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Maid Goes "Sheeping" Pt. 2


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So, we had a beautiful day and Santa Rosa was nice and warm - but not too warm. Maid was eager to work, and chomping at the bit. Joyce said a lot of nice things about her, and I really think she meant them, as she was smiling a lot when she was working Maid. Still only have photos - no video, and as per agreement Joyce is "fuzzed out."

 

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We had a wonderful time - especially Maid. She's wiped out - sleeping under the desk. :D

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She looks great! I sure wish you had better/easier access to sheep!

 

J.

ME too.

 

She looks much calmer than she did the first time - way to go, Maid and Geonni!

 

Ruth and Gibbs

Thanks! She was a little helter-skelter when she first went into the paddock, so we went back to the round pen for a little bit, rested her and then went to the paddock again.

 

She was galloping quite a bit at first, but she settled down and was good. Here she is skittering around. She really does work more like a cow dog, she wants to come in low and grip, but she takes direction well, and we even got one "lie down" from her. But she was getting tired at that point so... :P

 

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I like the way she looks, especially in the first photos you showed. She looks relaxed, her tail is down, and both she and the sheep are moving at a modest (i.e., not "hell-bent-for-leather") pace. You can tell in the second set of photos that both she (and sometimes the sheep) are moving faster. Videos would tell more, but I can appreciate why Joyce might not want them taken, and of course you have to respect her wishes.

 

I wouldn't worry about gripping at this stage. Eventually you might want to start to add a gentle "Maid..." if you can tell she's thinking about gripping and it isn't necessary, but at this point everything should be about encouraging her. My young dog was a bit grippy at first; we even called him "Hock" because of his tendency to nip on the hocks. You don't want to make a dog feel it can't grip if it needs to do so to protect itself, and I went so far as to effusively praise this dog when he marched up and bit a ewe on the nose when she was ignoring him the first time he worked her. At this point I wish my young dog *would* grip this same ewe now, because she keeps asking for it... She (the ewe) may have to go.

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I wouldn't worry about gripping at this stage. Eventually you might want to start to add a gentle "Maid..." if you can tell she's thinking about gripping and it isn't necessary, but at this point everything should be about encouraging her. My young dog was a bit grippy at first; we even called him "Hock" because of his tendency to nip on the hocks. You don't want to make a dog feel it can't grip if it needs to do so to protect itself, and I went so far as to effusively praise this dog when he marched up and bit a ewe on the nose when she was ignoring him the first time he worked her. At this point I wish my young dog *would* grip this same ewe now, because she keeps asking for it... She (the ewe) may have to go.

 

She never actually made contact, but she clearly wanted too. A "Ah!" was enough to turn her, without turning her off. But I suspect she was encouraged to grip in her former home, where she was started on cattle. I hear you about not coming down on her and putting her off stock. It was my greatest fear - that she would be put off stock from the treatment her previous owner gave her. She was discarded for being "no good." I was afraid that she might have been ruined.

 

But my fears were unfounded. I never see such a light in her eyes as when she is on sheep.

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She looks good. Good for both you and her! B)

A

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Dear Aspiring Sheepdoggers,

 

Ms. Banner writes (in part) . . ."we even got one "lie down" from her. But she was getting tired at that point so... :P"

 

That's how you put commands on them by asking when they're most ready to answer. For instance: Ask for the down when she's well off the sheep on the balance point NEVER when she's flying around full tilt. Ask for the "That'll do" when you and the dog are on the same side of the sheep, NEVER when she thinks she's holding them to you.

 

Donald McCaig

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Well, it seems my short time as a sheepdogger (sort-of) is drawing to a close. I have been in contact with a woman near Stockton, CA who needs a second dog to bring along for a goat grazing outfit. She sounds like just the kind of person I wanted for Maid, and she is coming to see her on Thursday. :):( 'sniff"

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Go with your gut when you meet this woman. (I'm sure you will.) I've fostered a small number of dogs over the past few years. 99% of the time I was ok with letting them go. It felt right. But there was one I would give my eye teeth to have back.

Maybe it will be a perfect fit for Maid. I hope it's perfect for you both.

 

But remember, a simpler life isn't always a better life.

 

(I'm feeling sentimental today, so humor me.)

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Go with your gut when you meet this woman. (I'm sure you will.) I've fostered a small number of dogs over the past few years. 99% of the time I was ok with letting them go. It felt right. But there was one I would give my eye teeth to have back.

Maybe it will be a perfect fit for Maid. I hope it's perfect for you both.

 

She seemed like a good fit to me. The dogs are in the house at night and in bad weather, and she describing the training round-pen set-up she's constructing, and she gets and is OK with the fact that Maid will probably not adore her on sight.

 

I don't know anything about working goats, but she said she has gotten a few sheep to start Maid's training. (I have this hazy idea that goats aren't big on flocking.) (OK, everybody quit guffawing... ;) ) She knows the woman that I took Maid to for training and they had a good talk about how Joyce sees Maid's working style/potential.

 

The countryside where she is is very pretty. And it isn't so far that I can't go see her. post-10533-0-10675400-1449523261_thumb.jpg

 

And of course, if she doesn't work out she can come back to me.

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Well. She's gone.

 

Cindy came and stayed for quite a while. She seemed kind, sensible, and taken with Maid. Maid approved her, by sitting next to her on the floor, and allowing herself to be petted. They seemed well-suited to one another. And I feel she has gone to a good place and a good life.

 

Now if you will excuse me, I have half a box of tissues to attend to.

 

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