Howdy all ~

Not even sure where to put this post, so here goes. I've seen mention several times about the sheep that will be used at the Lacamas SDT in August. I'll be running my Nick in Novice-Novice and I'm curious what sort of sheep we'll be up against.

I've read that the sheep will be Suffolk or Suffolk-x and somewhat heavy. Is that true? If so, is that heavy as in they just want to put their heads down and eat, or heavy as in turning around to see what the heck that black-and-white thing is that keeps bothering them? Or ...?

Can anyone clue me in? Nick and I are used to rather lighter, hair-type sheep so I'd like a little advance notice on what to prepare for, if possible. Thanks!
Cheers ~

Gloria

Gloria

Lacamas will have Reed Anderson lambs....they are typically brockle face (suffolk x white face....various white face, romney, lincoln, coop, cheviot).

Because they are lambs they 1) don't have a leader and don't know where to go (so the dog has to push them there) 2) when they do decide to go somewhere, they may not know to respect the dog when the dog tells them to go a different direction 3) they sometimes don't flock well....one can split off 4) sometimes they'll turn and look at a dog...not aggressively, just curious and not very smart.

Lambs can put "weird" pressure on a dog.

When people describe them as heavy, it's because working lambs can be like pushing a noodle.....not very smart and no leader and they don't know where to go.

Last year, they moved the rerun sheep to the PN/NN field.

Weather and the duration of the trial will play a factor. Lacamas can be very hot but is usually pleasant weather.

The weirdest thing I've seen in my short trialing career was these lambs drinking out of the cooling tub ... while a dog was soaking in it. Like Elizabeth said, they know little of dogs, and without a leader amongst them, it can b tricky to keep them together. On the Open field, they tend not to lift as easily as on the novice field but I found that once Lou got them lifted (and there is a protracted negotiation process between lambs and dogs, and all the handler can do is watch) they were actually quite nice to work. Lou is a very calm, kind dog, so I think that helped.

We'll be there on the novice field this year. Rex is running in PN, so we'll see how Mr. Twitchy does on these lambs. :-) Looking forward to Lacamas. It's one of the nicest trials of the year.

Where was the camera for that shot? If it was one of my dogs, the look of disgust on the dog's face would have been priceless!

Thanks, Elizabeth and Kristi!

That gives me a pretty good idea. Pushing noodles - yup, that paints the picture! I guess it'll be a challenge for my Nick, then, to see if he can hold the pressure if they want to drift off course and muddle along without respecting him.

Interestingly, a neighbor to one of the gals I usually train with has about a dozen Suffolk lambs she's just started letting us work. Her field is quite small, but these lambs are pretty clueless, so maybe it will give Nick a heads-up towards what he may see at Lacamas.

Man, I'd have LOVED to've seen a picture of the lambs drinking out of the tank with the dog in it!

Guess I'll be seeing some folks in August, then!
Cheers ~

Gloria

Oh, yay, I figured out how to show my avatar pic! That is all. Carry on.

I ran ProNovice at Lacamas last year and will be doing so again this year. I'm on the wait-list to run in Novice/Novice (hope I get in!).

I remember that the weather was pretty cool last year. Seems that the time of day also affected the sheep quite a bit -they were more spunky in the morning and heavier in the afternoon, likely because they were growing tired and hungry! On the first day of runs on the Novice field, there was a heavy draw to the set-out pens - many teams, including myself, lost our sheep on the fetch. The next day, crews moved the set sheep up about 50 yards so that they were offset from the set-out pens - before it was a direct line to the right. This helped the novice handlers who lost their sheep the day before a lot - fewer "lost" sheep on Day #2.

The hard part about 4 lambs like these is that there is no leader and sometimes they split into pairs and go in opposite directions! They also are not used to being in such a small group of four - I think they are worked very little by dogs and when a dog has been around, they've been in a large flock. I can tell you that penning sheep like these can be troublesome for beginners. Basically, the lambs are NOT comfortable around people, so you have to recognize your pressure-bubble on the sheep as much as your dogs' bubble when you try to pen. I ran on 4 lambs, similar to what the Lacamas lambs will be like, at the Wessels Dirt Blowing trial last month and I couldn't get the pen either day there. I'm usually pretty good at penning with my dog too. I figured it is my lack of experience working with sheep that aren't used to people. All of my penning-techniques I use at smaller trials to pen were not working for me. I just couldn't connect the dots in time of how to get that pen! I think I did get the pen at Lacamas Day 2 last year by some miracle!

I will probably see you at the trial! Good luck!

Janet, thank you SO much for your detailed input.

That gives me an excellent idea of what to expect. The bit about penning is especially useful. I think I should see about getting a pen moved out to work my friend's neighbor's Suffolk lambs, since they sure don't want much to do with humans, and it's been a while since I've worked people-shy sheep.

It'll be interesting to see how the set out affects runs this year. Nick's pretty determined to bring me sheep, come hell or high water, and he's great at covering escapes, but if they split and go different directions ... I guess I'll just be hoping he remembers his stop!

Thank you again! Maybe we'll have to do a roll-call post just before the trial to see who all from these boards is gonna be there.
Cheers ~

Gloria

Gloria, we'll both be running Nicks in NN at Lacamas

I've got a fast, pushy dog who flanks fast & covers his corners. It'll be interesting to see how he does on not-very-dogged sheep. Our lambs at home are real dumb about dogs, etc, even though they've been worked since day one. They've only been weaned for two weeks, and they split all over the place. Sometimes Nick tucks them it, sometimes he looks bewildered...

Glad I'm not (really) out to win! This will only be our second trial, and I'm out to learn as much as I can.

Looking forward to meeting you there! (And Janet, I hope you get to run Rainey, too!)

Ben,

You are staying with us, right? Park your tent next my trailer and you will have coffee each morning!!

Nan is eager to see you!

Diane

Awesome, the crowd will treated to TWO sets of frantic stop whistles and bellows of "NICK! Lie DOWN!"

Yeah, I'm just going for the field experience, too. It will only be my Nick's 2nd NN trial, and he's pushy, wide-running and obsessed with covering pressure. Heaven knows what will happen!

But I'm looking forward to the fun of being there and seeing so many dogs run. I'll be the chick with the two smooth-coat BCs, the dented red Mazda truck, and the tent with the shiny sun-tarps tied over the top. See you then!
Cheers ~

Gloria

ohh Im sad....I am on wait list...and I have a tent.

Dang it...gotta remember to send entries in....

Okay, Tea, here's hoping someone drops out and you get off the wait list and onto the run order! We'd be like a little Gypsy encampment with our tents and dogs.

~ Gloria