Learning about cattle and dogs

It's amazing how much you don't know the more you know.

As I said last time, Rippa's been improving a lot with feedback from Sarah Martin about what to do with her and cattle. She's a lot happier to work, has a lot more power, is pulling them off the fence and thoughtfully fetching most of the time . . . like night and day to a few weeks ago when I thought I'd better give up the ghost.

I know so little about how my dog works here, and how the cattle work. Last work, Shannon pointed out a cow with pink eye, but I'd been so worried about what my dog was doing and what I was doing when we were sorting cattle to put into the arena that I really didn't look at the cattle. Not like I would with the sheep and ducks.

Maybe it's because I don't have a lot of experience with cattle - but I don't really have it with ducks, either. Maybe it's because I don't "own" the cattle, but my ducks live full time with someone else. Maybe it's because I'm not afraid of the ducks smashing me . . . but I'll be honest, I'm cautious but not like . . . timid around them.

I mean: 

So here's what I know I don't know now: before I was trying to approach cattle like I do with sheep and ducks - which is . . . send the dog around them, have her fetch, and like . . . it translates, right? And since it translates, all we need to do is worry about obedience.

Here's what I learned, or maybe relearned, because I remember some of this from Kathy starting the Fury on cattle, and some from Betty's clinic, too:

• It's probably pretty healthy that a dog has a fear/respect for the cattle. If a dog charges right in to fetch them, they can get smashed pretty easily compared to sheep and ducks that will run. Even a sheep challenging a dog warns well before they have a chance to smash in my experience.
• Fencelines, where cattle like to hang out in arenas, are pretty dangerous for dogs.
• The dog can't see you relative to the cattle so has to guess at where to be and . . . if you have a tight-working dog like mine, she's got to be paying a lot of attention to the cattle to make sure she's not smashed.

I forget some of this because Rippa lacks a bit of confidence and grit that her mother has that most of the Wood's dogs have. One one hand, she never gets overrun because she'll take time and stop stuff if she really can't handle something (though she still tends to like to go to head and wahoo initially), but on the other hand, she doesn't get really hurt when she's working cattle because she pulls her punches.

Like, I really like that when she's thinking, she's really deliberate about her hits. She'll walk up on a cow, show some teeth and then hit, kind of slow motion, right on the poll or heel. Or bark prior to the hit. When she's not thinking, she's running around, hackles up, barking, side swiping, all the western-stuff that seems exciting, but again, she never REALLY REALLY gets hurt. She's got some self preservation in her that I like. If The Fury had that, I'd let her work cattle in her old age. She doesn't.

So, we went from Rippa semi-driving but not really learning how to control the heads away and me using a lot of commands to get her to do things to her shutting down because of it to not even sending her on outruns, but starting out with a "There" and driving the cattle around the arena until Rippa's thinking and watching her stock and I can slowly back out of the picture, at which case the cattle either drift off the fence and we go into a nice little fetch or we keep driving, depending on what it's looking like. Heck, the very last work today, she proved she'd not naturally a barky dog because she was thinking well and had to tuck one head in and just came around, gave the cow the chance to think about it, and then hit it in the poll. Worked like a charm. We ended there.

So, what was missing before was functional chores (and honestly, sorting the little bulls can be difficult as they don't like going into the arena, so some days are good, some bad, sometimes Rippa can't hold her stay because she doesn't believe in what I'm doing . . . ) and me just quietly letting her work her stuff out.

She's still weak on the push from behind and everyone can get stuck, but a little flank command or some patience on my end usually fixes it. She's not fast and snappy, but she's getting it done at a walk and sometimes a trot and it feels marvelous.

Okay, and then let's also talk about the beautiful people I continue to meet on this journey. Shannon and I will go out to this ranch, I don't know what it's called, it's also go a huge quarry on it, where they used to raise hogs but now do cutting horses. They keep about ten calves for us to play with and even water and till up the arena all pretty before we get there. Because they like having us, and Shannon works one of her dogs. It's amazing.

Here's her dog:

Today, Cindy, a woman with more than enough going on in her life, found out I was pregnant with twins and was like, "Do you have anyone to help you?" And I said my husband, and she was like, "You will have to get my number. I don't have much time, but I will absolutely help you." I mean, she barely knows me. Her heart is that big. I also didn't say no.

I mean, it's amazing. I love these people so much.

Cindy's granddaughter, Jade, that comes out to hang out with us.

I have been really trying to double down on the stockdog thing. I really don't want the pregnancy to totally derail everything I've been up to. I'm hoping we get consistently good enough to get at least through Open before I'm too big to trial.

I told my husband that it was probably all over once I had to stop and he was so sweet: "I'll go with you, every time. I promise." Plus, everyone I work with has been so supportive, and of course, Shannon and I can have stockdog playdates . . . :) It'll be okay. Different, but okay.