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First time at the post


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Hamish and I went to the post together twice this week-end. It was probably as typical a first trial experience as they come with attendant stupid mistakes (mostly on my part, partly on his), but I am caught, hook, line and sinker.

 

Right now, there is little I'd rather do with my time than spend it in a field with my dog and some sheep....(when I come down off the high, of course, I'll get back to thinking about my job and regular life and training through some of those mistakes). It's such a fleeting but precious moment. I truly had no idea.

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Hamish and I went to the post together twice this week-end. It was probably as typical a first trial experience as they come with attendant stupid mistakes (mostly on my part, partly on his), but I am caught, hook, line and sinker.

 

Right now, there is little I'd rather do with my time than spend it in a field with my dog and some sheep....(when I come down off the high, of course, I'll get back to thinking about my job and regular life and training through some of those mistakes). It's such a fleeting but precious moment. I truly had no idea.

 

 

 

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Well, this morning, I'm still high, but I think no longer feeling positively gushy.

 

The thing that I noticed most (at least in retrospect) was how much more focus I was able to bring to the task. During training, and even when I've done small farm chores, I've not been able to really see what was going on--thus my corrections are usually late or wrong or I correct for somethign that the dog was doing right and think he's doing something right when he's being stupid--stuff like that. I think the pressure of the situation sharpened my concentration and focus and that wasn't a benefit of trialling that I'd considered--I now understand what people mean when they say that running at trials makes you work harder. It just seemed like all there was for me to see and think about were the three sheep, the dog and the course. There were at least moments when I felt like Hamish and I were joined in what we were doing--it wasn't me training him (and myself) or hoping that he would do the right thing just because--it was more like the partnership people generally describe.

 

The second run was better than the first in some ways (including that we finished the course), but both of them had positive and less positive aspects. On Sat., there was no wear--just an outrun, lift, fetch and pen (so directly from the post to the pen). On Sunday there was a wear. The judge said that we could start the wear before the post, which I don't think anyone did, but in retrospect, I think it would have been helpful for me and Hamish.

 

Hamish had pretty nice outruns both days--he needed redirection because he started to slice in at the top (he still seems a little thrown off by the holder--he doens't usually slice in when there's no holder), but by jove, he took my "lie down" and then bent out (first time for me). On Sat., he still came in a little flat at the top. On Sunday it seemed like a pretty honest lift. He was very controlled with the sheep on the fetch--didn't rush them or run them in a serpendine or anything like that. He took my lie downs.

 

On Sat., bless his heart, he took his flanks, but I gave the wrong flank initially and pushed the sheep off-line and couldn't quite get them back on-line before the post. He got around the post pretty well (though he may have flanked too wide and gone off contact for a few seconds--I can't remember). We got to the pen and the sheep almost had their heads turned in the right way, but I stopped him too short and they popped out (one went between my legs) and then the circling started along with my more serious errors. I've so often heard that once they sheep start doing ring-around-the-rosie that it's hard to get them penned, so I flanked him a couple of times away to me, which he took, but I was wrong and should have given the come-bye. I did that once or twice, too. Around and around they went. Apparently, I not only dropped the rope to grab the gate panel, but at some point had neither the rope or the panel in my hand (I don't remember either of these mistakes). Oops again.

 

I finally thought, I really don't know what to do and rather than just keep running the sheep around, I should retire. Oops. I did retire, but before I had control of the sheep. They drifted off toward the exhaust and Hamish left with them. I saw his body elongate into chase mode. To get to the exhaust, the sheep had to go between the truck where the judge was and a fence. They took off into the bottleneck with Hamish hot on their heels. They went into the exhaust and so did he. :D. Luckily, the person we train with was sitting right there and got him before he did anything other than send half the sheep packing three-deep into a corner and the other half out of the exhaust. It all got under control pretty quickly and nothing terrible happened to any of the species involved. I got told several times that unless the dog is harrassing the stock or really being stupid, not to retire until time runs out or the judge tells me too--definitely not just because the sheep are circling the pen. O.k.--live and learn. Visualize the pen. Be the pen. :rolleyes:

 

Before our run on Sunday, I noticed Hamish was really yawning and doing other "calming" signals, so I cuddled him up--told him that I trusted him and would help him as best I could and it didn't really matter all that much--we were just going to practice moving the sheep. I let him lick my face. It calmed me down. Maybe it calmed him down too.

 

The fetch wasn't nearly as nice as on Sat. The sheep kind of dragged out into a line and Hamish wouldn't take my flanks--but as someone pointed out later, I did try to get him to get the sheep on line and he just didn't do it. The come-bye flank he finallly took pushed the sheep the wrong direction past the post and then he wouldn't take the away flank to get around them and turn their heads. Away they drifted into the bottle-neck from the day before. Wonderful. I layed him down and actually said out loud "this isn't going to be good."--the judge had his hand on his chin. Great. But, I was able to see that if I sent him come-bye, he wouldn't push them further toward the exhaust. He'd have to go around the truck, but I thought he could do it. It was the technically wrong thing (points/showmanship-wise), but it worked and he got the sheep out of the bottleneck and stayed controlled. From there on out, he took my flanks. We got through the wear cones fine. We played ring-around-the rosie a couple of times at the pen, but I held tight to the rope and tried to cover my side. Eventually, those buggers moved inside and I shut the gate. Yahoo--course more or less completed. Which was my main goal for the trial--to complete a course.

 

He was a good boy and has the makings of a useful dog.

 

Maybe someday, I'll be a useful handler too. I hope so because I'm sliding on this slope pretty hard. I'm not so worried about saving for the entry fees--it's the camper, the farm, the sheep, the trained dogs and the newer, better, bigger camper, the travel to clinics across the country, etc. that I"m worried about. :D

 

I also spent a lot of time at the set-out area--watched the sheep a lot--moved around with them. Tried to anticipate what my own movements caused them to do. It was very informative, so thanks for that advice.

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Yahoo--course more or less completed. Which was my main goal for the trial--to complete a course.

I can remember my first few trials when my only goal was to get the sheep to my feet--forget thinking about the rest of the course. If you made it all the way 'round, then you must've have been doing something right--both of you!

 

Oh, and while you may need to save for the farm and the sheep, you can always sleep in a tent or in your van (you *will* have a van to carry all those dogs you'll eventually have) to save $$! :rolleyes:

 

J.

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Yesterday I was listening to a big hat talk about his run. He was talking about his drive through the first set of panels. He saying things that sounded to me like, "And then, I nudged her gently this way, so she could swing this way, and the line was this, and that made this other thing go perfectly."

 

 

And I'm thinking to myself, "I am on my mental knees out there sending out every vibe I have to Starr..'Please lovely dog, please take them through those white things out there."

 

What I lack in finesse I make up for in devout belief that the dog is smarter than me.

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Sounds like you did a great job and learned a lot! Good for you!

Anna

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And I'm thinking to myself, "I am on my mental knees out there sending out every vibe I have to Starr..'Please lovely dog, please take them through those white things out there."

LOL! My stream of consciousness is kinda close! I believe my thought bubbles are as follows:

 

Outrun: "Step carefully onto those bales, the plywood looks a little wet. Hang your crook on the post - everyone else seems to be doing that. Oh lovely, look, here comes Lou with his sheep. What a good dog."

 

Fetch: "Look at that magnificent animal, the product of hundreds of years of careful, knowledgeable breeding. The way he's reading his stock, adjusting to every ... gah! Were those the fetch panels?!? Do something, woman! Whistle! Make the ground dangerous! Front cross ... no, wrong dog, wrong activity! Oh, there'll be points off for this."

 

Drive: I leave it up to the gods to tell me when to flank him around the panel. It appears the gods are funning with me, as they tell me to flank him just a wee bit early. Am considering removing the Flying Spaghetti Monster emblem from back of van to appease the gods.

 

Shed and pen: I think I posted enough video last week to make it pretty obvious that the thought bubble is empty during these two portions of the course. :rolleyes:

 

Congratultations, Robin and Hamish, on your maiden voyage! Here's to many more successful trips to the post!

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They would be poor gods indeed who can't see the humour in the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

 

And that part, ""Look at that magnificent animal, the product of hundreds of years of careful, knowledgeable breeding." makes me laugh because that happens to me on the outrun. "Look at her, LOOK at her, that's so beau OH CRAP...." because I've missed the fact the sheep have left the set out, I was watching HER.

 

The other thing I do, consistently, is get so involved in the drive, which for some reason is my hardest thing right now, that I completely and totally forget to go to the pen until they are ON it. Duh.

 

:rolleyes:

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Am considering removing the Flying Spaghetti Monster emblem

 

:rolleyes:

 

Well, as someone who definitely isn't in the FSM camp, I'm led to believe that the gods aren't particularly interested in saving me from myself during a trial run. Prayer has often been effective on my dog's behalf, I've noticed, however ("Please, God, let him catch those sheep before they get over the hill . . .").

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Gather my friends

And I will unfurl

The trialing debut

of Mr. Earl

 

(yes, they do call my baby "Speedo" but his real name is Mr Earl)

 

First off, I wasn't appropriately dressed (shorts) so couldn't run him myself even if I thought it was a good idea. (where are the dress codes?)

 

He ran 18th of 20 so he had nearly the last crafty sheep out of the trailer.

 

Gordon took him to the post, all's well, he asked him to look for the sheep and Earl immediately turned his head and focused on the nearly full exhaust pens just to his right. Gordon pointed down the arena and Earl gave a glance but tried politely to point out that "there are plenty of sheep right here in these pens!" After several minutes of this, Gordon walks over and drapes some canvas over the fence to hide the exhaust sheep (what a patient judge!) but Earl just lies down now and points with his nose like a crocodile. Finally Gordon just sends him on a come bye and Earl starts to move (you can tell just to placate him) when his movement finally made one of the setout sheep's head turn. Oh! OH! THOSE sheep.

 

Outrun down the fence line, turns them and carefully lifts, but then turns his head back twice as if to say "they aren't hiding any more of those back there are they?" and then begins to speed up "Lie DOWN!" well, it's only 15 yards or so before he stops and the sheep are at the handlers feet. So far, so so.

 

Earl holds his down, Gordon walks to the first gate and Earl is up and the sheep go whizzing by, he blasts past, the sheep turn and as Earl is running full tilt behind the chute the sheep go nicely through the gates and he downs. Second gates, Earl perfects his loop-de-loop gating style.

 

Then the chute. Earl is down. Walks up carefully, makes a small subtle turn, the sheep try to avoid. Earl takes a nice wide flank to catch and settle them and I start wondering who has stolen my dog and replaced him with this working model? He makes several great moves, doesn't bust up, but never gets them through, so, on to the pen.

 

The sheep will have none of it and are on the other side so Earl burns it around the back and the sheep sail up the area. Well, then comes one of the best-looking outruns I've ever seen him accomplish, wide, with just enough room at the top and then a nice walk-up - too bad he was supposed to be penning.....

 

Now I realize upon viewing the video how much it's like childbirth - I'm so proud of his efforts, I've forgotten all the painful moments.

 

Nancy

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