And Then There Were 5

The Latest Update: Bart has made it to South Dakota just fine, has been picked up and is settling right in!

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Bart is up, up and away! He's in Minneapolis in the middle of a layover, and will be in Rapid City, SD this afternoon. Drop off at RDU was quick and easy, though awfully darned early this morning. He was so sweet and happy, and it was really, really hard to leave him there. I know he's doing fine though. With that great temperament, he'll handle the flight without any problems. And his breeder will be waiting on him and take great care of him. I'm sure i'll regret letting him go many times over in the future. Once that shoulder is fixed, he's going to be a terrific work dog.

So now the Shoofly gang is only 5 dogs, wow. I can't remember the last time i only had 5 dogs. It had to have been before i got Gael, and she came along about November of 1999, making it a 6 dog pack then. It's going to be some kind of nice to not actually have a puppy running around for change, and no one that has to be walked on a leash when we travel. Weird!

Hot Diggety DOG!

Zac gets to GO BACK TO WORK!!!! Finally, the day we've been waiting for, yeeee haaaaa! There are still some concessions, like wearing a boot for 10 days while working, but damn, finally some sheep in front of his nose. We saw Dr. Sherman this morning and he was pleased with Zac's progress. I felt like it was too slow but he was happy with it, so off we go to work and to see how that goes. Keep your fingers crossed for the Zac-man!

Rainy Day Catchup

It's not often that i'm happy to see a rainy saturday, unless we're in a drought like last year. But things have been so busy lately that a nice drippy day, forced to rest and relax is probably a good thing. We'll see how long i can make myself sit still though.

Knowing it would mean 4 weekends in a row on the road, i opted out of going to the trial in TN this weekend. I did hear from my friend Lauren on her way home from it last night though, and she won the ProNovice with her Mac dog, woo hoo! I'm so pleased for her.

I also decided to scratch from the Rural Hill SDT in a couple of weeks. I was disappointed to hear they were going to use the same old hair sheep they always use, rather than the fresh wool sheep we'd been hearing about and promised. That's a shame because good sheep would make it a great trial. Added to that, i'm not sure if i'll have Zac back to running by then. So, i pulled. I'll stay home, save the expense, and get back to doing more lessons. Our next trial will be at Steve Godfrey's in SC in December, followed by the Edgeworth Winter trial in January.

I'm looking forward to those trials, and to getting back to a regular lesson schedule, and to getting Billy trained up more. I've been working him a bit more regularly, between Zac's PT sessions in the evenings and he's really soaking it up now. If the light will flicker on on driving, he'll be ready for Nursery in no time. He just needs to be a little more committed to taking charge of the sheep on the drive. I'll need to get him out to some new fields as well and should have time for that now.

I've managed to finally make a decision on Bart and he's leaving for SD on Tuesday - the flight is actually even booked. He's everything i hoped he'd be working wise, but is limping again and needs the surgery for his OCD. His breeder has offered to get him fixed up so he's going back to her. I'll miss him a lot but it'll be nice to get down to 5 dogs.

Zac is doing well with his rehab and goes back to Vethab monday morning. I've started pushing him pretty hard on that leg, trying to get him to stop the skipping, and he does seem to be slowly improving. I'm planning to really make him use it this weekend, with boots and bells and whatever else i came come up with to make him feel most comfortable on the healed up leg. I had him and Gael and Spottie back to the chiropractor this week and i feel that's helping all 3 dogs a lot as well.

So, that's the latest Shoofly news. Hmm, looks like the rain is easing off, maybe i can go run Zac now.....or work Jet....get some chores done around the farm.... ;-)

Lexington SDT, etc.

The Lexington SDT this weekend was very nice. The field was gorgeous, large and laid out nicely. The sheep were relatively decent, though cranky about shedding and sometimes about penning. Set out was done extremely well, i thought. There were a couple of things that could have been done better (printed running orders, letting people know about changes to the class schedule before they actually arrived at the trial) but they weren't a huge deal and are part of the growing pains of a new trial. I'm sure things will run more smoothly as the hosts gain more experience. Speaking of the hosts, David Clark and Cheryl Branibar were lovely hosts, gracious and welcoming, and they worked tirelessly. Hats off to both of them. Bob Washer won the 1st round, after a run off with Mike Hanley. Mark Billadeau won the 2nd round, with Christine Henry finishing second.

I was happy with how my dogs ran this weekend. They were sharp and crisp, but unfortunately i wasn't quite as sharp. Three weekends in a row on the road caught up with me a bit, i believe. In the first round, i ran Spottie second in the class and Jet had the last run of the day. Neither of those draws tend to be good ones for me, plus it was the first cold day of the season out there. Spottie ran quite well, clean all the way around, and even got a shed, which was hard to come by in the early going. I was a little disappointed when her score was posted but decided that i needed to sharpen up my drive lines. Jet decided the sheep had been set well to the right of where they actually were, so ran very straight up the field and needed two stops and finally a turnback whistle to get going to the right spot. That pretty much took us out of contention right off the bat. I also ran Gael in the middle of the day. She ran out beautifully but the sheep were slow to lift, obviously having never heard that Gael will punish sheep that take too long to lift for her. About 25 yards into the fetch, she ran through them. But we got it back together and she was pretty decent around the course, for the tense little monster she is. I didn't run her in the second round and probably won't run her at trials any more. I love working her around the farm but trials are just too much for her nerves. And mine.

Jet and Spottie ran very late in the second round, Jet at #49 and Spottie last at #57. I thought Jet had a very good run and was quite shocked at her score but i guess that's the way it goes sometimes. She was very clean on her gather with a gorgeous, straight fetch. Apparently the judge and i had differing ideas on the drive lines as we lost 12 points there. The finish was clean. Spottie was her usual spectacular self on the outrun and lift, completely nailing it and receiving a 20-10, as well as compliments from the setout person. I couldn't quite get her far enough to the right to cover the draw and we missed the fetch gates. The drive and pen were decent and after a missed attempt on the shed, i retired since she was looking tired and we were far from placing.

All in all, it was a nice trial in a beautiful setting, with changing leaves and autumn colors in the mountain backdrop.

There's not much to report on the Zac rehab front right now. I'm continuing his hikes every day and the sprints as we can find the space. He does still skip very occasionally, even with his good side made somewhat less comfortable by the boot with pebbles in it. I have a call in to Dr Sherman and hope to talk to him today to get the plan for the coming week. I'd like to be able to start working him soon and possibly run him in the Rural Hill SDT in November.

Another Update....

Zac is doing really well. I haven't seen him limp on the backyard potty walks (with no boot) more than once or maybe twice all week. With the boot on, with some pebbles in it, i've seen almost no skipping in his 30 minute hikes the last 2 evenings. I actually don't think i saw a single skip tonight. He really loves the second session each evening when he gets to do sprints. I put him on a stay, walk 70 or so yards away, and call him, and that boy flies! He really liked it when i had Gael out running against him tuesday evening. I tried that tonight with Spottie and she decided it was way too much work for an old dog.

I worked Bart again this evening for a few minutes and he did really well. I thought i saw some odd movements when he was trying to sidestep using that bad right shoulder, but i didn't see any limping during or after he worked. So far so good, and still hoping the Adequan will have taken care of the OCD. He's such a sweet puppy and trying really hard to chill out and be less wild.

So that's the latest on the gimpy boys. All is going well for now. We're off to the Lexington SDT this weekend, hosted by David Clark and Cheryl Branibar. It should be a lot of fun and the site looks terrific. I'll post an update and trial report at the beginning of next week.

The Zac Plan

Wow, we had a really great evening at the farm. I popped Zac out of the truck for his hiking session and he skipped a couple of times right away, so i put his boot on. I'd reloaded the pebbles inside and it looked pretty uncomfortable, so i took it off again after a couple of minutes and he did really well from that point on - no skipping for the rest of the 30 minutes. I was surprised and just waiting for him to look bad but he really seemed a lot more comfortable than last week in the same spaces. His second session was eight 60 yard sprints and he still seemed fine, and he totally loved the sprints. I'd thought earlier in the day that he seemed a little better when i had him out for his potty breaks but chalked it up to wishful thinking. My theory is that after hiking around on the rougher terrain at Edgeworth for four days that the smoother, less grown up home ground felt like a piece of cake.

I finally did hear back from Dr. Sherman after we got home and he said this was all not too surprising to him, that it tends to corroborate the habit theory. I got a more concrete plan from him and am to keep the boot on for two solid weeks. We want Zac to get really comfortable with the off leg and i'm to resist the temptation to test it. We'll stick to the long hikes and sprints, adding extra challenge as i can find it (rough terrain, etc) and touch base next week, and go from there. Sheep work will have to wait until we have him balanced up on both legs. I'm feeling really encouraged.

Making it an even better evening, I worked Bart a bit and he looked like a million bucks, and wasn't lame at all afterwards. A very good evening all around!

Edgeworth and Zac

The trial this weekend at Edgeworth was really nice, as usual. It's always a highlight of the trialing year for me and didn't disappoint. The leaves were just starting to change on the mountain backdrop and the weather was gorgeous. It might have been a little warm on the dogs late in the afternoons but it was mostly comfortable. The commercial whiteface sheep were very even from group to group, with only the odd one here and there misbehaving. These sheep always like to test a dog's ability to hold a line, especially on the 600 yard fetch.

I was very pleased with my dogs. Spottie ran first and did a good job. She didn't want to come on quite strong enough to hold the line on the fetch or on the return leg of the drive, but otherwise was quite good around the course. She finished just out of the placings. Jet was wonderful, pushing her sheep around the course with calm authority and presence. The judge had made it clear he didn't want the sheep to meander along, that he liked to see them moved at a workmanlike pace, and Jet was happy to oblige. Her at-hand work was sharp and crisp, and her shed a thing of beauty, performed perfectly. In the second round, Spottie ran extremely well and i was a little surprised she didn't place higher, as were others watching. I'm still trying to puzzle out getting hit 3 points on the shed. But she ran strong and confident and hardly looked her age. This may have been her best placement at the fall Edgeworth trial - she's never done especially well there for some reason (though she loves the winter trial and has won or placed several times there). Jet had an extremely nice start to her run in the second round, right up to the driveaway panel where a little breeze across the tall grass caused a hearing problem, and we got badly off line. It was a real shame, as she was listening very well at 600 yards but couldn't hear me at 150. We finished the drive and when a ewe started breaking at the pen, i just retired as i knew we were far out of the money already. Both girls were very sharp all weekend and it's always a thrill to run that big course. Next up, the Lexington SDT in Lexington VA this coming weekend. All 3 girls are scheduled to run.

Final results were:
Open 1 (61 dogs)
1 Bev Lambert & Mirk 89
2 Robin French & Jet 88
3 Carla King & Emma 86
4 Tom Forrester & Pete 85
5 Shay McMullen & Lad 84
6 Christine Henry & Rook 82
7 Nancy Obernier & Ben 81
8 Flo Wilson & Midge 81
9 Craig Rogers & Jake 80
10 Shay McMullen & Britt 78
11 Bev Lambert & Bill 78
12 Janet Harvey & Scott 75

Open 2 (58 dogs)
1 Bev Lambert & Mirk 89
2 Flo Wilson & Jen 88
3 Bruce Fogt & Annie 86
4 Shay McMullen & Britt 84
5 Dawn Boyce & Tink 84
6 Carla King & Emma 84
7 Linda Tesdahl & Jaffe 83
8 Robin French & Spottie 83
9 Bev Lambert & Bill 82
10 Tom Forrester & Pete 81
11 Renee Billadeau & Bette 80
12 Bruce Fogt & Chloe 80

The Zac saga continues:
Zac did lots of nice long walks around the Edgeworth farm in his boot with the pebbles in it. He does seem to skip less with it on, though i'd be hard pressed to say he skips much less with it off. He does look strong and fit and is galloping around with ease. I'm waiting to hear from Dr Sherman to formulate the plan for this week. According to the homework schedule we've been following, he is allowed to begin working sheep later this week. If his muscle is truly healed, i can see that happening. It makes me nervous to put him to work when he's still got the original problem (skipping) there, even if there's no indication of a different type of injury. When this injury first happened last year though, it took getting him active and moving again to get the skip to lessen, so we'll see. I'll have to talk to Dr Sherman first though. I have too much money and time invested to proceed without some guidance.