Balance..What's in it for Ewe..

Balance in life is a must..Balance on sheep is a must..so how do we create it.

First off I think the number 1 mistake in thinking we have balance is dog broke sheep. The falsify the whole concept from start to finish.

If dog broke sheep are always wandering around with their nose in our pocket we cannot achieve this.. we achieve a nice ability to follow. (not gonna cut it if you work wool sheep)

Balance is the ability to bring sheep straight...BUT where is the dog?? The dog is where it needs to be to achieve this goal. At the last trial the lambs leaned hard on the dogs..the dogs that followed and never reached for balance were offline. The dogs that through themselves into the point of balance on the pressure succeeded at the fetch.

In starting many young dogs these days (and days past) I have dogs that balance better on the left or the right..you see them reach over to correct the sheep and stay there until the heads turn, then they go back to the point of balance on the other side...Some reach good one way and some come up short the other way..leaving the sheep "not quite covered". I will make sure that this is fixed before going on with training.

I will take large groups of wool sheep out and just wander around and make sure the pups are reaching. When I think they are even on both sides of balance, I change the sheep! I go from not so dogged yearling wool sheep (20) or so to 7 undogged wool sheep...(they don't come to me, the pups have to balance well to bring them!)

Today was that day..(now obviously I wouldn't take an out of control pup to the pasture on this type of sheep) These pups I speak of are yearlings that have had farm flock experience. They are getting "command" ready, so I though I would check their "Balance". I so often see people just rushing through the training process, getting command on, whipping grip out, instead of working grip out, and stopping the dog constantly never letting them get a feel for the sheep. I am just the opposite. I like a natural dog (almost to a fault) I admire good work, and I am not controlling (enough maybe for some) I like free moving..but anyway..that's me.

So what happened on the 7 wild woolies?? Both pups littermates did a great job (keeping the sheep on the field) both pups developed better flanks (they had to open otherwise the sheep felt they were being chased) One reaches great comebye and 1 reaches great away. What I mean by reach is if I am backing around a corner did they turn nicely and hit that balance or did they drop a shoulder and flush the sheep passed me...both had a shoulder drop on opposite sides!. I wandered and worked it for 15 minutes, not saying much just cruising around the field! So the lesson did 2 things...help them understand balance and help them open their flanks naturally.

It is ideal if you can keep a few unbroke sheep because it is always nice to get a young dog on real sheep that have to be told where to go and see if they have what it takes!! (These sheep do not fight, I wouldn't use fighting sheep) but nice light fresh (non-cheater ) sheep!! Afterall when the dogs get into the big leagues we cannot tell them where to be at 600-700 yards when the sheep are hassling them.

In conclusion don't forget the remedial importance of the beginning stages of the young pups career! Lay off the command sometimes and just wander it's quite enjoyable!

Happy Herding..

Do ewe believe in ghosts?

Ron and I got a laugh out of this picture we took at the trial field one night when we were sitting around the campfire!

Very few were camped; we had ample space to ourselves!




Nice area to walk dogs however it was covered in goat heads.. The smart dogs stayed on the road and in the alfalfa.. The "others" acted as if though they had just stepped in a mine field! Daddy to the rescue!

The field was stunning




A 420 yard outrun nice and straight forward.. Only to meet up with the fine wool lambs that took a look at the pesky k9 and said "who me?" You want to go? Naaa I think we will have a staring contest!

The lambs were tricky, fun, and even! Haven't been to a trial that was this fun in a long time!




Ron ran his first open! Made a great job of it on sheep he had never worked before! His comment was "I like open!"

The young dogs had their go at the sheep Sunday! Suede ran a good run for 2nd I was beaming as we have worked on anger management, and he never once lost his temper! The sheep really liked him!

Poncho's lack of experience showed but at 2 that's fine! He had a nice bite at the drive gate, but it frazzled him and he took a few wrong flanks on the cross drive so I went out and helped him.. Retired.

We are on the last 99 miles of a 1500 mile round trip! Every mile was worth it! We had a great time and we are still enjoying




Plan B!

A must do for ewe!

This trial is a must do, maybe because the people are so nice, the sheep are so tricky, the weather was perfect, and the field stunning!!!!
If the opportunity arises, we will be back! Thank you Utah stockdog club for such a great trial!
Onto young dogs tomorrow! Yahoo!
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Location:Spanish fork Utah

Ewers day 1 wrap

A chilly 28 started us off warming up to a perfect 65!! Sheep were squirrels this morning but settled well into it! We are running yearling range ewes that are not dogged!
Sly ran early had a good feel for the sheep but a little slow. Timed out in shed ring. I was happy with her go!
Soot ran mid morning with a nice run and finish but owner blindness I missed the cross drive panel high!
Ron and Jesse had a great start however Jesse lost patience with staring and eating sheep.. Grip.. Called off!
Results:
Libby neider Darby
Jennifer Ewers soot
Shauna Gourley mercy
Candy Kennedy Kobe
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Upon arrival

So far so good, trial field is gorgeous. Camping is good! Dogs finally got excercise!


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Travelers tails of whoa

First off Happy thanksgiving! We have never traveled on thanksgiving it seems weird. We were eager to get Plan B back out so this seemed like the place to go! Utah trials are always a good test of dog and handler; so we shall see!

Traveling with 13 dogs seems normal to us.. To others not so much!

We headed out from campo figuring on Vegas (it's exactly half way) we set our sights on the hitching post Rv park.. Of course we called in advance and of course we said we had 13 dogs!



How could we go wrong staying on this street? A few things we learned.. If you can't find the Rv park entrance.. It's a NO. If the clerk is indifferent about multiple dogs its a NO.. If you hear 50 chihuahuas barking before you unload dogs it's a NO. So feeling claustrophobic about staying in the ever so permanent trailer park in "crack-ville" we opted to head north. Mesquite Nevada would welcome us!

We found mesquite to also be not so border collie-ish. An asphalt parking lot was the best we were gonna do! A strip of lawn would have to be their resting ace for the afternoon!




I got lucky in my exploration and found "just beyond the stucco" was an abandoned hotel, luxurious grassy knolls would be the dog walkers delight! We made do!

Every passing car in the park had to stop and count




Yes 13.. I met up with a few other dog walkers that happened upon the abandoned gem next door; they seemed to think all the dogs were just laying there.. (They of course were chained to the ground) but I let him carry on and left him thinking I was the Jesus Christ of the dog world!

Today our travels take us to like folks at the dog trial!! We are having a good time we always laugh!

And remember life is all about


PLAN B !!!!!!

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Rollin

Yep life is tough riding passenger in Plan B!




Sweep at 11 yrs old has earned his spot in Plan B!




Of course everyone
knows the DIVA Jesse has earned her spot, or well let's say has chosen her spot!




Lets not forget about our adorable pilot!

Josie

Isn't she adorable!!







Not everyone thinks so




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Be Thankful..

I know "Leo" is THANKFUL ..he was on the lamb (so to speak) or chased off shall we say 2 months ago. He is a pet he is not dinner! He is a pain, but we missed him! We heard rumors about a male turkey hanging on a street corner about a mile from the house...so off we went knocking on doors!! An elderly lady said she has seen him a lot and he was friendly, and "he didn't seem to hang around the wild turkeys". We left a number, and sure enough the next day she called..we sprang into action, we got down there we saw him, jumped of of the truck yelled "LEO" and he just surrendered himself!! Ron and I picked him up and Ron held him in the back of the truck on the way home! We put him back in his barnyard, he was so happy and so hungry! As of now Leo is back guarding the sheep, and making sure everything is in place..as he is the "lord of the barnyard".

Ron and I are heading to a dog trial for Thanksgiving. (First time ever not being at home for turkey day!) We are off to Utah. We would like to wish everyone a...

Happy Thanksgiving...

The Ewers

Damn'd if you do..or don't...

A few things **WE** have learned this (last) month...(and this folks is why we like dogs not people)

If you are honest and don't rip people off ..they get pissed.

People twist conversations into what they "think" they heard.

Adults are experts at being passive /aggressive.

People lie to make themselves feel better

Often times people don't ask for clarity, they just make assumptions.


The nicer you are to people..the more you get screwed.

**We** will continue to run our business the way we always have. Those who appreciate the candor and the honesty will continue to strive. Those that can't handle the truth, will continue to make their own truth, which in reality are manifested lies. 

People never cease to amaze **US**.. Really makes me want to say fuck em all...but there are still a few good ones left...I have to remind myself of this..

Let's hope November is drama free..