concrete

I pulled out of a trial this weekend because the weather forecast was in the high 90's and I felt I would be selfish to run my dog and somebody else's sheep in that heat. I would never train at home in these temperature's, I've been training early morning and at dusk for short periods. Evidently I'm in the minority on this and wondered how people felt about trialing in very hot temperatures. Kevin Brannon

Hi Inez, I was at Claudia's and it was not my best trial outing, but I learned what I needed to work on. I haven't been to a trial for 7 years and that was a good one to get back into it . Hopefully I make it into the Fogt's trial this summer. The reason I asked though is that there are a few very good trainers close to you and quite a few good trainers. Claudia, Cole Hidey and Lyle Ladd all live in that area. I have learned more from a few hours with a good trainer then from years of reading internet opinions. I must not have been clear in my post Waffles, I was just talking about excessive barking not behavior problems in dogs in general. I have some very well exercised dogs who would bark at the cats every time they walked by if they thought it was ok, so I don't see a relationship between a lot of exercise and less barking. In other words I think dogs bark regardless of the amount of exercise they have excepting of course extremes where they are to tired for much of anything. This is just my opinion though, I'm not a dog behaviorist and I have nothing other than my own experiences to base this on. Kevin Brannon

There should be a lot of information on this well accepted idea floating around the internet or in reference materials I could pick up at the library. I am always interested in looking at studies and research about canine behavior.C ould you direct me to a few that you are getting your facts from. I don't view most barking as behavior problem, just something I don't want to listen to all the time. So I would like to read more on the subject of barking being a behavior problem also. I was at a trial in Greenfield this past weekend where you there Inez? Kevin Brannon

I have had very good results from firm consistent correction. I usually have anywhere from six to ten dogs in my kennels and they don't bark a whole lot. Usually when people pull in the drive , the sheep get out, they hear a siren or some other out of the ordinary circumstance. A quick "that's enough" ends it. I haven't found any correlation between exercise and barking. I would be interested in reading your information on barking and exercise. Could you point me to some on line references? Kevin Brannon

Wasn't Ralph Pulfer's Tweed a merle? He was certainly an excellent dog and was bred. Kevin

My Belgians park out on their own. They must find it comfortable, I've seen them sleeping parked out e. My horses are work horses I don't show or pull with them.

I think to breed these dogs ethically they would need to do all the DNA test for both breeds and of course do at least two different test for HD. Then if their screening of potential puppy parents was rigid enough I think it would be ok. Kevin

This was done to the mother of one of my dogs by a well known breeder that had to know what they were doing. I called Patty and asked if you were allowed to change a bitches name after giving birth and she said no but I don't think anything was done about it. I think it's underhanded and the people who do it are well aware of what they are doing. I'm very tempted to say who this person is but think maybe discretion would be the better part of valor in this case. Kevin

I have a round pen but only use it with horses, it is my opinion that if a dog is old enough to handle training it is old enough to handle corners. Kevin

Thats bad news about the levamasole. I've been using it with good effect for a few years now.

I agree with Julie and Eillen about shearing. The real secret is in the various holds that smooth the skin and convince the sheep they can't move. The scariest part of learning to shear was when a sheep managed to get free and I was trying to keep it restrained with one hand while not cutting anybody with the shearers in the other. Kevin

I usually worm by myself with a dog in a corner somewhere and don't bother with hog panels, trim feet the same way. I use a crook for catching sheep never carry one while training.

I have to agree with Becca about Mericks smelling good. I've never gotten the nerve up to drink it though. Kevin

I've had between 5 and 10 dogs constantly for the last 11 years and I've never seen two dogs hug each other so I'm thinking this is a human behavior we teach a dog to like. I'm not saying dogs don't come to like hugs. I just don't think it's something they actually need. Kevin

I teach driving pretty much from the start now. Especially with dogs that have a natural tendency to flank around pressure. I've also found that holding sheep off while I put out feed can help a dogs driving by getting them use to holding pressure. Kevin