09/08/2014 Jig’s Journey ~ A Few More Photos

Since I promised another post, I figure I'd share one more video, shot the same night as the pen videos from my last post, this time of a gather. Again, the quality isn't the best given I was using my phone and the sun was setting. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-J2fqWldz0] And, because it's rare for me to have someone around who I can stick behind the camera with a relatively good chance of getting some nice shots, I'll share these photos that Bob was nice enough to shoot for me a couple weeks ago. Some of the pics I already posted on Facebook so I apologize if there are duplicates. This coming weekend is the Deb Conroy clinic here at the farm. That could mean next week there will be more photos, updates, and incredible insights.

08/28/2014 Jig’s Journey ~ Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked

Or, in Jig's case, that should read, "Too Much Rest Makes Her Wicked." After nearly two weeks of slim to no training brought about by a combination of heat & humidity, followed up by a week and a half of severe congestion/sinusy/snot filled head/shit, I finally got back out there with the girl. You don't realize how important breathing is until you have to chase down a young dog and your nose and lungs are compromised. Man o'man was she naughty! On the plus side, she's getting much more confident. On the down side--pushy, grabby, ignoring me, diving in, splitting--the list is far too long to get into. My friend Deb likes to talk about the balancing act between Confidence and Control. Well, I think the board has definitely tipped to the Confidence end. Time for me to take back a little control. We had a couple 'discussions' involving a shaker bottle (or three),

08/19/2014 Jig’s Journey ~ Attitude is Everything

That Winning Feeling by JuneSavoie is a really great book (If I borrowed you my copy, could you let me know? I can't seem to find it.) Yes, it is aimed at the equestrian, but the principles and ideas shared in the book can definitely be applied to many areas of life. Especially dog training. I wish I had my copy handy because there is a part where Ms. Savoie writes about holding the image of what you want in your head. What you picture, is what will transpire. If you go into the arena thinking 'train wreck', guess what? Anyhow, if you don't have a copy, or haven't read it, and you work with dogs or horses, I highly suggest you put it at the top of your TBR list. I'm brining it up because since my last training post the effects of going into a session in less than an

07/27/2014 Jig’s Journey ~ Patience is a Virtue

When you've become spoiled by traveling with a dog who is an old hat at being in the truck, hanging out at trials, and just life on the road in general, it's hard to remember when he wasn't that way. Until you start traveling with a young dog again. A lot of the comfort and easiness of a seasoned dog comes from time and miles. Some of it comes from personality. Some comes from  actual training. Part of Jig's regime involves learning that ever-elusive trait of patience. See, I want my dog to be able to quietly sit and watch other dogs working. That's hard for a girl with a lot of drive, who has also inherited her father's Not Right gene. The Not Right gene means that when she sees something she deems as Not Right, she feels she must fix it. Most often this occurs when another dog is working

07/24/2014 Jig’s Journey ~ Texas Here We Come

I recall mentioning earlier this year that I was going to try and post more often. I keep meaning to. Really. Other things keep getting in the way. But I've decided that to keep you entertained *cough* and me motivated, I'm going to begin chronicling mine and Jig's journey to Nationals. It will be a good way for me to keep track of our progress…or lack thereof, and push me to get out there and train. So, herein lies the first installment of…um…Jig's Journey. I took Jig to Nationals last year and, I admit, that was pushing it for a young dog without a lot of miles on her. It wasn't horrendous, but it wasn't much to write home about either. We're going again this year because Nationals are vacation for me. A chance to meet up with people I don't see often enough, watch a lot of dogs work, and

05/02/2014 A Weekend of Stockdog Sistahood

"What did you do this weekend?" "Worked dogs, hung out with my SBSDC Sistas--" "Worked dogs? Is that like training them to do something." "Um

01/08/2013 Weekend Training Review

The bad part about three days of working dogs, like all good things, is that we have to stop. Friday night's work session was a bit of a disappointment. Shaine didn't want to work at all, Jig was not her normal Rock Star self, and Quinn was . . . well, okay. It was clear, as far as Quinn was concerned, I'd been lax again. Saturday and Sunday, however, were much better days. *Whew!* With Quinn, I intended to work on driving and firming up our inside flanks. Well, we all know the time worn saying about plans. Sometimes, when you want to work on one thing, something else crops up, and you realize that's your core problem. With Quinn, it goes back to his foundations -- or lack thereof. We spent a great deal of our time on sheep working on our flanks. Someone let him get it into his head that

10/09/2012 So, You Think You’re Ready to Trial?

I was reminded this past weekend at the SEMASA trial (thanks to a very good friend not afraid to tell me when my head’s in an uncomfortable location) that there’s a whole lot more to trialing than preparing your dog.  A big hunk of competing has to do with preparing yourself.  You can have the best trained dog on the planet and if you walk out into that arena with the wrong attitude it’s going to come back and bite you in the arse. I’ve been working hard to make things black and white for Quinn.  I don’t course train.  I break things down into manageable chunks and work till he gets it right.  Not just once.  He needs to consistently get it right before we move on to the next piece of the puzzle. I went into the SEMASA trial confident in Quinn’s abilities to get the job done.  I also