My dog is brilliant

Today we had our best herding lesson ever. Brit is just so good. I would have video to show except that my video camera is a piece of crap and died shortly after we arrived- even though it charged all night. Looks like I will be purchasing a new one soon....

So you will just have to believe me when I say that Brit is awesome. ;)

Today we learned how to take the sheep out of the pen, how to get them back in, and how to sort just a few out. Also we peeled them off the gate when I wanted to put them back in again. And we were able to take the sheep all the way to the arena! Seriously exciting! Brit did so great! She looked like a real border collie. It was super cool. She even learned how to go through barbed wire. ;)

That was the whole first part of our lesson- and Brit rocked it. She took her flanks really well, and her stops were okay. A few moments of being unsure on my part- but for the most part she did great. I think that the smaller take pen at the trial will be a piece of cake compared to the big pen at Altapete.

The second part of the lesson was spent on a Y chute. It was painful. lol. Until we just got it. And then it seemed easy. lol. But really we spent about 10 minutes trying to get them through the damn thing. And then reset and she got it in like 30 seconds.

So I'm pretty pumped about our lesson today- it makes me feel much more confident for the trial. We still have LOTS of training time so really we should know everything we need to by then! Brit is just so amazing though. I seriously adore her. She went from all serious sheep dog to bouncy happy Brit in 2.5 seconds after we were done. Love her.

Herding Lesson

Like an addict, I can't stay away. lol. I am convinced that the more I can get my dog on sheep the worse the addiction is- but at the same time she is getting better and better each time. Her Lie Downs were a non issue this time- sometimes a little creepy- but better than before! Brit was a super star and did really great overall I think. She continues to impress me. lol. She looks like she knows what she is doing and I'm still fumbling around. On the plus side I didn't forget my flanks, and I was able to watch my sheep, and the dog, and still walk backwards and think. lol. 

We started just with working on our Come Bye side- that flank is more pear shaped vs. a C like it is supposed to be. She really struggles to understand that we want her to move farther away before turning to the sheep.  On the Way side she is beautiful- head snap and gone. It's interesting that it is such a struggle to get the exact same behaviour on the opposite side. We did have progress though, I need to remember to point my stick at her head and don't give her the flank until she's already turned. In effect the verbal flank cue is a reward for doing it right. If she is wrong she has to stop and do it again. We did this for most of the lesson. When she would get it we would reward her with a few of the other side. 

The lesson ended with more fence work. She was a pro, and it was smooth and fast. She is taking flanks better (at Louannes she even took multiple flanks!) but she still is a bit too fast sometimes. 

And finally!!! Photos! Sarah and I went together so the photos are courtesy of her. Thanks Sarah!!! 

Next time I will video. I have a tripod I got for Christmas that I haven't really used yet. I think it would cover the whole arena. I am a very visual learner so I think it would be helpful to watch. 

Starting in May we will be able to go out and practice by ourselves. Which is exciting and terrifying at the same time. lol. Maybe Jenny will leave us a dog that knows what he's doing. lol. 

 This is Alaska's (the guardian dog) handiwork. She is a menace. lol. In all fairness I forgot to get Timbits for her and Togo so it's really my own fault. I thought that the pink stuffed toy would suffice as a bribe for safe passage. ;)

Visting, Herding, and Magic

Yesterday I spent the day in Calgary- it was a busy day. But I got to do three cool things. 

Visit with a good friend, that I don't see often enough and haven't talked to in what feels like a long time. Because I haven't been to a trial in what feels like forever I don't get to talk much with all my agility friends. It was a nice visit- although too short. Next time I will plan better!!!

Have a Herding Lesson at Louanne's.
Which was really good. Her stops were way better than before (at least to start), and she worked really well. We did a Y chute for the first time- which was difficult. LOL. And did fenceline work with actual obstacles. That was cool. The sheep we used were super flighty and fast- Brit liked that. It was very apparent we have a long way to go though. I struggle with watching my dog, my sheep, and thinking about what I am supposed to be telling my dog. With time it will come together but right now we are both very novice. At least I have a good novice dog- she tries hard to please me, and is way smarter than me. lol.

And I took Wicca to a different rehab person. Well, a Canine Body Worker. Sarah is apprenticing under Tina from Inhand Equine Therapy and I had the chance to take Wicca to be a guinea pig. I jumped at the chance- another set of eyes on her can't hurt!  Right off the bat Tina could see two things. And as she went over her she told me that she thinks that Wicca has an old, chronic Iliopsoas injury. Interesting eh? She did her magic and by the end of the hour Wicca was walking like a normal dog- without her legs tucked under her, and her topline had leveled out a bit. So I came home with a different set of exercises to do with her every day. Exercises specifically to a Psoas injury- which she may or may not have. But at this point I am willing to try anything. It can't hurt for sure, and if how Wicca was after the appointment is any indication then I am sold.

The hard part about this sort of thing is that I've already been working with a vet who has done lots of good for Wicca. As with everything in life there are always opinions and different thoughts. But I'm a believer in exploring options. And Tina is pretty confident in her observations. She certainly sounded like she knew what she was talking about!  So I'll give it a go. This means that Wicca is back to no fun. Leash walks only. No Running, Twisting, Turning, Jumping, Stairs, or Fun. lol. But Tina thinks that after 7-9 months of Rehab she will be better. That's right, Better.

Even if I could get her better I still won't go back to agility with her. I will be forever scared of hurting her. I couldn't handle that at all. But it would be fun to go back into the Rally ring with her! But being who I am I am still remaining pessimistic about the whole thing. lol. I will be happy if one day she can return to normal life.

Herding Lesson

Today Brit and I headed out to Alta Pete for another lesson. We have found our groove and for the first time I felt a little bit confident in what I was supposed to do. lol. Brit's outruns are very nice all of a sudden, and although she can still cut in a bit on the top it is still 100x's better than before. What really sucked were the lie downs. And I was using a non-grumpy voice and everything. They actually started out pretty well, and then went to shit. So we worked on some lie down drills, and she worked through her little pout pretty well. Other than her crappy stops she was pretty wonderful. Listening, and trying hard.

 Oh and for the first time we picked up the sheep from where Jenny was standing and Brit circled right around them- and of course she wouldn't stop when I asked her. So we worked on that a bit more- gather and stop, gather and stop.

She is a sensitive girl and today was the first time that we really pushed her to the point where she wasn't so happy to work. But we let her flank a little bit to rebuild some confidence and ended on a pretty decent down.

I'm not sure how I can really work on that anymore at home. I can down on her on the way to a toy, on a recall, and playing with a dog. We'll have to work a bit harder on it though- throw in some new challenges or something. I need for her to have a solid stop so that I can think. lol.

On the way home we went to PetSmart and she got to pick out a new toy, and I bought cookies, and cat treats. She had a good time sniffing stuff and meeting people, and I felt the disapproving stare of the store "dog trainer" as my cute little border collie jumped all over me and pulled on her leash. It made me smile.

Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick- Herding Lesson #

Although I was barely alive this morning after my mega long Saturday. We got up bright and early on Sunday and Brit and I headed to Alta-Pete for a lesson.
I am so glad we did. The weather was perfect. Sun shining, only a slight breeze. Perfect.

And Brit did really great!!!

She was a little fast to start, so we spent some time working on squaring off the start of her flanks. She is generally starting well, but then tightens up at the top. Jenny helped me to work her through that though and she was much better for it. We also worked a bit on the fence exercise- where she has to hold them to me and the fence. Her lie downs SUCKED though so this was hard to start. So we stopped that and just worked on a drill of flanks and stops in the middle of the arena. Around and around we went. And then we took a mental break.

After the break we went back and did another outrun- which was perfect!. And then some more fence stuff which was better, and finished off with the drills in the middle. And she was lovely! Took her flanks nicely and her lie downs were really nice- not instant, but close. I was so happy with her! It's interesting how they process things. Learning sheep really is probably the most difficult thing. The dog has to do lots of thinking for themselves, and don't really get a lot of help from us. I find it quite interesting.

A few things from today

• When starting my dog have her set a bit aways from me depending on the distance to encourage her to run distance
• Speak Softly and Carry a Big stick. lol. I tend to get grumpy at her (nothing new. lol), but she really does listen better if I say it nicely. If she doesn't do it after I've asked her twice then I can get grumpy at her. But not before. And I can use the stick (or the pressure of the stick) instead.
• Does she understand, or is she choosing not to. This is hard for me because I am very new to this and don't really know if she is doing the right thing or the wrong thing, or is blowing me off. For instance if I tell her to lie down and she feels she should move three feet to the left and lie down to have better control of the sheep....
• With the drill I had her lie down at hard spots, or take difficult flanks, and then rewarded her with 12 O'Clock. Or 9:00. (which was her second favorite spot.)

All in all a pretty great morning!

Have I said how much I adore this dog? & a Herding Lesson

Brit had a busy day today- first some Obedience training, followed by a Herding Lesson.
She is just such a bright dog- so smart, a thinker, a happy worker, and just fun. I really am completely smitten with her.

Obedience training this morning was really fun. I've been fixing my heeling with her for a while now, and finally we made some progress with the help of peanut butter and a spoon. I really messed her up by doing too much pivot/perch work and not enough straight lines when I first got her. So her idea of heeling is actually lagging, with her head twisted around like a psycho. Anyway- due to the power of the peanut butter (or salmon cream cheese!!) I think we will be okay. It is pretty well luring a good head position right now. She also did her first ever stand for exam today. I just taught her a stand/stay the other day. And in one short session we went from a sit for exam, to a stand for exam. And she's pretty solid. I don't think I will have to go back to a sit or anything. Once she gets something she gets it. I love that kind of learning! I also got some good ideas for some other "moving attention" games. I am looking forward to trying them out.

Herding this afternoon was great. I think it was the best yet actually. And of course I have no video/photographic evidence. lol. My video camera was dead..

Anyway we spent a fair amount of time on outruns, and gathers. That is still her weakest skill. Today we put a bit more pressure on her to give them more space at the top. She was a bit pouty about it, but didn't quit, and kept on working. You can really see her thinking, trying to figure out how to be right. It's very interesting. There was no real naughty moments, and we actually were getting nice flanks, without too much speed at the top.

We also worked on the holding exercise with the fence. She was fighting a bit, and not really happy to be working in so tight. Which is opposite of last time. So we just did a bit and moved back to gathers, and outruns. I am certainly understanding more about where I should be, and what I need to do to get the sheep where I want them. And most of all I am able to control my dog better. We still have a ton to learn, but I don't feel overhwhelmed by the dog, the sheep, etc.

All in all a very dog filled day. After herding I took the dogs for a walk- we are supposed to have winter tomorrow. So I figured we might aswell enjoy our strange spring like weather while it lasts!