Take my pen, please.

So, yesterday I went to “Good Woman” Thursday and had one run with Rips in the round pen. More of the same of what you’ve been seeing. I really wish I could get her to down faster out there, but I really like her otherwise. She is great for me to learn on – I feel like I am really going to “get it” this time and maybe I’ll eventually have time to help Fury get to her potential before her little dog body breaks down (she’ll be nine this January).

The folks at the ranch yesterday and today were really cool, too. Saw some familiar faces and met some new people – I especially liked meeting a gal my age because you never see that.  

Anyway, so yesterday, Kathy’s like, “Let’s give the take pen a try next time, arm or no arm.”

So today, that is what we did.

We started with working on outruns and me getting back to paying attention to the sheep (I got heavy sheep today and my life is easier when I don’t have to worry about them). We worked on getting Rips to LIE down and to come to me instead of going for the sheepsies, and then it was round pen time at the end of the lesson (when she is good and tired).

So take pens – this is a different kind of work entirely from what we’ve been working on – which is getting the dog to work in an increasingly more open space in control. The take pen is much smaller than the round pen you start a dog in, and you really need to be able to keep them in control there. Dogs feel a lot of pressure in there so keeping them away from sheep and mitigating the pressure you put on them is important, too.

Kathy’s pen is set up so that you have a main gate into the arena that leads into a chute with different holding pens for different sheep (so she can select heavy, light, etc sheep for you). So Rippa’s job was to down in front of the gate while I open the gate and let the sheep into the round pen.

Of course, I guess the sheep weren’t too worried about Rippa because there she is, diligently lying down in front of the sheep with the open gate as I am tying it back so it doesn’t shut, and the damn sheep run right on past her to the take pen. Fury would NEVER have allowed that to happen. I guess that shows the kind of terror Rips gives these heavy sheep.

That doesn’t bother me too much, though. She’s got plenty of power when challenged and to move stock. I haven’t really seen her on cattle, but as I said, Yishai likes to “accidentally” let her get in contact with them sometimes and he always talks breathlessly about her performance, so we’ll see in the fall.

And then, once the sheep were in the take pen. We went in. Here is the video. No commentary necessary because you can hear us all talking.

 

So the idea is that you teach the dog to go in, not bugger (Kathy’s phrase, and it’s perfect) the sheep, and run right around the perimeter, stopping at the back corner (where you tell them to), and then using presence to push them into the arena.

We teach this by going in with them and having them run circles around the sheep and keep her wide to the fence. Then I am supposed to down her opposite the gate, Kathy opens the gate (because it’s a lot to ask an 18 month old puppy to hold her stay with that kind of pressure), and the sheep go out. Now, right here, Kathy says not to let her work the sheep, but use obedience, so I leave her in her down, go out to the arena gate, call her and down her. Eventually she will understand the plan and relax and just go to me while I close the gate and start working again when I say. This was a nuance I either forgot or didn’t remember from Fury. In fact, a lot of this stuff I forgot because it’s been aeons since Fury and I worked take pens. It was kind of funny.

Anyway, second take pen of the day was good, but Rippa was thinking maybe it would be better if she just got out into the arena if I wanted her out so bad. Oh well, Rips has her mother’s “If I am not doing it right, then why bother” trait. When she figures it out, it will be nice.

I am also having problems with stick location, and how it affects the dog, but we’ll worry about that next time and next time hopefully I won’t have the brace on.

Rippa says, “No worries, I luv mah sheep!”

People keep asking me how old she is for some reason. I answer, but I would feel weird going, “Why do you ask?” Maybe I should.

I also talked to Denise Creelman (who was up for lessons) about my silly aspiration to be a breeder judge with stockdogs. All the Junior handlers that I grew up with are getting their licenses to judge, but not me. She was like, “Yeah, she’s a nicely balanced little dog, maybe a little too long for my taste (true, me too), but the problem is she is so small.” Gets you every time! She is about 18” exactly, but in California that’s the kiss of death! :) Oh well. Next generation.

Barking, Arenas, and Sweet Videos of Me Working with a Sling

So, this time, I thought, “Hey, this whole working with an immobilizer on seems to work,” so I brought the video camera for Thursday’s lessons.

The first work of the morning, it was only me and my neighbor, JoAnne (she lives down the street from me) and it would have been too much for her to shoot video so I just set it on a post. You won’t get much video from that work, and it’s okay.

So I get there, and Kathy’s like, “Well, you can’t use the duckpen because Cindy (border collie local) needs to use the geese to get ready to trial in August, so let’s use the arena.” And I contain myself and very studiously say, “You sure the time is right? I can wait.” She goes, “Nah, let’s do it.”

And I am right back to when I first showed up at the ranch and thought the arena was the be-all and do-all. I am thrilled. Although, truth-be-told, I also had just sent in a deposit check for her Repeat Offender’s camp, which involves horses, cattle, and using the hill. I am hoping Rips will be ready by September, if only I can stay in good control and maybe get ahold of the Cattlemaster I keep mentioning and he is game.

Anyway, so I go in there and I am nervous. I watch Rippa at my side as she slinks in. I love how both my little dog ladies get super focused on the approach and slink kinda border-collie in and then lie down as solid as rocks until it’s time to go. No bouncing around like idiots here.

And away we go. You cant’ see much in the video, but she comes in hot (expected), and I push her out, and within a little bit, we’ve got them balanced and I can do pretty much whatever I need to.

Things I learned or thought about today:

I really need to control where I hold that stick. I notice in the video it’s way up when it should be pointing more down. I do like the sheep and how they help me with that because these new sheep are a little lighter and less likely to smash into me.

It’s time to move to the arena when your dog has control of the stock and itself (and you do, as well). The duck pen is useful in that, just like the round pen, it’s simply easier to catch and get control of the dog. Some training methods use leads, but Kathy’s is more about using yourself to handle the situation, and I like that. Fury has always been very good offlead because she knows if she messes up, that I will go and definitely get her.

I have a very big problem of walking into heads when I push Rippa out. It’s like I think the sheep stay put. I push Rippa out and then I go back to where I was in parallel with where Rippa is, which makes her unable to get around, and then makes her bitchy and quit trying.

Kathy is super annoyed by the brace because I can’t really effectively use the stick to get Rips to slingshot around me because of the arm placement. She always was like, “Now that you’re in the arena, it’s time to learn take pen, but you need full use of your arms!” Hopefully when I get to the doc in two weeks, he will say I have the right to bare arms.

Other dog thoughts . . .

- Barking. There was a new dog at the ranch for lessons and two women were outside talking about how the dog was barking a ton. “Does he bark normally?” “No!” she said suprisedly. So I kind of mumble something about how when her dog figures out what its doing and focuses, it will stop barking. Which, right about when I say it, it does.

Stock people really don’t like barking dogs, as I’ve said before. I haven’t thought about it lately, but there’s a good reason for it. I think the majority of barky dogs don’t have as much instinct as I’d like. They are usually like, “Wow, it feels kind of good to rush these animals but . . . I don’t know what to do!” Just like I thought Rippa would bark a lot because she barks a lot in person, she’s dead silent. And how many lessons have we had and she looks good. I’m really happy with how she’s turning out.

- Stress training seems to have worked. That same dog was having a hard time not chirping when he wasn’t on the stock and it reminded me of how Fury was totally unable to self-sooth at the ranch for a long time, she would dance around and chirp and all kinds of things. Now she settles right in for a nap, but it was obnoxious for a bit. Rippa has always been real easy to self-sooth. She is asleep under the picnic table while I grade in the interim, or napping in the truck. Fury used to shiver when we worked in the pens for trials and setting out sheep and I doubt Rippa will. She seems a lot calmer. Could be a personality difference, but I do think “puppy torture” that I did when the litter was little was helpful.

I Definitely Let My Freak Flag Fly!

So, sports fans, I haven’t updated this blog because Rippa didn’t get to work since last time. I haven’t called the goat cattlemaster because I found out shortly after that I was having surgery on my shoulder (old injury) and then I had it. And then, three weeks later, I have lessons.

And while you’re dying to know how we did and what we worked on, I need to explain what I looked like out there.

First off, I’ve got a big ol’ immobilizer brace on so that I can’t do anything stupid with my shoulder. Here’s a photo of the first day of surgery:

So, yeah, that big black thing. People think it’s an industrial fanny pack. I am supposed to wear it all the time – but the reality is that I am sitting here, lying on the couch with it off because I can type easier. Workarounds.

Okay, so, on top of that, it’s pretty hot and humid here in SLO, so, abhorrent of shorts, I have on a short little running skirts and some Nike Frees which are nothing but mesh glued to soles.

And there I am, wielding my stick with one hand and Rippa’s actually doing pretty awesome. We were all thinking this was spectacular and I look up at Kathy and grin, “Well, maybe we shouldn’t be practicing!” She’s staying off them, rating them well, walking straight up, giving them some space . . . Kathy says she gave me a notch up from the heavy sheep we were used to so I better be sure to keep them off my feet . . . which turns out to be literal because . . . RIP!

My right foot literally exits laterally from my shoes and my socks are exposed to the grass. My handling starts to fall apart, so I down the Rippa dog, kick off my shoes and am now handling her in the grass, which is a mix of sheep poo and pee and water. But I am classy and I don’t care.

By now I have fallen apart on my handling and Rippa doesn’t look as good. She’s not trying and not covering. She won’t lie down quickly on command. We practice the slingshot recall and she shoots and doesn’t sling a couple times and Kathy thinks she is clued into the fact that I’m hobbled by the brace.

But, you know, whatever, it’s funny and I had a good time. I still think Rippa dog is an excellent beastie and I’m looking forward to getting more miles on her and more skills on me.

One thing was super clear to me today (though it always is) – your handling skills make all the difference on these dogs.