Caroline Reichard

How about inviting a friend who owns an enforcer over to train together, or a few open handlers who would like to get experience on their dogs? But the owner of the sheep should be prepared for some biting, I'd guess.

1. Stay away from body fluids of pregnant ewes while you are pregnant. 2. Don't talk too much with your mother-in-law and mom about what you do unless you really want their opinions. (This goes for the next 18+ years.) 3. Don't give up doing what you love. 4. Be forgiving of yourself if some things get put on hold. 5. Take naps.

That's what I was thinking, although the scores today have stayed low enough that a handler can feel very comfortable within that range. Thank doG for the bloggers giving us the details.

Any savvy handlers who get a sense of what score it's going to take to move on, please feel free to share.

Hi Folks, While this clinic is full, I do have a spot now available for a private lesson on Friday, October 9th. Contact me privately if interested.

Hi, Can anyone point me to the best place to get the most current scores this week? I'm not even seeing a link on the Finals website or blog. TIA

I would be suspicious of his back at least as much as his leg. Is he an older dog? I have an older dog, now retired, who has back problems. He presents just as you are describing your dog. After many months of trying lots of stuff, I found that keeping him thin was, by far, the single best way to control his pain. If it were a younger dog, though, I would start going to specialists and looking for some kind of soft tissue injury that involved his back. Maria Amodei wrote an excellent article on just this problem with her dog in this summer's NEBCA newaletter. The article is on page 9. http://www.nebca.net/news2000s/Summer_2009.pdf

Try giving a small flank, stop, then walk up. The flank can get things moving again. ETA: this isn't a training solution. It's just what you can do if you need to get the sheep in the barn.

I know for a fact that it would have been written by Donald McCaig, who has given such superb voice to the dogs we all love, but I don't know which 300 words it would be. The passage in the front of the USBCC is nice: "People often wonder just what trainers give the sheepdog in exchange for its boundless willingness. Food treats and praise sit on the trainer's shelf, untouched, unused. The sheepdog is shown its possibilities, he learns what life is like for a good dog and is invited to walk in a rational world whose farthest boundaries are defined by grace." (Donald McCaig, Nop's Hope) The last chapter of Eminent Dogs is breathtaking, though it is longer than 300 words. Perhaps my favorite passage is this: "At trials in the States, first-time spectators often tell me why the dogs do it. Some attribute it to love. 'They must really love you!' Others, Skinnerites presumable, prophesy, 'I'll bet he'll get a good bone tonight!' Honestly amazed at the dogs' skills, they are compelled to trivialize them and transmogrify the dogs into lovey-dovey pets, motivated by a dizzy love for their master, or chowhounds, concerned only with their gut. None of them, not one, has ever asked me why the dogs do it. I find the absence of that question only less interesting than the question itself. ... For four hundred years, sheepdogs have been bred for a complex set of skills and desires. Inept dogs were put down. Thus, genetically, most sheepdogs have a rough idea what to do. The trainer refines that idea and explores, with the dog, some of life's contradictions. The dog must be instantly biddable but be able to think for himself. The dog must be able to bring a stroppy tup to his knees but never nip a lamb, even when the lamb runs right over him. A good working collie uses reason to support his faith. The trial dog needs great courage (how would you like to do the most difficult bits of your daily work before two thousand knowledgeable spectators?); a temprament that can handle stress, and, finally, style. When an eminent dog joins a dangerous man, they can create a performance that is, by either standard -- dog's or man's -- beautiful. That's why the dogs do it: because it's beautiful. When a sheepdog meets a man able to help him create beauty, the dog will put up with almost anything." Donald McCaig, Eminent Dogs, pp 206, 210-211. Since eminent dogs and dangerous men are easily seen these days on YouTube, I would certainly augment any words -- no matter how poignant -- with some pixilated footage of a great dog running superbly at some double lift trial or other. http://ffermio.tv/world-sheepdog-trials-2008/aled-owen-final ETA: I just re-watched the above link. The Int'l Shed lasted two minutes. Jesus wept.

Hi Folks, I have had an opening in Derek's clinic on October 10 and 11th in Woodsboro, MD. If you would like this slot, please contact me ASAP, as it will fill very quickly. I still have a space available for lessons on Friday and Monday. Details appear in the earlier post on teh thread. To those already signed up: I'll be cashing checks this week and will soon need the balance. I'll be in touch soon about that and other details. Best, Caroline Reichard

Hi Amelia, I don't know if you are a Mom or not. I am, and I have homsechooled my kids (now 11 and 12) from the beginning. They are terrific kids. I mean it. If they were dogs, I could get a whole bucket of money for them (a friend of ours once called them "The Stepford Children -- but real.") Anyway, I often tell other parents that many of the things that I did that helped with raising my kids were training principles I took from my experience with dogs. The other parents mostly start looking at me funny at this point. But your post really illustrates why I think that is true, and it contains a lot of good insights into the idea of training generally. Not necessarily raising good dogs, or kids, but raising any sentient creature well. Great post. I'd like to cross-post it to the parenting boards, but they already take me for a nutter.

Hi Amelia (and others), Would you mind giving some examples of techniques or approaches that work especially well for you here?

This is very cool, Mark Does anyone have any idea if it is possible/legal to buy this stuff off the net froam a NZ source and have it shipped here?

3-5# per day per dog of raw would break my bank, too, although I also feed my own and don't buy commercially! When I went to raw I did buy a kitchen scale and use it every time I feed. It is surprising what things can weigh. I find that my dogs, who weigh between 35 and 40#, need between 1 and 1.5# of meat/fish/poultry/eggs/dairy a day (bones count in that weight). Most of what they eat is mutton, though there is often some other stuff (chicken necks and livers, gristle, fat or skin, etc). They do get appropriate table scraps and cooking by-products: I have a big tupperware container in the fridge, and all dog-edible stuff gets put in there. My kids call it the "slop bucket," which is accurate, but gross. They also get various vegetables, but I don't count that as part of the weight: in Weight Watchers, raw vegetables are always free! Now that the garden is going like gang busters, excess garden vegetables get bagged and frozen for winter.

As I thought about it, the numbers started to make more sense. I think what I'm hearing is that I should start at about 1# and expect to go up quite a bit- maybe 2 or 3X- as he grows. Common sense will dictate ingredients. 3-5 # of raw is a lot of food! Reminds me of an article I read about Michael Phelps' eating habits.