76 Bar

Considering his appaling behavior & work ethic in all three sessions, one would hope not.

Gelding sales results indicates your statement is erroneous.

Glad I could help dispel your confusion.

Happy to oblige. In many regards, the venue is complex on a multiple of levels. Wanted to put things into perspective and especially for those unfamiliar with livestock in general and particularly, public sales of working dogs. Greatly appreciate the kind words and accurate insight regarding the salvation of my "throw away" dog. Never been involved with rescue. Your words made me realize otherwise and it brought tears to eyes. Thank you.

Hmmm...couple of weird typo glitches in my post. Apologies

For inquiring minds a little Red Bluff Bull sale background is in order: 2018 marked its 77th anniversary. Located in Northern CA about half way between the Oregon border and Sacramento (state capital). Initially a showcase for Horned Herefords. Later a host of additional breeds were added, then a QH gelding sale (attendees gladly pay an admission fee) and finally the stock dog sale (primarily BC's but occasionally a smattering of Kelpies. Includes a vast trade, western art/artisans (drawing, paintings saddle makers, silver smiths, all manner of hand made horse gear etc) shows, banquets etc. Billed as a premier source of all of the above. Week long extravaganza. Lots of cash trades hands and lots of ego stroking in the process. http://redbluffbullsale.com Click on Videos to see the three sessions of the dogs working. As usual, I failed to be impressed and in most cases, blatantly appalled. Bear in mind & warranted or not, a hard bite is traditionally worth a thousand bucks at Red Bluff. Red is common in western states cattle working lines. 20 dogs consigned, 4 sifted. One of those was also red. Breeder's name/prefix or ranch brand in this case Zollman Border Collies. The outfit that purchased that particular dog paid $30,000 for one of the sale geldings as well. BC in front of Gurdy signifies she was bred by Robbin, e.g. Broken Circle, not that she was a BC per se although she was. As in the past, many of the sale dogs were from Robbin's lines. A number of reasons fo r the record setting prices, not the least being ego. Smalahundur's comments are spot on.More than a few wind up as ornaments, or far worse. FWIW, cattlemen enjoyed unprecedented high returns (as in an increase of 2-4 x's typically received/lb.) in 2013-2014. Market crashed and the last two years are reminiscent of the 70's cash market wreck. Also FWIW, I have a 2010 Red Bluff sale dog. Local rancher paid $3600 (a little below average price) for her . Had her a year & gave her to me because she "wouldn't work". Put her on some dog broke yearlings a few days later. Took her 30 minutes to comprehend my stock stick was merely an extension of my arm & I'd had no intention of punishing her with it nor did I intend to strap an E collar around her neck. She turned out to be modestly talented but devoid of any semblance of scope. Goes without saying, she had zero foundation. The good news: extremely bidable, has enough power to work broke pairs and would do anything to please me. No brag, just fact...had she not fortuitously wound up in my life, she'd likely as not been shortly dispatched to the bone pile on the back forty. Pretty good guess that more than a few sale grades met such a fate.

Leave your dog at home and offer to make yourself available for all manner of working ranch grunt work. Beyond Priceless.

Regardless of the topic, seeking advice on internet chat sites is dicey at best, typically spawns a plethora of worthless drivel and it goes without saying, opens the door to all manner of scrutiny. The old saw if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen comes to mind. I repeat...kudos to you for going the extra mile to rehabilitate and or re-home a youngster who apparently had a less than auspicious start in life. FWIW: While often as not paved with good intentions, the easiest and/or cheapest route inevitability falls far short of the mark. Correct me if I'm wrong but it appears Joyce is affiliated with AKC. As I'm sure you are aware, mega red flag. Her website proclaims that she has: An extensive breeding program in place which includes importing new bloodlines with the intent to produce better all around stock dogs.God spare us. You admitted that your working stock dog experience is nil so how is it that you can pass judgement and proclaim a dog "very grippy"? Assuming the dog was a working bred BC or Kelpie and not a mentally unhinged stock killer, a talented savvy handler would have effectively made inroads into resolving the issue. Doing otherwise i.e. taking the dog off the stock is a patent indication that the so called trainer was sadly clueless. I am equally puzzled that you opted to disguise someone who "makes their living" training stock dogs.

Pronking? How so? Anyone can hang out a shingle. Good, bad & ugly.

In total agreement with Diane's recommendation. I trust Joyce has a history of making her living with livestock in concert with working Border Collies and/or is competitive at USBCHA Open level field trials.

Good news on all accounts. Your comments regarding her tension/fearfulness (thankfully improving) are, as I'm sure you are aware, hallmarks of negligently/improperly raised pups and youngsters. Quite likely she went from frying pan to the fire, i.e. from the "propagator" to a dolt disappointed in her cattle working ability in spite of the fact that she was a mere baby. You can go to bank the latter didn't have a clue about correctly starting her and simply threw her to the wolves. Pox on them both. She's very lucky indeed to have landed in your life.

Firstly, kudos to you Geonni for your generous intentions and considerable effort to salvage and moreover, enhance the life of what appears to have been a "throw away" dog from the get go. Trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together and sort out the math: Correct me If I don't have the story straight…history of the breeder, pedigree and initial owner who relinguished her is unverified/unknown. You obtained the bitch at 11 months months after she'd pent 3.5 months in rescue, i.e. ~ 7 ½ months old. Given her circumstances and regardless of the species the dog is destined to capably work, its highly probable that giving her a breather to adjust from her previous unpleaseant circumstances and allowing additional time to bond to you is priority number one. Surely you jest.

Heartbreaking fire update in CA. 40,000 acres and growing rapidly has thus far burned in less than 24 hrs in Lake County. Numerous small communities burnt to the ground plus many homes and outbuildings lost. Horrific devestation. Zero containment and no indication it will be controled any time soon. Lots of ranches in this area. Reports of livestock being burned alive. Absolutely gut wrenching for all involved. http://abc7news.com/news/valley-fire-in-lake-county-explodes-in-size-to-40000-acres/982006/

You're correct Sue…the name came to me in the middle of the night…after I'd quit struggling to remember it! LOL Give us a critique when you read the book! Official website: http://www.sgtreckless.com/Reckless/Welcome.html Far more insightfull: https://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/sgt-reckless-combat-veteran http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergeant_Reckless She obviously was invaluable, adored…and quite a character!

Happy to oblige. Lots of heart touching human-dog bond reads…some far better than others…top of my list is the superlatively written, heart tugging The Art of Racing in the Rain. Was hesitant to recommend No Better Friend as I've not read it but the review was certainly compelling. Trying to jog my memory but there was a book written long ago about an equally incredible modern time war horse who sans specific training nonetheless courageously served and saved innumerable USA/Allied lives during her military career including transporting wounded soldiers out of intense firefights and back to base camps where they could be attended to…and astoundingly and often as not, without a human handler to guide her. Retired with military honors in CA & raised a couple of foals to boot. Google search should turn her up.