rushdoggie

So...I just entered a USBCHA arena trial held at a fairgrounds and there is a comment about appropriate attire. It said "western wear or jacket." What does this mean? Like I should wear a blazer? whats considered "Western?" Typically I have trialed in raingear or jeans and a T. I am expecting it to be warm, and I perspire a lot when I am nervous. Additionally, I am what is considered a "plus size" woman. I'm fearful of being the fat, red faced, sweaty lady ruining a blazer. Would a nice button up blouse be ok? What about on my feet? I don't wear western boots, can I wear the hikers I usually wear?

to be fair, hes on the Papzilla size...but yeah, shes teeny!

Sorry I have been offline for a while! So I am enjoying my little Jolene quite a bit. Shes a bitty thing of 26 lbs. Handlers in the PNW may recognize her from her previous owner. Shes really honest and fast, a huge difference from my other dog Argos who is sweet and earnest but never did have solid inside flanks or wide flanks. She does have a lot of eye but so far we have had fun. I'm trying to capture her whistles so I can drop or slow her at the top of a big outrun and so far I suck at it, lol. I'm lucky I live in an area very full of talented teachers and handlers and groups that are beginner friendly. WASH is having an outrun lift and fetch day this weekend so we are going up for that to get advise/fine tune her outruns at the Ranch distance and the PN distance. She can do it fine. Its me who needs the training. Shes transitioned fairly well to being a house dog. Housetraining was slow as she really didn't seem to get the concept of "this is your opportunity now, go now" and would get distracted or tell me she didn't have to go and then have to go shortly after. Also she was very slow to grasp that she could ask to go out. But shes getting better. She is the chewingest dog I have ever known. She has tested the limits of her cuteness by chewing holes in 2 quilts and a really nice dog bed I have had 10 years. I have yet to meet a toy she cannot eviscerate, even "extra tuff" types. But shes adorable playing with them, tossing them up and catching them and pouncing like a puppy. Shes also learning that cuddles are kind of nice. Shes terribly quirky and a little silly and goofy, and the more she comes out of her shell the funnier she is. Overall, shes darling and we love her. Shes a Lamborghini to work on stock and we will have a lot of fun together.

Update, I was able to find just that in a 3 year old girlie who is very strong eyed and can get stuck but will unstick with some handling. Shes is so incredibly obedient and responsive and in 3 months my handling has improved dramatically. Pus shes very cute and fun and has fit in well. Thank you for all the advice!

I've done this exact thing with my first and not-so-talented dog to help solidify inside flanks and it works pretty good. I did it at home between lessons not instead of sheep but it was helpful. Plus now he likes ducks where he used to hate them, and since hes old now and not fast enough to do much with sheep thats fun we can enter duck trials. And, he loves to corrall up the chickens at the end of the day!

Thanks, my husband is not terribly keen on me bringing home a dog the same age as my dog who is getting older...

Ah, OK that makes sense.

I like the idea, but the cost of an Open dog is likely out of my budget. I was looking at a dog who is owned by a well respected person who said the dog would be ready for ProNov with that person, but who hadn't been trialed and that dog was pretty expensive, like double my budget.

So...I have a dog. He is the only dog I have trained in stockwork. I didn't start with him until he was 4 and he has an old injury that affects his gait so his speed overall is slow. I have worked him with a wonderful terrific trainer, and I am proud of us and what I have learned and what he and I have accomplished. He's simply too slow to do much with USBCHA trials, a little Novice and fumbling through Ranch, but anything bigger he simply can't cover. He looses his sheep and he gets frustrated and slices and I certainly don't help fumbling handler that I am. SO its cool, we do AHBA and we have had a great time doing teh various AHBA courses (Ranch, Large Flock, arena, mini BC style) with ducks and sheep. Hes almost 10, and hes going to age poorly due to his old injury. I am ready to start looking for a new dog. I would like to make it to at least ProNov. I live in an area thats friendly to newbies and has a lot of USBCHA trials. My trainer feels I would benefit from an adult dog that is started at least or more well trained, I tend to agree....eI guess I could send a pup out for training but buying a pup is a crapshoot and I am getting old and I would like to stack the odds in my favor. I am not sure if a started dog with just some foundations would be a better fit or a more well trained dog. A trained dog kind of feels like...cheating. There's also the cost factor. I am guessing that more well trained = more money. Whats reasonable? Is it kosher to tell people "this is my budget" or will they feel like I am cheap? How will I know if the dog is well trained or just trained? How does one find a dog that "fits" without going through a bunch of dogs? A started dog is probably less, but whats less? And what does "started" mean? If someone says a dog is started, what can I expect the dog to know? Drowning in options. Cute Argos picture for tax.

My old Papillon also hates flies. If one gets in the house she disappears and hides. Being old and losing her hearing has reduced her fear quite a bit because even if she heard a buzz she would hide. In the garage, in a stored crate. Took me 20 minutes or so to find her.

I heard about his passing on NPR today. I am sad...Nop's Trials is part of what led me to these amazing dogs and I have tremendous respect for his influence on the breed. Godspeed.

Just fyi, any place dogs congregate you increase risk of illness, be it a dog park, a training building or a trial. And no you can't tell if the dogs you see are healthy. My fully vaccinated dogs all recently were exposed to and contracted a nasty nasty strain of kennel cough from a (fully vaccinated) dog who apparently had the disease but was asymptomatic. The dogs interacted nose to nose as they were friends and friendly with each other prior to a romp. So don't assume that a dog who is vaccinated and looks ok couldn't be sick. Also, don't assume that you have to go to a dog park to get sick. Dog parks vary wildly in how people act, how crowded they are and the general culture. When I lived in CA I used one all the time, usually off hours but had no problem walking the perimeter and letting my dogs run off lead with me. If another dog came up I'd cal mine along and the other dogs person usually got the hint and we all were peaceable. When I moved here and lived in rental housing for a few months, I tried to use a park (which was actually bigger than the one I used in CA) and all I got was rude dogs whose owners assured me their dogs "just want to play" where food and toys have to be prohibited because there are so many fights over them, and where I got yelled at for saying my dogs were just there to run off lead a bit vs. joining in (what looked like scary and horrible) group dog play because "dog parks are so dogs can play and if yours don't want to wrestle with other dogs then you don't belong here." There have been several dogs seriously hurt and a couple killed after fights here. So, nope. We stay far away here.

I hate dog parks. For far too many people "off leash = no reason to control your dog." Not every dog wants to wrestle with every dog and if your dog is that way then you are not allowed to advocate for him. Its far too many dogs crammed into a small area with too few eyes supervising, so when and if something goes wrong its too late. A dog park used to be an area where you were allowed to run your dog off leash, and you would walk with them or play with them and if your dog found a dog they liked they could play. Nowadays its more about dogs playing which not every dog wants to do. Many parks say no toys and no food rewards to prevent fights. Too many clueless people, too many opportunities to be exposed to disease (sheer volume of park x dogs using it). The only exception to my "I hate dog parks" rule is if you have a very large area (like acres) where dogs generally stay with their owners hiking like a big dog beach or a giant park like 1,000 Acres in Portland. YMMV (as Rushfan's does) but I have had so many students whose dogs were attacked, traumatized and bullied at dog parks I am not a fan. Use a long line and a harness and stick to less populated places to socialize and hang out.

Ditto. Its partly a culture thing, I live in the PNW and I constantly have people peering in my car because they can see my crates. They are tied down and always there and so often empty but people seeing them get all worked up. I had one lady yell at me for leaving dogs in a car (and it was like 65 degrees out and the car was mostly in shade), then when I pointed out the crates were empty (and they are pretty easy to see into) she yelled at me because leaving crates in my car is misleading and causes people like her to have to worry. Srsly. I'm getting my windows tinted. FWIW: when I got my new crates (Rough Tuff Kennels) I drove around with thermometers in the crates and sitting on my front seat while I was working (I do home health visits all days so I drive from place to place, parking for about an hour at a time). I found here in a low humidity environment, it wasn't hard to keep the car cool with partial to full shade and partly open windows. Using aluminet, pop up sun blockers for the windows and windshield, paying attention to the direction of the sun and making sure something reflective is blcoking it and using open windows with grates and ventlocks to keep my tailgate partly open my car stayed 10-15 degrees cooler than outside, even on a 90 degree day.

I'm very sorry, its so hard.