EWE-ta here we come

Heading north to Tremonton Utah! A 900 mile jont one way! I'm not running I'm judging.. But I can run nursery 1 day! Ron is entered with Jesse; he had to scratch sly due to pregnancy that we just confirmed(yay)! Our fist day is short just to get north of traffic, first stop Calico ghost town! Old silver mining town with a huge empty campground, we will catch a ride on the train, a cold beer and cruise amongst the museums and shops!!

This will be us shortly



To be continued....



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Don't forget sometimes Ewe need to take a step back!

Just a quick training message...

This is a baby picture of Plaid

I know very hard to resist...

anyway onto the training...this is Plaid now

He grew up into quite the dog. He will be 2 in October...so where am I going with this? He's my topic for this week. I am training a lot of young dogs right now...(not all mine) but this is I think MY FAVORITE!

Sometimes though when he's working he doesn't change sides with the heads of the sheep on a fetch..and sometimes he likes to slice behind the sheep on a flank...Flaws?? Noooooo...He loves to drive...but also he's a good outrunner..(best of both worlds!)

So that said..the outrun (Outline) has been established ...this is how you do it...and it's good...going a nice distance independently from me..I'm happy (for now) The drive (outline) has been established (Ok you were born knowing how to drive and inside flank) Good that's done!! When I say done..I don't mean finished...I mean for now it's all in place....okay..so..where were those baby flaws??

Let me take a step back and "fix" those things..one those few items are "fixed" all the rest will fall into place.

I just want to remind people DON'T FORGET TO TAKE A STEP BACK...there is no problem and it's not a big deal to do this!! Everyone wants to get it bigger, instead of getting better...just a reminder ..

Sometimes we need to review the alphabet before spelling a word!!

That's all..Happy Herding!

Thank EwE..

 Zamora...oh how I love theeee..

It's one of our favorite trials...why?

The Slaven Family and the difficulty!

We have never camped at Zamora..but being we have no one to care for the wolf pack..off we go..700 miles. takes us 2 days..first stop Kit Fox Rv park in Patterson Ca. We found them to be very dog friendly... after negotiating a better spot (this is why Ron should check us in...) he can convince people to put us where we need to be...me, I am just grateful they let us in!

Chillin on the road at the RV park!

 The next day a short jont into Zamora..we arrived to the smiling face of Bill Slaven, who has graciously saved us a spot. (Camping is limited) Plan B is BIG...Bill gladly shows us where we are to park.

Parked

Not only did we have a great parking spot...but A DOG YARD.... (for those of you who travel with 12 dogs you know what I mean when I say YAHOOOOOO)

Fenced, gated dog yard

 Bill Slaven saved me at least 3 hours of pajama walking!

From the dog yard looking out... Home sweet Home!

Pathetic Plaid ..please don't lock me in here with "those guys"!

 Okay so we are there, we have camping, we have a yard...now let the games begin.

The dog Trial...79 dogs to the post for Open..

I think I am still coming down... from Zamora...(coming down??) yes coming down...it's a thrill ride...better than any ride at Disneyland by far. No matter how many times you have sent up that hill...the butterflies are still there!

The field -photo by: Gloria Atwater

 So there is the course...(it looks a lot easier from here) first it's the outrun...then my gawd the fetch! The sheep on the first morning really didn't think it was a good idea to come straight down..they went side to side trying to make the great escape!

We ran on yearling ewe's...I mean HUGE yearling ewes...(We don't grow them like this in So. Cal.) must be something in the water up there...these ladies could move...ditching and dodging the savvy border collie...a lot of times winning the game..

The game players

Relaxed and plotting their game..of DEFENSE

The sheep ran great...their heads had been shorn, however they had A LOT of neck wool...some still had odd peripheral vision...let me tell you in no way were they impaired...they knew everything going on behind them !!

We ran 4 Open dogs...(No one really cares about that) Soot was our star...Lane was a virgin on the hill, and had a tough time finding the sheep on day 1...day 2 he got there but ended up under them...never the less..he got around with a decent run and finished with his pen! Jesse ran good but felt there was trouble on the top and landed short on the outrun (the judge felt that was inappropriate) ...Sly ran a great course, but they had a snag at the post! (Ron's first time trialing her) ...anyway..that aside...it's a GREAT TRIAL!

The Young and the restless.. ok..The Nursery Poncho...gripped on the lift...ummmm Handler ran up field..(that would be me) when I say UP I mean UP... Lane..ran a great course! Suede: The biggest outrunner in the world...went wobbling and weaving up the outrun like he had never done one before...anyway after that he had a good course!

and Ps..I thought Michael Shearer did a great job judging...it's a long marathon of judging!! 

We had a big BBQ Saturday night where Ron grilled steaks for 10...(we can create a handlers dinner anywhere!) Everyone enjoyed the music, drinks, food, and camaraderie.

Here is a list of results in case you are interested..http://www.norcalsheepdog.org/results/ZamoraResults2013.pdf  

We had a great time...The dogs were all great up and down the highway...Thank you Bill & Joan Slaven, Peggy & Michael...we really appreciate the dog trial and all your hard work!! Hope to do it again next year!!!

Next Stop...Rio Vista..where we will challenge the young Canines N Ewe pack again!

Perhaps "Phil" is a liar..

Last week spring was in the air...70 degree temps..grass coming up in abundance...

This week...well..not so much

Good morning!

Some of us were more amused than others

Snow...let's be puppies!

Wilbur pig decided to hunker down

I felt guilty doing this..

So I thought I'd try this

Hiking up a steep hill on 4 paws is much easier than 2 muck boots!We need a sled!

The dogs thoroughly enjoyed their hike

C'mon Mom don't sit down let's go! (Berri)

Alright alright

Soot way in the back debating on whether to stay on the hike or not (she hates hiking)

I suppose Soot would rather be back here

Luxurious kennels for daytime loafing!

Josie would rather be here..

5 month old Josie..enjoying play time in the winter wonderland

I admit it is very beautiful BUT..

At the end of the day I much preferred to be here

Ahhh.

EWE Lamb??

It's lambing season at Canines N Ewe. This is our first year lambing without "outside" help. Our help didn't seem to help, so we got rid of the help!

Lambing usually starts on the same weekend as our big dog trial..this year was no exception.

Why do we lamb in January you ask?? January is usually a lot warmer than spring time. March and April bring fierce freezing temps and a lot of wind, for every thing there is an exception to the rule.

You know it's this warm in January

This year (Of course) is the coldest winter we have had in 15 years..and of course our biggest flock to lamb  (Ever).  We were proactive this year and built new jug pens.

These have come in handy ..as soon as they are born we jerk them out of the pasture and put them and mom in a nice cozy pen. Here they remain for 2-3 days for docking and castration.

Although the jugs are handy they cannot make up for the fact that there are still lambs out and about. We worry about these characters all night. Then of course we wake up to this...

After that comes this..

of course during this lambing time (or farm fiasco as it's finest)  we are getting our bathroom remodeled...so not only are we round the clock lambing we are living in

for those of you that are unfamiliar ..yes we are living in our motorhome..that's her "barn name" !!

So a few things we have learned over the course of this "Lambing time"..(It's not our first rodeo)
1. It's colder that shit in January (Due to Global warming being canceled)

2. Lambs readily drown in water tanks (no matter how tall or how small)

3. Remodeling your bathroom in the dead of winter (probably not a great idea)

4. Crouching over getting a cold weak lamb to nurse is enough to make yoga look like a cake walk.

5. Cull (the process of me never wanting to see your face ever again in a lambing jug.)

6. One hard season of lambing makes you want to kill all your rams and buy your sheep at the auction barn.

7. Oh yeah and what I wouldn't give for this right now....I will never complain about summer again..

Happy New Year folks..we are starting with a bang..! or is it a BUST?

Merry Christmas!!

Ron and I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas..from our house to yours!

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..