That could actually be a great title for a content-rich blog, but I’m afraid the blog I was working on got trumped by 1) the blog site crashing for several hours, 2) Tootsie’s recurrent and unexplained UTI and need for an X-ray, and 3) Nellie the kitty showing up limping and clearly very, very unwell.
Thus, instead of a blog about the questions to ask when someone (like me) says “It Depends,” I’m just going to go right to a report on the farm and the sheepdogs. But keep your eyes out for a blog on “It Depends,” and one on a survey on resource guarding in the near future.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Everyone but the sheep and the cats piled into the car yesterday to go to the Laughing Frog Sheepdog Trial in Kansasville, WI. Put on by hosts Tresa and Don Laferty, the trial is designed to be a small, supportive trial that welcomed people and dogs who may not be the “big hats,” but want to learn more about good work with sheepdogs. It was a great opportunity to take Maggie to a first trial, and fun for Willie too.
Who would have guessed that Tootsie would turn out to be the winner of the first competition run? I suggested to Tresa that she radio the judge (the helpful and benevolent Lori Perry) that there was a last minute entry, so Tootsie and I trotted out to take our place at the post. Imagine our surprise when she turned out to be the winner of the run due to some creative scoring! Ha!
Here we are getting “High in Trial” for our efforts. (Tootsie was awarded the only perfect score of the day. Amazing what you can get when you’re cute.
Maggie had three runs. Her first was best described as “Eeeee Hah!” I was hesitant to stop her because she can get sticky, but after being encouraged to push the sheep at Derek Fisher’s clinic last weekend, Maggie came on full bore, and pretty much ran the sheep down the field to me. We slammed our way around the course, but managed to complete some of the exercises with some dignity. We placed second. When I showed Jim the ribbon he said “You’re kidding.” Yeah, it wasn’t exactly smooth.
She kicked butt on her second run. This time the sheep (a different group) began to run down the field like race horses before Maggie was halfway done with her outrun. This time I didn’t hesitate to lie her down. Needless to say, these sheep were fast and flighty, and reactive to a dog even 50 yards away. Perfect for Maggie’s personality, which explains in part why she did so well this time. (I deleted “she was brilliant,” because it sounded too much like bragging. But hey, just between us, she was brilliant.). She stayed far, far back to keep control, listening to my every cue, and was on the perfect balance point for the entire course. Judge Lori generously gave us 97/100 points. (You could get an extra 5 if you pointed out the lead sheep at one point, but my brain is too small to do all that at once.)
Here she is doing the drive. You can see how far away from the sheep she needed to be, any closer and they would have taken off at a dead run. She’s not yet always 100% on her flanks (meaning, “go clockwise” or “go counterclockwise) and she’s not confident yet driving very far, but she did perfectly on this one. Okay, yeah, I was really proud!
My small brain got the best of us on her third run. The sheep were busy eating grain and instead of letting Maggie do her outrun and get them moving right away, I stopped her at the back (thinking no doubt about the race horse sheep on our previous runs). She got stuck, a common problem for dogs who are “strong eyed, or who make eye contact with the sheep, get them settled and balanced between them and the handler, and stop. Job done. What else would there be to do? This is Maggie’s biggest challenge, and the type of situation in which she needs experience and more help from me over the next months. In this case I walked out to help her and we got things going again, but I knocked myself on my head for stopping her when I shouldn’t have. Hopefully I learned my lesson, and that’s what this trial was about, a good place to practice and learn away from the pressure of the big trials.
Willie got a chance to run also in the ‘non-compete’ class (non-compete because he’s run in bigger trials at a higher level) and had a great time. He’s almost nine now, and I can tell that he isn’t loving the pressure of precision flanking on long drives. But he was in his element, and did beautifully. This time I managed to squeak out who I thought might be the lead ewe, and Lori gave me the extra five points just for remembering, so Willie ended up with 103/105 points. I should be clear that Lori was more than generous, and I can guarantee you that those points would never have been posted at one of the bigger trials, but still. It’s such fun when it all goes so well!
Here’s Willie helping to pen the sheep. The sheep were not pleased about going into a strange, small wooden structure, and it took some work to pen them, but both Maggie (on her good run) and Willie got them penned.
Thanks to Jim for taking the photos, and to Tresa, Don & Lori, along with helpers Nancy and Diane, for putting on such a great trial. And thanks to everyone who attended; it was great fun spending the day together.
And here’s a photo I rather like that I took not too far from our farm. The light green field is an alfalfa field that had been cut a few days before. The hay was left to dry, then gathered up for the dairy cows down the road.
May all your own hay be cut in sunshine… By the way–Tootsie’s X-ray was clear (no stones, but still no answer to the mystery), and the vet found that Nellie had a bad bite on her shoulder. It got cleaned out, she got an injection of a slow release antibiotic, and I am considering tossing out the dog crate pad that she peed all over on the way to the vet clinic. A small price to pay if she heals up well.
Paved by Paw Prints says
Wow – that sounds like a great day out! Congrats on doing so well! I’d love to teach my shetland sheepdog, Cody, to round up sheep or ducks… but since he’s shy I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t do it!
Glad Tootsie is okay and hopefully Nellie has a quick recovery!
Erin James says
Lovely photos! I’m looking forward to the Resource Guarding survey.
Barb Stanek says
Willie is 9??? I can’t believe it. Time flies.
Great herding stories. I can tell how much you love it. It is so much fun to listen to another person in love with dogs and dogs working.
Susan says
how did Nellie get a bite on her shoulder?
Monika & Sam says
Can I just say how much I enjoy your photos of your pups ‘working’? Enjoyment, admiration and inspiration all rolled into one. Well done. Thanks for sharing.
Betsy Calkins says
What a gorgeous photo of the alfalfa field! Makes me miss Wisconsin in the summer. (not so much in the winter, haha!) Thanks.
Your agility trial sounds lovely–a supportive learning environment adds to the joys of life.
Susan Bassett says
i do love reading your blog! Great pictures, too. Glad the little ones are okay!
Cathy says
Wow, way to go on an excellent weekend with the dogs. So glad your Tootsie is okay. I welcome the survey on resource guarding. We have a wonderful sweet Pyrenees that will sometimes resource guard. She is 9 months old and we work with her constantly on manners, obedience and lots of love, but this resource guarding is newer for us as it is our first set of Great Pyrs and RG. Thanks so much for your wonderful blogs and all the great help and information! YOU are a hero in my book!
Cathy Hivner says
Even when things don’t go completely as planned, you make the herding sound like so much fun!
Pamela Zander Owen says
I’m a new follower of your dog training methods and your blog, and am learning from both.
My husband and I live in South Carolina with our young dog, an energetic Carolina mix. He is alternately super excited and super mellow. So he has a lot to learn and a lot to teach us too!
Thanks for sharing your insight on dogs and for a glimpse of Wisconsin farm life.
lin says
Susan, Nellie is a barn cat, so possibly a feral cat? I don’t know if Trisha is close enough to any other farms where another cat may have been looking to expand territory. Do cats ever tussle with raccoons or do they know to stay away?
Congrats to all the dogs, and hey, maybe Tootsie, like Babe, knows the secret words for sheep.
lin says
I meant to write, maybe a feral cat fought with Nellie.
Trisha says
Thanks to all. To Susan: I don’t know how Nellie was bitten. Best culprits are 1) stray cats, a common problem on the farm, 2) the raccoon that we found in the barn a few days ago and chased out or 3) Her daughter Polly. This seems least likely, because they get along so well, groom, cuddle and play together often. But, you never know. I’m most worried about the raccoon. Haven’t seen a stray cat lately (doesn’t mean one isn’t around), and the bite wounds seemed a bit far apart for a cat’s mouth. Nellie is still very quiet today, but she ate her breakfast, which is always a good sign.
And Betsy, just so you know: It was a sheepdog trial, not an agility one. Thank heavens, I don’t think I could ever remember a course! I guarantee you I’d end sending my dog through something the wrong way!
Rick Jacobi says
I had to put my Westie 15 1/2 years old down this morning. Very hard!
He had the best care and vets that money could buy, but it was just time. My gut told that and the look in his eyes told me that he needed help. But I still feel guilty!
Mary Eckstein says
go Cavaliers! I think it’s awesome that Tootsie got an award! Liked the haying picture from the “Eat Cheese or Die” state (my brother’s version of Wisconsin’s state motto a la New Hampshire)
Kassie Voigt says
I love your blog stories! As a fellow Wisconsinite I also enjoy your pictures. I would love to get into herding with my cattle dog mix but we don’t live on a farm (someday cross our fingers) and right now we are both doing our best to learn and compete in agility, but she has such an incredible herding drive I would love to give her the chance to do what she was bred for. I’d also like your input on another interesting habit she has exhibited. Whenever we drive along the countryside she gets so excited when she sees beef cattle however when we drive by dairy cattle she doesn’t seem interested at all. We have also driven by sheep but no real reaction there either (well at least from a distance away in our truck). It seems that time and time again its the beef cattle that get her excited. I find it hard to believe that she can distinguish between beef and dairy cattle and that it could be some sort of instinct from her breeds roots herding cattle in Australia. We joke about it all the time how she favors the beef cattle but there’s part of me that wonders why and could it really be instinct or just coincidence? Any thoughts would be appreciated, i’d love to hear others opinions. Thanks for the wonderful blogs!
LisaW says
Kassie: The first thought I had when I read that your dog alerts to beef cattle more than dairy cows was: MEAT! STEAK! RIBS! Maybe it’s their stance or their looks or the way they seem to have more energy than dairy cows. Maybe it’s their gender; hard to say.
Trisha: I guess my level of anticipation depends upon what you are planning to write about “It Depends,” 🙂 but whatever it is, I’m sure it will be informative and enlightening. I look forward to both that blog and the resource guarding survey (having an RG’er in our house).
Kathy says
To Rick Jacobi–
Euthanizing a beloved dog is among the most difficult tasks we have to perform as thinking and feeling human beings. Please give yourself permission to feel that you have done the very best you could for your Westie. Fifteen and a half years is a good, long life and brought him to the time when he needed your help the most. He could not relieve his age and pain himself, but you were able to do it. You gave him a great gift: a peaceful, kind, loving death rather than a pain- and confusion-filled one. That look in his eyes not only said that he needed your help, but also that you are the ONLY one who could help him–and you did. Although the sadness is profound and the pain is exhausting right now, you should feel proud of your strength in doing what he needed, not guilty, and remember how much you loved him and how much he loved you.
I hope you feel better soon.
Kassie V. says
Lisa W: Thanks for the laugh! She does LOVE steak…maybe you’re on to something 🙂
Diane says
Sounds like a wonderful day. I know nothing about sheep herding (city person), but it is fascinating to hear about and watch. Love the no pressure trial – those are the best for both man and beast…or is it beast and dog?
Nic1 says
Hope Nellie makes a speedy recovery. Sounds like you all are having great fun attending trials. I enjoy reading the progress reports very much and it does seem that Willie and Maggie have been a great match for each other too.
Fascinating observation regarding excitement over beef cattle as opposed to dairy cattle! Is this the same reason my mutt dog’s 1/4 English Springer genes get turned on when she smells pheasant and is mostly uninterested in other large types of birds? Does the specific scent initiate part of the predatory motor pattern sequence?
She literally turns into a Spaniel when she picks up a pheasant scent and will follow a hot trail and flush beautifully, immediately returning to my side. All instinct. Zero training. Yet, she’s not interested in other birds, except she may occasionally bark her annoyance if she spots large wood pigeons nesting in the trees in the garden…..
Susan Tolchin says
one edge of our field follows the road side, and both my dog and my horse have fallen victim to the broken glass. I don’t know if it’s from the recycling pickup truck or just “freelance-recycling” Trying to make that section of fence less valuable has really helped.
Susan says
Thinking about preference for beef cattle over dairy cattle got me to wondering. Dairy cattle are handled at least twice daily, for the milk machines and to go outside. Reverse that in the evenings. Beef cattle aren’t usually handled unless there is a problem. So the stress level when the steer see that they are the chosen fruit of the day would be much higher than would be the case of a dairy cow at the approach of people and dogs. Beef cattle are more likely to skitter off which would make them a treat to try to herd.
jackied says
My spaniel keeps getting UTI too, with many vets very puzzled aboutit. I’ll be interested to hear if they work out what Tootsie’s underlying problem is.
Jen says
For Rick Jacobi:
Making that call is never easy. You obviously loved your Westie very much, and that was one lucky dog. You did the best you could. That’s all you can do, and in time I hope you can accept that even though you will still miss your old friend.
Mireille says
Lovely to hear about you herding trial and great that all 3 dogs did so well off course you can brag. It makes life so much easier if you have occasion to be proud of your dogs!
I can understand your worried about the raccoon bite. I hate to ask but I do assume Nellie hasa rabies vaccination? With all the pro-contra debates here in the Netherlands people choose not to vaccinate their dogs, thinking rabies as a far away threat, but a couple of recent import cases show the threat to be real still…
Mireille says
About the difference between dairy and beef cattle; dairy cattle are usually much more placid, even tend to be curious and come sniffing. At that point my two tough Sibes crawl behind my legs (Mum, they are BIG) whereas beef cattle are usually more flighty or even downright agressive (they can stampede both towards and away from you, depending on their mood. And Cattle That Runs whooooow That Has To Be Chased …. (Ahum).
I had a pretty tough decision to make at one point; cross a small part of a field with Galloways (a Tough breed of beef cattle) or walk around it which meant back two hours … i crossed the field but held the guys on a very tight leash and quick pace…
Ellen Pepin says
It sounds like a good time was had by all. At 9, I would think that Willy is getting tired of chasing sheep around. The area around your farm is so pretty. I wish I could live there.