Off we go...

Tomorrow we will head down the road to Geri Byrne's trial called "Dry Lake". It's an 800 mile trek for us one way! We will have 12 dogs on board and hope for the best. In a lot of way our dogs are very ill prepared for this one. Summertime in Southern California brings out the deadly foxtail grass (WEED) these can go into the dogs but because of the barbs they cannot back out.SOOO we have not been able to haul out to our big fields, we can only work at home. Almost the worst part of the whole scenario is I have drawn up first in the Open with Sly. The field is supposedly (which I believe) is huge...fences are few and far between, and the outrun is to be set long. So..We will give it our best shot...I am running Soot and Sly in Open...Suede and Lace in the nursery and Ron has his first time at the post with Sweep and will also be running Jesse both in Pro-Novice. We look forward to visiting with friends and practicing our big outruns at the trial...YIKES!

FOXTAIL

The K9znewe pups get their chance in the spotlight...boy do I love them!!!

Sweep- Sire to Poncho and Pearl; Grandsire to Kori

Poncho 7 weeks old!!!

 
 Lot's of people always ask about the pups of our last breeding of Jesse & Sweep. Below Ron made a video showing them at work in a pen. I do not normally start pups in a pen, and in fact these have all done fine in the field...BUT with foxtail season in full bloom it's far too dangerous. The pups I would say are just about ready to go. This is not a training video by any means, just a sample of what I have been producing in my line. I did not post the video for people to critique my style..or my sheep. I am a trainer that likes pups to bite a little, and it doesn't scare me to have them take hold of a sheep, nor do I get after them for doing so. I probably wait longer than some to start them, as to me mental maturity is a big step. Pearl is quite a bit more mature than Poncho, and Poncho is more mature than Grit and Brass (that video will be  posted shortly). I have a calm style in my training, and I work with the natural ability before anything else. I want to see the pups balancing good on their own before I actually train on them. The line has lot's of flank, so it's important to me that they find their line...I won't actually start one until it can "BRING ME SHEEP"...not training sheep (as seen in the video) I mean sheep, that don't come to me...Once that step is in place...off we go. So as I see the video, I am thinking we are close to being ready for words and method...I will try and get video's of them as they progress in their training!! Thanks for viewing!
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_VvKKej2tk

Winter is gone..Spring has sprung...and Summer is well on it's way..

Llucy the llama..Not enjoying the process!

Shearing day for us marks the time we feel old man winter is hibernating, spring has sprung, and summer is around the corner. We lamb earlier than everyone else it seems and we shear later than everyone else it seems. We may be a little backward in our ways, have less than adequate equipment for handling sheep and shearing for that matter, but the end result is the same! My idea of handling equipment is a tight pen, a corner, and a border collie. While it seems quite archaic I enjoy the time with the dogs, doing real work. For the shearing we use our sort pens to fill with sheep, no fancy chutes, no fancy gates, no fancy barns.

Rambouillets getting ready for the big day!

Our shearing typically should happen at the end of April however we have to furnish sheep for the Annual Campo Round-Up "Mutton Busting"...so needless to say we have to furnish WOOLY sheep!! Shearing day is one of my favorite days...not only do the sheep feel great, it's a good time for me to check on my husbandry skills and see that everyone is fat and free of external parasites!! This year we had no keds, and everyone looked GREAT!!!  So bring on the summer we are ready!!

Hard to say good-bye to a GOOD Ol' BOY..."Zac" (06/24/94 - 05/05/11)

The younger Zac!

Serious side of Zac (there weren't too many!)

Baby Jesse learning how to destroy from the master of destruction!

My best friend closed his eyes today,
As his head was in my hand.
The doctors said he was in pain,
And it was hard for him to stand.
The thoughts that scurried through my head as I cradled him in my arms,
Were of his younger puppy years and oh so many charms.
Today there was no gentle nudge with an intense “I love you” gaze,
Only a heart filled with tears, remembering our joyful days.
But then an angel appeared to me and said,
“You should cry no more,
God loves all our animal friends and He installed a doggy door!”

It all started about 16 years ago. An old sheepdog trainer of mine had a litter, of what I would call somewhat dysfunctional puppies. The litter had 4 (2 with cleft pallets were put down) and 2 remained; a white one and a black & white one. The white one I adored...why? who knows..so I bought her. I named her Divinity and went on with her to do some not so great things in our herding endeavor. (Although she was white, she was equivalent to a white buffalo on sheep) I named her "Divinity" and she got trained, how I don't know..but went on to be a bomb proof dog in many ways.

Long after the purchase of the pup, I would frequent the same ranch and always remember "the problem child". He had been sold, only to bite the new owner, he chased mailmen, he chased UPS, he went BIZERK and tore anything to pieces in his range when a diesel engine started. There were buckets hanging in trees above him from these (doggie turret syndrome fits). I asked the friend "what are you going to do with that thing?" She had no plan for poor "Satan" (that was his original name, then changed to Ben after the many returns from various owners.) I said well since I now have a ranch I will take him as an outside guard dog, and will call him ZAC.

It was love at first sight for Zac..I got him home and he never left my side...and he never slept outside. He slept at the foot of my bed, big as he is..curly hair draping over the blankets.

It's been a long road with our problem child, the chasing cars, and attacking diesel trucks never subsided. He however has provided years of entertainment for us and many friends. He never was a barn burner on the sheep, but he did enough to make himself proud. You could always hand Zac a towel and growl, and he would have a fit and swing that towel and growl and bark at the towel, and make us laugh. He broke his hock sometime back, and yes, $4000.00 later he was healed!!

Then there was the time we lost Zac...when I say lost I mean LOST. We were at a dog trial in Mountainair New Mexico..up at 4:00 for the dog trial when Ron says "I et Zac out last night to go potty" "Did you chain him?" "uh No" uh oh...out the door we go and he is gone...why he strayed from the trailer we'll never know. We searched and searched...I told Ron I am not leaving here until we find him dead or alive. We put flyer's all over town...and finally 4 days later...someone called and said I have your dog. He was headed down the interstate (yes in the right direction for home) and was 12 miles from the trial site. It was grueling heat in the summer month of July...he was covered in cactus quills, his feet were worn off, and he was thirsty and hungry. HE WAS OK!! So yes trials and tribulations to keep this dog safe!! 

Serious about his fetch (2009) retired dog play day!

Zac at Bodega Bay loving paying on the beach 2003

Zac and Divinity's last hurrah!

We will miss Zac so much, and the place will be so quiet, he has always had a hang up with Zippo (the 2 grumpy old men) they have always had the competition of who could steal who's bed the fastest and piss each other off. Zac was also the best puppy raiser, he loved the little one's and up untl the last days, the youngster's never failed to lick his face as fast as they could!

So to Zac, you can have all the diesels, mail men, UPS trucks, tractors and towels in heaven. Rest in Peace our fine buddy we will miss you so much. Zac has been buried and lies beneath a beautiful oak tree next to his sister "Divinity" and the original matriarch "Gaya".