bcollie

He uses mostly finger whistling but discusses both finger and mechanical whistles. It doesn't teach you how to whistle but gives you examples of several sets of whistles and their variations.

We have a new DVD and/or CD on whistling available. It is Welcome to Whistling with Derek Fisher. Hear and see in action Derek's clear and concise whistles, how to choose which whistles to use, the importance of variations in your whistles and better communicating through whistles. You can purchase these on our website at www.bcollies.com/videos.htm, through Derek directly, through Border Collies in Action or they will be available at Meeker and the Sheepdog Finals.

Congrats to all who made it on the team! I was especially excited to see Derek Scrimgeour's Fleece up there again as I am her breeder. Always fun to get your dogs in such expert hands to see what they can do!

Just thought I would bump up this topic in case anyone was still interested in DVDs from the 2012 National Sheepdog Finals in Klamath Falls, Oregon. You can order them at http://www.bcollies.com/videos.htm . You can order all or part of the event or even individual runs from the Open. Great Christmas Gifts!

The last of the pre ordered 2012 National Finals DVDs have just been mailed. If you did not pre order, you can still purchase them by going to http://www.bcollies.com/videos.htm . They make a great Christmas gift, whether for yourself or for a friend!

You can mail a check to: Geri Byrne 3701 County Road 114 Tulelake, CA 96134 Thanks

The DVDs from the preliminaries we filmed ourselves and I have just finished editing those. Ellen Skillings did the filming and did a good job of putting everything in perspective. The semi finals and the finals is the footage from the webcast company (minus the interviews) and are pretty easy to follow. The DVDs should be shipping in the next week to 10 days. The income from the DVDs will make a big difference in the discussion over whether the USBCHA will be able to afford future years of webcast.

Try a different browser. Sometimes that helps.

We are having two great dog training clinicians here in 2010. Derek Scrimgeour will be here in early May and Jack Knox will be here in early June. For more info and entry forms, please see my web page at http://www.bcollies.com/clinics.htm

Don't worry about not having coffee. There will be an espresso booth at the finals. I wouldn't put on an event this big without one as I would go crazy without lattes to keep me going.

There will be several food booths at the finals for daytime food. There will also be finger food at both the ABCA meeting and the USBCHA meeting. Saturday evening there will be a tri tip barbecue for $25 to benefit the Cancer Treatment Center. The small town of Merrill which is close to the field has a grocery store and a couple of restaurants. Klamath Falls is 15 to 20 miles away.

Lana has been reporting in. Sounds like the cattle are nice. The wind has been a bit of an issue for some runs. Hopefully it won't be windy for the finals tomorrow! As to the small numbers, it is mostly people from that part of the country with a handful who have traveled. Although a great site and a hospitable bunch, I think moving it around the country will bring the numbers back up. Lana and Marty have put in a bid for northern California. It would be great to see it back out here as it hasn't been in the west in almost a decade. There are those who think that the finals (both cattle and sheep) should stay in one place but I am a firm believer that rotating it around the country is better for the dogs and better for the sport.

The white headed dog at 1:30 is Charlie Torre's Wink from the 2005 Western States Regionals.

We will be hosting a Jack Knox Clinic June 6-8 at our ranch near Tulelake, CA. An entry form can be found on our web page at www.bcollies.com under Clinics.

Thanks to everyone for all their help with this and especially to Sue for all the work she did. Looking forward to seeing everyone at the Finals in September. Geri www.nationalsheepdogfinals.com http://2009nationalsheepdogfinals.blogspot.com/

Lana is on the road to Denver right now but she as well as her husband Marty are planning on going to the cattledog finals. She should have email tonight so she can fill us in on her plans. Geri

As one of the hosts for the 2009 Sheepdog Finals we thank you for all your help. It is an expensive event to put on and given the current business economy, we will be relying more this time on dog sponsorships, benefit trials and trial and club donations. As we receive dog sponsorships, we are posting them on the website and who they are sponsoring so if you want to see who is still available, just go to www.nationalsheepdogfinals.com and click on Sponsors. Thanks again Geri Byrne Amy Coapman Lana Rowley Lora Withnell Ellen Skillings Michele and Haley Howard 2009 National Sheepdog Finals Host Committee

I think Bill is talking about my dog and he isn't really young, he just turned 6. He had trouble a time or two when he was young lifting sheep but he hasn't had that problem again until the other day. The following day I used him to move around 550 pound heifers and although he had seldom moved cattle before, he was plenty tough and eager and did a good job with them. He isn't weak but he is careful. He has tremendous feel for his sheep which can slow down his lift. He only has a bite when attacked. I watched some other dogs at the same trial when I was setting have trouble lifting and they accomplished it by using their teeth and that never occurred to him. I will try Amelia's exercise. Any other suggestions would be most appreciated as the slow lift meant there was no time to finish the course. Thanks Geri

You can now purchase Handler Sponsorships for the 2009 National Sheepdog Finals on our web page at http://www.nationalsheepdogfinals.com/ . Just click on sponsorship. Between now and March 1, 2009, you will be able to pick the handler and dog you want (as long as they are not already spoken for). Just add your 1st and 2nd choice in the comments field if ordering by PayPal. Or you contact me by email at geri@bcollies.com. If your selected dog does not end up going to the finals, you will be able to change dogs at a later date. Thanks and be sure and order today so that you can get the dog of your choice. Geri

Thanks Diane and Sue. We should have the dog sponsorship info available shortly. I will post when the details are worked out. Geri

Congratulations to all at the 2008 National Finals and to those who worked so hard putting it on. I was unable to attend but it sounds like it was a great event. It was extra special being able to sit at home and take part vicariously through Pearse's blogs. Now that the 2008 Finals is over, we would like to start promoting and providing info on next year's venue. The dates will be September 22-27, 2009 at the Running Y Ranch near Klamath Falls, Oregon. This is the same field as it was on in 2001 but hopefully this year the government won't cut off the irrigation water so that we will have a pretty green field without the dust like we had in 2001. The beginnings of the web page can be found at http://www.nationalsheepdogfinals.com . The extra pages aren't up and running yet but will be shortly. Anyone interested in helping out please contact either myself or Amy Coapman. Hope to see everyone in a little over a year! Thanks Geri

Yes, the 2009 Finals will be in Klamath Falls again and we will be announcing dates and exact location shortly. As soon as the 2008 Finals are over (we don't want to take any attention away from them or confuse potential sponsors) we will be soliciting help, doing fundraising, etc. We have started plans and doing stuff locally, but we will wait to start our push nationally until the 2008 finals is over. Our web page will be up and running then too. In the meantime, feel free to contact either myself or Amy Coapman privately.

Thanks. Yes, both made the English team and will run at the International. I wish I could go! Geri

Thanks Lora. It would have been cooler if she had won (just kidding). I was pretty excited for Derek. Fleece isn't quite 3 years old so that was pretty special. Laddie's sire is Joan Jennings' Jim and his dam is Maddie, a littermate to my Lyn. I guess Laddie also won the gather and the drive awards.

I wouldn't have only 5 regions. I would do it by district and award slots in the finals on a percentage basis by number of members per district. That way the regionals is geographically close to most members and a region with 138 members would get on a percentage basis the same percent of slots as a region with 40 members. We had two judges the first year but went to one judge after that and the judge cannot live in the region. Our judge cost runs about $1500 including their transportation. I can't answer to the cost of sheep out east. How do you put on any trials at all with that kind of expense or do you re-run sheep? Gate, souvenirs, ads and sponsorship make the event possible. The clubs in the district (OSDS, ISDA, NCWSA, SJVBCA) all contribute $250 each which helps too. We have found someone every year so far to host the event and some of the events have even made a bit of money. If a region could not or would not host a regionals, than they could elect to use a point system within their district to select their team. When we count points for our regionals, we only count point earned in the district so as to level the playing field. Not a perfect answer, I know, but I think that a regional system would give more people an opportunity to compete at a championship trial, increase membership in the USBCHA as people would be more likely to join every year, not just the years that the finals is close enough and build more drama (translated into easier to get sponsorships) into the priocess with the buildup at first the district level and then the national level. Geri