Jumpin Boots Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 I am so excited! I officially mailed off our entry for our first sheep camp up in Coldstream BC this summer. It will be held for two days at Lee Lumbs place with Norm Sommer, Chris Hanson and Don Helsley. We are going to turn it into a mini vacation and take a few days getting home as well. Now to get back on schedule with training at home. Any advice regarding these types of events? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Wow - wonderful! I'm green with envy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airbear Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 You are going to LOVE it! Be prepared for all kinds of weather, from really hot to really kind of rainy. Bring a chair, some shade cloth for your car if crating in there (so the dog(s) don't get too hot), and sunscreen (I am thinking sunny thoughts for you). Maybe a hat too. Are you going in the trial after the camp? Lee is fabulous, as are all of her instructors. You are going to have such a good time! I am so excited! I officially mailed off our entry for our first sheep camp up in Coldstream BC this summer. It will be held for two days at Lee Lumbs place with Norm Sommer, Chris Hanson and Don Helsley. We are going to turn it into a mini vacation and take a few days getting home as well.Now to get back on schedule with training at home. Any advice regarding these types of events? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workindogs Posted February 8, 2014 Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 Julie That is great news! You are going to have a great time….that is an awesome and fun group of instructors and you are going to meet new friends. Timber is going to love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumpin Boots Posted June 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 I am officially giddy with anticipation. We leave Wednesday morning to head to Lee's. Don Helsley isn't able to make it so Peter Gonnet is stepping in. There are 4 sessions each day with one of the four trainers. The topics being covered all sound great and I don't know how I will choose. I'm sure all of the sessions will be great. And we entered our first trial and will be running in novice on Saturday and Sunday. I'm already nervous, but mainly super excited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildFlower Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 Awesome! Have a great time! Maybe you can report back on how it went??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 Have fun! And let us know all about it when you get back! J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippin's person Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 Definitely report back if you get a chance. What a great experience (camp and trial) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workindogs Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 Take lots of pictures, make new friends and have a blast. I can't wait to hear your news about camp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilyfalk Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 Sounds great, let us know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumpin Boots Posted July 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Wow, what a great experience this camp was. I had a typo above, there were 3 different sessions a day with 4 classes during each session. There was a drawing in the morning to pick you classes, some were geared more towards beginners, others not so much. But I found all the clinicians did a great job of setting up your working time to best suit your and your dog's needs. There were 7 handler/dog teams in each class, so you'd end up working 1-2 times depending on what the topic was and how quickly things went. I'm sure I actually only retained about 25% of what was covered, there was just so much to absorb, but I came home with some great exercises and ideas I can't wait to try out. And I learned a ton watching other dogs/handlers as well, probably even more than when I was working my dog. Because of the way the classes fell I didn't end up getting to work under Peter. I worked with Lee 3 times, Chris twice and Norm once. They were all amazing and I'm already looking forward to next year. Timber did really well and absorbed my nervous energy better than I could have ever hoped. He just wanted to get out and do his job. He worked well for me or the clinicians, handled the waiting and other dogs like a champ. Lee's place is gorgeous and the weather was wonderful. It was warm with a breeze most of the time and then around 4:30 pm storm clouds would roll in, rain for a bit and then clear back up for a pleasant evening. On Saturday we stepped to the post for the first time. Well I felt like I was crawling. It was a 75 yard outrun, I haven't worked him at that distance before and with my nerves I figured that we would lose some of our distance anyway. I had it all planned out. I was going to send Timber on an away, he would begin collapsing in, I would try to out him, his eye would catch him. I'd lie him down, try a re-directed, which wouldn't work, I'd lie him down again, leave the post and walk closer to help him. Send and take the sheep to the exhaust. The trial was quite low key and really geared towards helping novice handlers/dogs, so the judge was ok with you working your dog a bit to get the sheep off the field as long as your dog wasn't harassing the stock. So there we were, I sent Timber and to my surprise he went out pretty darn nicely. He lost one point each on the outrun and lift and 3 of the fetch, he was a bit pushy and not totally straight. But wow, my dog was out there, listening to me and we were actually doing what we have been training to be able to do! We got the sheep around the post nicely and started the drive. We have just begun driving and I could have walked with him, but for some reason didn't, I don't really know what was happening at this point. He drove pretty well, but we cut the course at both drive panels (I found out later what this meant, yes, I learned a lot over the four days). The sheep were the same ones that had been worked for the clinic, so where pretty complacent, which was perfect for our first time, so got a perfect pen. I was so proud of my boy, couldn't have asked for more. On Sunday, I got to work the set out pens, which was a great experience and a lot of fun. I can definitely see why so many handlers recommend newbies volunteer to work out there. You learn a ton, get to chat with different handlers and see things from a completely different perspective. It's amazing the impact the dogs make at the top and how the sheep react even as the dogs approach from their stride hitting the ground, how the dog carries itself, what a great experience. Our run on Sunday turned out as I'd planned on Saturday. Although I think in the end I may have been more pleased with out Sunday training run then our more successful run on Saturday. Timber started nicely but began to collapse in as he got even with the sheep. I tried giving him an out, but he was stuck. I tried resending several times, walking up closer, resending, lying down, walking up again; but Timber's eye had him held and I just couldn't push him out. So I called him off. Chris (one of the clinicians) was setting and hollered for me to come closer and work my dog, so I did just that, he talked me through what to do and then we drove the sheep back to the exhaust. What an invaluable experience. For me to gain confidence that I can still handle my dog when things start going wrong and for Timber to learn that he will be reinforced on the trial field just like at home. The entire four days was just great. We met some awesome people and will look forward to future travels to the north. Saw some wonderful dogs work and learned more that I was ever prepared too. I would so recommend anyone who is getting started to try to attend these types of events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumpin Boots Posted July 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Here are videos of both runs. Unfortunately the quality is pretty poor, so they may not even be worth watching, but I'll share them anyway. First day: http://youtu.be/edoAL41-Bhl Second day: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airbear Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 I heard you did great - well done, you two! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted July 2, 2014 Report Share Posted July 2, 2014 That sounds awesome. What a great experience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rufftie Posted July 2, 2014 Report Share Posted July 2, 2014 that sounds so great. glad you had a good time. wish there was something like that around here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted July 2, 2014 Report Share Posted July 2, 2014 I'm glad it was such a great learning experience for you! J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchemist Posted July 2, 2014 Report Share Posted July 2, 2014 AWESOME!!! I wish I lived closer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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