Ever wondered why the Green Bay Packer’s colors are green and gold? Well, I never did until I began noticing that the entire world seems to turn green and gold in early fall in Wisconsin. I doubt that’s the reason they picked those colors, but it sure is fitting because around here, the Packer colors show up at the same time that the world cloaks itself in the same hues. It’s remarkable how much of the out of doors is green and gold right now, so much so that I can’t exaggerate it. (Or, in the words of Ryan Lochte, “over exaggerate”.) The entire natural world does indeed seem to be an explosion of green and gold. I’ve mentioned it to several people now, and every one of them listens, then comes back later and says “You’re right!” Everything is green and gold!
This color shift isn’t random by the way. If you pay attention you’ll note that different flower colors predominate at different times of the year. . . All because different species of pollinators (mostly insects, but also hummingbirds) are attracted to different colors, and have their peak feeding season at different times of the summer. The flowers are literally matching their blooming season with the pollination habits of insects. Here’s a study that shows that the same plants can even shift their color throughout the season to change the preferences of their pollinators. (Have you been following the amazing new research on the complex lives of plants? Amazing!)
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: We spent the weekend at the Jefferson County Sheep & Wool Festival and Maggie ran in the sheepdog trial. We are both still finding our way on the drive and cross drive, but she did lovely work on her first two outruns, fetches and lifts (50/50 on her first run!). She struggled on her third run, having drawn a difficult ewe who had run repeatedly back to the set out, and who told Maggie in no uncertain terms to stop bothering her. Maggie wasn’t quite up to the challenge, but as a competitor reminded me, it’s only her fourth trial and what she does well, she does beautifully. We only have one more trial later in October, but a Patrick Shannahan clinic right after, which is always a wonderful experience for both of us. After our trial experiences this summer, I know what we have to work on this winter… hope the snow isn’t too deep or the ice too slippery.
It’s hard to know how far Maggie can go as a trial competitor, (and the same for me as a handler), but I do love trying for the both of us to be best we can be. And unlike Willie, who tongue flicked when I took him out this weekend to stand casually at fence (and probably thought he was about to run), Maggie can never get enough working sheep, and it’s a joy to watch her try to keep working after a run. (Again? Can’t we go again? Pleaaaaasse!)
I got a little time to explore the festival, and what a kaleidoscope of colors! I hope the colors, where ever you are, are equally beautiful. (Question: Are you seeing the same green/gold phenomenon in the gresat outdoors where you live?)
Alice R. says
I love your beautiful photos and heart warming stories so much. Thank you for sharing so much loveliness with us.
Bruce says
Trisha, congrats to you and Maggie on what sounds like a promising first season of herding trials. I am curious – at what ages do competition herding dogs typically peak?
Thanks for the pictures of gorgeous Packer-colored scenery. The mid-Atlantic is still in its late summer garb – the alluring scent of sweet autumn clematis, crape myrtles in pink and white, purple-starred asters, and waving goldenrod meadows.
The flower pollinator study you linked was very interesting, thanks! It makes sense that flowers and their pollinators would co-evolve.
We met with a trainer to address Sandy’s barking in the house. The primary trigger – our noisy college-aged son – will be away for the next few weeks. During his absence we are working to associate a cue phrase (“Who is that?”) with food rewards. Next we will use the cue phrase to condition Sandy to unexpected sounds, being careful to stay below Sandy’s barking threshold. Eventually when our son returns we will have him play the conditioning game with Sandy.
The trainer also recommended using a calming pheromone (DAP?), so we are trying a collar. Whether related or not, Sandy has been much more playful at the dog park lately.
Red Dog had the ultimate dog park experience the other day – an hour of exuberant racing, dodging, and wrestling with a young field Lab of similarly boundless energy, while the humans provided NFL-style sideline commentary.
LisaW says
The Goldenrod has taken center stage in the back field. The Goldfinches are fattening up on pine tree seeds. The golden light of a lowering sun gives everything a warm and quiet tone. Called the gilded season, it is the reflective time of fall.
https://goo.gl/photos/5Z296Hgv48DVxaWZ6
P.S. I’m so glad you and Maggie found each other for the pure joy of herding.
Monika & Sam says
It’s always a terrific way to start the day out by seeing your photos of the landscape. Thank you for sharing. Love the cheerful yellows on a cloudy morning.
Mason Small says
I’m curious about Willie; I recall reading about his injuries, and also about his relief about no longer competing. Is there a blog post(s) with his full story?
I’m also interested in why, in the training process, some dogs fear making mistakes much more than others, or find training more anxiety-provoking than exciting, even if they are generally not anxious dogs – any references to previous posts or publications would be appreciated. I will continue to go through your wonderful archives with an eye out for this material.
Trisha says
To Mason: There’s no one post about Willie’s full story, but a great deal of it is in my memoir, coming out in Feb 2017. The subtitle of The Education of Will is A Mutual Memoir of a Woman and a Dog. Good question about dogs in general… I can’t think of a post from me or anyone else that directly answers your question, but I do think most dogs who fear making mistakes, even when trained well, are dogs who are also anxious about maintaining social relationships. Just pondering here. Thoughts from anyone else?
Gordon says
I love Wisconsin in the fall. Because it means we’re only a few short months away from Wisconsin in the winter!
Sue says
Lovely photos, will have to look out for the green / yellow in our UK South Coast landscape… But who / what are the Green Bay Packers? 😉
Oh, and love the coats for sheep!
Trisha says
Love hearing from the UK, Sue! The Green Bay Packers are an American “football” team who play out of northern Wisconsin. Of course, we know it’s not real football! Everyone knows that is soccer! (Including my husband, who grew up in Germany and France.)
Jann Becker says
Love the sheepbra!
Lacey Hood says
I was fascinated to read an article about using model-rival training with dogs. This is in connection with the training for MRI language evaluation, which we’ve read much about recently. The dogs had to refrain from even blinking or swallowing saliva for eight minutes of scanning. The trainer learned that neither highly trained nor stolid dogs were necessary. Young sociable dogs did best. They saw a dog in the scanner having all the attention and sometimes great praise (after improvement) and they wanted to try. Being clever though not all Border Collies, they figured out that absolute stillness was needed, and gradually built up to the needed time.
I don’t know whether the training is written up elsewhere, but the trainer was Marta Gasci, “an ethologist at Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest, co-author of the study and longtime researcher of man’s best friend.”
The article I read was in the Sept. 1 edition of the East Bay Times, clipped and mailed to me by a friend.
Gayla says
I think the reasons a dog can fear making mistakes are as myriad as our own and vary from one individual to another. We try to ‘set them up for success’ in any training scenario. So if we presume they ‘feel good’ about succeeding, it seems logical they could ‘feel bad’ about failing. Is ego a uniquely human phenomenon?
In Willie’s case, as Trisha may have mentioned before, he may fear getting physically injured…
Antonia says
Green and gold even in the desert… Monsoon rains have given just enough rain to make tiny yellow wildflowers burst into bloom and carpet the desert floor in an amazing display while the chapparal bushes take on a new vibrant green color in gratitude for the moisture. A gorgeous display!
Chris from Boise says
Mason: Our trainer pointed out that Habi (anxious border collie) hates making mistakes, and shuts down easily even when I don’t realize that I’m applying pressure. I only knew ‘traditional’ training when we adopted her, and that got us nowhere. A friend steered me to clicker training, and as long as I set her up for success by keeping up a very rapid rate of reinforcement and breaking a behavior into tiny steps, she enjoys training and progresses quickly. If I forget (which I still do, nine years into our journey) and ask her for too big a chunk, her enthusiasm immediately wanes. For example, we’re currently working on targeting Obi’s (our relaxed border collie’s) rump, as part of teaching proper greeting behaviors (when meeting strange dogs, she used to aim directly for the end with teeth – very bad manners and always ended badly). Last night, based on previous work, I expected her to orient to his rump, and hence missed lots of opportunities to click for head dips and ears cocked in the right direction. Tonight we regrouped and clicked for the intermediate behaviors; she worked with much more enthusiasm and even took a couple of steps toward his rump. I’m guessing two weeks of five minute/day sessions will get us there, as long as I’m mindful about my training plans.
As Habi came to us anxious and afraid to make mistakes, we don’t know how much is genetic and how much developed from her previous owner’s training approach. It’s amazing to see the difference between her approach to learning and Obi’s – he eats it up and asks for more.
Re: green and gold: Out here in southern Idaho we’re in gold and purple September – goldenrod and purple asters along the creeks and rivers, and brown on the desert hills.
Trisha: I made melted tomatoes per your description a couple of weeks ago, and used them and a dollop of cheese to top grilled zucchini slices. Instant zucchini pizza, and a great way to use up the giant zucchinis that emerge unexpectedly in the garden. Thanks for the inspiration!
Susanne Bark says
Hello from Australia,
I so much enjoyed hearing you talk on the subject of RESILIENCE! Such logical and valid points, giving our dogs the choice is so important for their well being. I think as dog trainers we need to think about how we train, make it fun so their choice is our choice or vice versa. Learning to accept if our dogs are not a willing to participate is yet another quality our dogs can teach us!
Looking forward to your next book as always! Thanks so much.
Trisha says
Thank you Susanne, your comments are appreciated for sure. It felt like such a huge topic to talk about in so little time. I wish I’d started by saying “This is just the beginning of a conversation, and can’t begin to provide all the answers.” But I’m glad you enjoyed it, thanks for listening!