Just workin' Dogs

What a great day to work dogs, warm but a nice breeze so we didn't bake. Lee and Lynne came out and we took turns setting and working. Had coffee and muffins before we started and lunch afterwards.

My Jen and Lee's Shae were setters and supervisors:



Lee and Chica:



Lynne and Dex....a far away shot:



My Will and Lynne's Dex sharing the water tub:



We had some great progress with the dogs, didn't get a chance to get any of the younger dogs...next time!

Off to Alberta on Thursday so will post after the Trial at Irricana.

Grazing

Today I decided to graze the top area by the barley field. So armed with my dog, my book, reading glasses, water and a chair we went out for our 3 hour stint.
This is where I wanted the sheep to graze:



This is where they thought they wanted to go. The barbless barley with a bit of alfalfa left over from the last planting.



It was a nice day, warm but with a gentle wind. My mini vacation was being able to read a book. Jen the BC hung out with me. She is a great dog to graze with, not afraid to get into the bush, has a wide outrun so that helps when the sheep are spread out and will hang out for hours just watching.



Here are some pictures of our morning:

Yes, that is the fence to the barley but the Border Collie is there!

A Sunny Day on the Mountain

Woke up to birds singing and then the noises of the crusher down in the government pit. Oh well, the things that go with getting the roads fixed. The sheep are out grazing with Len keeping a close eye that they don't hit the barley field this morning.

When I went down to shut the bottom gate, the Border Collies came for a run and a quick swim. Here is Will after his swim and then a major excavation for a mouse!



Sat on the deck and had coffee before cooking breakfast and the view was nice...



So have a great day where ever you are....and here's a flower for you.

Calamity "Holly"

Got up early, made ham and eggs for breakfast and headed out to weed the rasberries. Hard to see the rasberries for the weeds....



While I was weeding I thought I should rotate the sheep around. We have 2 flocks. One flock is the ewes and ewe lambs and the other is the rams and the ram lambs. To be efficient we graze them on a good grass / alfalfa for a few hours and then put them back in their paddocks to rest for a few hours.
Now those of you that use herding dogs will understand this following scenerio very well. The only one hurt in the making of this production was me.

I decided to use one of the younger inexperienced dogs, how else are they going to learn? Famous last words. So I choose Rosie...



She has been working well but she is what some people might describe as a little "hot". The idea was go out and get the flock and bring them into the paddock. Two fetches was all it should take. Rosie had a memory lapse and forgot what "lie down" was and when we got to the paddock the sheep went right by the gate except for the 5 that went in with Rosie behind them.



Now in the meantime, the two older Liverstock Guardian Dogs decided to get into a very vocal discussion over a bone.....so as I watching this, I neglected to see Rosie's sheep coming out of the shed in the paddock at a high rate of speed, knocking me butt over tea kettle with Rosie in pursuit.
"X" marks the spot where I landed...Do you see the dent?



After jumping up and getting control of the situation, Rosie had a couple "lie down" lessons and we finished up our chores.

The sheep are of course just happy to eat and aren't at all concerned about the "hit and run".



Took a couple advil, phoned a "dog friend", had a great laugh because we have all been there and decided tonight's training schedule would include heading back into the round pen for some close up training.

Weekend at Coldstream Classic

Spent the weekend being Trial Director at Lee's Coldstream Classic Sheep Dog Trial. Lee Lumb was judging, Lynne Schweb set sheep and did the paperwork and Kristi Oikawa helped out in all departments. Good help makes a great trial!
There was a ProNovice, Nursery and a NoviceNovice class. Was great to see all the new people out getting their feet wet. Brings back memories.....

My very first sheep dog trial with Tick (who is now up in doggy heaven now)was a 8 ??? second thing. Took the sheep off course and that was my debut. I remember Herbert Holmes was judging. Now I know what he was probably thinking.

Don't have any pictures of the weekend because my camera was home by the back door with my shorts, and yes it was hot on Saturday!

Since the dandelions are fluffing all over the place, I am going to hide in the house after chores and avoid the allergy thing...the dogs agree that a night on the couch would be good!

Baaaaad Sheep

Started the day out on a wonderful note, put the ewes and ewe lambs out to graze on the other side of our driveway below the house. There is so much grass over there I hated to see it go to waste. It's safe, they can't get out on the road and there is lots of grass down there and trees for shade so what could happen? This for starters...



Nice 2nd cut alfalfa I was saving, then the beggars went through the woods and up into the barley field. I should have known better than to send them on a "field trip" without closer supervision than making sure they didn't come back up the driveway. Of course,the ewes blamed it on the Guardian dogs for leading them astray.



Sonny says "I'm only this tall, I couldn't keep up so it wasn't me"



Who is the leader of the pack that had the great idea to break into the hay shed?



So we covered it up and see if Len notices ....



Some just play King of the Castle while I work....



"Are you done yet? We're waiting!"



So hopefully tomorrow is a nice quiet day with no baaaaaaaaaad sheep. They are staying in their fenced pastures!