it was destined to be Mattie's!

Mount Vernon Highland Games

So, last weekend Scott and I trialed at the Mount Vernon Highland Games. What a blast! It was an arena trial (smaller) set inside a baseball field. The course consisted of panels and a pen and then each run was a different configuration of figure 8's and loops.

On Saturday I had some serious issues though. The rules of the trial is that you can't move onto the next obstacle until you've gotten at least one sheep through the prior obstacle. You have 4.5 minutes to complete the entire course. Lines don't matter (unlike in USBCHA trials).

So Saturday, I was totally nervous and freaked out by the fact that I'd never run my known-to-grip dog in an arena trial before. Basically, if your dog gripped the sheep at all, you were instantly disqualified. So I was foremost concerned with keeping Scott off the tails of the sheep.

I managed to do that, but ended up getting so caught up in the event - there were 200 or so people watching - that I did an obstacle wrong but didn't realize I had. So, I kept going and actually did okay on the following obstacles, but because I missed obstacle 4 out of 7, I never got any points for the obstacles I did after obstacle 4. All in all, there are 28 points available and I only got 9 points on Saturday. So stupid of me!!

On Sunday, I felt a lot less nervous as I knew I could trust my dog and handle him far enough off the sheep to not put him in a predicament of having to bite them. Again, we have 4.5 minutes to complete the 7 obstacles. 28 points total.

Miraculously, we did the first two obstacles in record time. I missed one sheep when turning the post though (minus 1 point there), then got all sheep around the next obstacles and I penned all four sheep quickly! I did the run in a little over three minutes and got 27 points - it was one of the better runs of the day in fact! But, I still didn't make it into the finals (where the cash prizes were available to win). You qualified for the finals by being one of the top ten dogs from the two days combined! So, those 9 points from Saturday really hurt me. There is next year though!

Here are some pics from the trial (on Sunday)

Sending Scott to go get the sheep

Scott is driving the sheep away from/through obstacle #5

Penning with Scott... he is such a good dog!

Done! Exhausting the sheep back to their hold pen. I think sometimes this is Scott's favorite part of the run!

Some other interesting photos I took today...

So, who needs Uggs to keep your feet warm when you can have three dogs under your work station to keep your piggies toasty? Mattie was asleep too but woke when I grabbed the camera. The boys were actually having dreams (Scott was growling in his dream!).

Mattie is such a pretty girl. So unique!

Sleeping Beauty - soooo comfortable.

I bought this, and another similar cactus, this Spring. They didn't look this weird when I bought them (they looked like sea anemones). Then, they started growing all funky, and flowers are coming out of them...