Sheepdog training weekend

On the 4th and 5th of June, a sheepdog training weekend will be held at Nan and Murray Lloyd’s property, west of Darkan.
Come anytime after 8.30 am.

This weekend is for anyone who is interested in learning more about training sheepdogs, needs some help with their dog or wants to learn how to start a pup the right way.

Or perhaps you are interested in sheepdog trialling, and would like some information. If anyone out there is thinking of giving trialling a go this year, this would be a great start.

Experienced handlers will be available to offer help and assistance. And also some inexperienced handlers, like me, just to offer moral support and proof that even the incurably incompetent can enjoy working sheepdogs...

Accommodation can be arranged if necessary
Cost will be $20 and a plate of food for anyone staying the night. Those who just wish to come for the day please bring a plate of food.
Cooked breakfast will be included for anyone staying over night.

For more details ring Nan Lloyd on 97361043.
Or email karuma1@bigpond.com

Come along, but wear long trousers, gloves and some heavy duty pest repellent, because in the wilds of Darkan you may encounter one of these:

or even these:

and possibly lose a finger.

Another photo-less blog entry

So much to do, so little time. One day I will sit down and finish editting my photos and video from the agility nationals. And some updated puppy photos. And possibly something about the 2 legged kids too. But right now I can't be bothered, I'm knackered from single-parenting while R drives a tractor round and round and round the paddocks from dawn til just before midnight. So I'm having to find other forms of procrastination to avoid doing housework... and today I actually worked a few dogs!
Slightly wet training paddock, 30 or so training sheep, some dogs:

Elvis ran straight at them, blew them into 15 groups, look really confused, went around to gather but then would not come off the head. I was wearing Crocs (yes, really) and couldn't run, and he wouldn't stop. My attempts to block him just caused him to get wider and wider and wider until he was almost orbitting the 10 acre paddock. Hmm. Handler sensitivity. Who'd have thought? Plan- back in the round pen, get his stop back. Reassess.

Finbar ran not quite straight at them, picked one likely individual out and tried to kill it. Called him off eventually, managed to get him going around the sheep both ways, until he spotted the "cull" trying to hide in the middle, and picked it out and tried to kill it again. Blew myself a little aneurysm getting him off and back to the kennels. Sheep was fine, me not so much. Plan- back in the round pen, get a stop (can't say get one back because I don't think I've actually bothered to teach him one). Muzzle, and go out on mobs. Maybe after lambing time.

Tom ran a very tight cast, brought them back. Is just like Bill, but has a stop (OMG!), walks straight up where appropriate, and doesn't flippyflap with his tail in the air. And he's a little bit short on the head, which Bill isn't. Otherwise identical. He's just exactly my sort of dog. Lots and lots of work to do, he's way too close most of the time and slices a bit at the top of his cast, but I think I enjoy it. Favourite bit: one single pig of a sheep had jumped into the ram paddock some time ago, and was trying to sneak back down the laneway as we were walking off. I was thinking about Tom being a little short, and Simon's comment once that the way to tell if a dog was really short was to work one sheep. So I sent him after it, and he was actually not too bad, managed to hold it to me. Because it was a pig, it turned on him, and he had to back it halfway across the paddock to me. And he loved it. Walking straight up on it, steadily, nose to nose. It charged him twice, and both times he held his ground and hit it on the nose (no blood), no turn tail at all when it tried to run over him. Basically got him to hit it on command, and to walk up on command even when the sheep was threatening him. We both enjoyed it heaps, he didn't want to quit. Very much not perfect, but fun to work. Can't say the same for El and Fin at the moment, sadly.

Sheepdog training weekend

Posted for Nan, because her very excellent website (www.sheepdogs.com.au) is down temporarily. Nan's training days are always good fun and good value- she caters for everyone, all sorts of dogs, handlers from different backgrounds and levels of experience. Plus great food (unless I'm taking something, in which case be careful) and hospitality. And FREE!

To be held on the 5th and 6th of June at Murray and Nan Lloyd’s property, west of Darkan, Western Australia.

Start at about 9am but people can come at anytime during the day either on the Sat or the Sun

If you have a young dog you want to start the right way or if you are having problems with an older dog come along for some assistance.
Experienced handlers will be available to assist and explain the principals of dog training.
We can also supply information for anyone who would like to have a go at sheepdog trialling now or in the future.
Or if you just want to come a long for a look to see what we are about then you are more than welcome.

There is no charge but if anyone wants to stay for lunch we ask that they bring a plate of food to share.
We can also supply accommodation if required.

Enquiries ring Nan Lloyd on 97361043 or email karuma1@bigpond.com

Training day at our place

That was fun!

Finally we got around to organising one of the training days we keep talking about having here, thanks to some prompting from Nan Lloyd. It was perfect weather for dog training, cool and overcast with the promise of rain dark on the horizon, and our training sheep were pretty well behaved. Nan brought over her nice bunch of youngsters, including Balto the collie x giraffe, Yindi the midget collie and some very good looking young kelpies (Zinc, Tonka and Mango), Karen Buller dropped in with her young dogs, and Andrew and Wendy (Esme's breeders) brought her litter sisters Martha and Ditto, their father Tippy and a couple of other pups.

I did take a bit of video, but I'll hold off on posting it until I've okayed it with the victims.

And if you haven't noticed, you only have 12 hours or so to vote in the Flyboy poll: which one should stay? Finbar's in the lead still, JJ and Elvis neck and neck in second, and Harry is the least popular (sssh, don't tell him). Interesting as this poll has been, I still have absolutely no idea which pup to keep. I've always thought Fin was staying, but I've bonded with all the little ratbags, and it's so hard to decide.

We'd kind of decided that Elvis would go, since he was the last to switch on and up until today didn't really seem that interested in sheep. But in the round pen today he started to get into it, low and smooth and focussed, and went around the sheep, didn't do too much rushing or woolclassing, and was actually pretty nice.

My boy Fin, on the other hand, seems to have waaay too much eye, and just held the sheep on the fence as though I wasn't there. Andrew suggested taking him out in the paddock with real kneeknockers and trying to get some balancing going, and we did give that a go after everyone had gone home, with all thirty training sheep. He actually did better, balanced up and was a little calmer, although he isn't as smooth and arcing as Elvis. Maybe that'll come with a bit more time on sheep?

JJ was his usual full-on self, although he settled down a bit after a couple of round pen turns. He's a lot like his uncle Jim in many ways, pathologically confident, bouncing off corrections with a wag of his tail. More style though.

And Harry had a quick spin. He's still the smoothest and most natural of the four at this stage. He balances up quietly, pushes through on the fence and doesn't have too much eye. I put a bit of pressure on him at the end of the afternoon, probably unnecessarily, and he ran over to give me a cuddle in a slightly sooky way. We'll have to remember that he's obviously a lot softer than he looks.

Grassvalley Tippy (Esme's dad):




Esme is so like Tippy- living up to her puppy name of LT (Little Tippy). I had hoped for a Little Bell, but I won't be too disappointed if she turns out like Tip (when he's Good Tip, anyway).

Martha, Esme's sister:


Martha is so much like her mother, Bell, it's uncanny. She's going to be a total star.

Ditto, the third sister:


Ditto is somewhere between Es and Martha, I guess. She's a lovely steady little girl. And she's available for the right amount of arm-twisting!

Ditto and Martha:


I think this is Nan's Mango:





(it's art, not a poor shot, okay?)

And now for the compulsory BabyJ photo:


Grubby Farmboy plays the good host, keeping Wendy amused with his new set of plastic dinosaurs (thanks Nan!). That Wendy, she LOVES dinosaurs!