D Strickland Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Hi, I have been training for 4 years and competing for 2 years. My first dog, which I started myself, is now running in Ranch/ProNovice ( 1 leg of the drive ). My next dog is only 6 months old and is not ready to start yet. I was offered an 11 year old retired Open dog from a top handler. I was told that he is not as quick as he used to be and would have problems keeping up with really light sheep that try and run off but other than that he would be a great teacher for me. Is this something that I should consider ? What are your thoughts ? Thank you, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenajo Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 A well trained, healthy, open dog at age 11 would be of use to you to learn. You have to decide if all those factors are there. A dog thats feeling its age and can't get to where it needs to be promptly tends to either give up, or cut corners. If fitness is the only problem you can fix that, but if other things....well, you aren't going to learn right working a dog that is struggling. Plus its not fair to the dog. You have to make the decision on an individual basis. At baseline I would want a full vet exam, including a BAER test to look for age related hearing loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D Strickland Posted January 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 A well trained, healthy, open dog at age 11 would be of use to you to learn. You have to decide if all those factors are there. You have to make the decision on an individual basis. At baseline I would want a full vet exam, including a BAER test to look for age related hearing loss. Never thought of the BAER test ... thanks. I now have to find someone that can give that test. Dave S www.outrunbc.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Crocker Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Hi, I have been training for 4 years and competing for 2 years. My first dog, which I started myself, is now running in Ranch/ProNovice ( 1 leg of the drive ). My next dog is only 6 months old and is not ready to start yet. I was offered an 11 year old retired Open dog from a top handler. I was told that he is not as quick as he used to be and would have problems keeping up with really light sheep that try and run off but other than that he would be a great teacher for me. Is this something that I should consider ? What are your thoughts ? Thank you, If this dog can be competitive at this age I would sure go for it. I started trialing in 07 in Pro/Novice ( I am on the West Coast, so maybe the class description is a bit different than where you live), with my dog that the trainer trialed in Nursery in 06. She was fully trained to Open level when I got her back in late 06. In 08 I loaned her back to my trainer to trial in Open and borrowed an excellent retired older Open dog from her. Similar in some ways, different in others, such as not as fast to cover sheep as my dog. I had gotten fairly comfortable with my own dog, so trialing another was a different learning experience. I had to learn to be pro active instead of reactive as my dog is quite fast and the older one not so much. I got to trial both of them for a few trials and that was even more of an education, having to change my "strategy" , such as it is for a P/N handler. This year I am borrowing another now retired Open dog so I have yet another opportunity to learn how to handle a different dog. With the older dog I am careful to make sure they are as fit as I can make them. They get ( as all mine do) daily supplements and Adequan shots every two weeks. I feel privileged to be able to trial these older successful experienced dogs . A very successful Welsh handler refered to these older dogs I have as my "wonderful opportunity" to learn. I think you may feel the same if you decide to take on this older dog you have been offered. Good luck! Carolyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoofly Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Yep, i agree with Carolyn. It's a great opportunity and as long as you keep the dog fit, and it's one that's aged well, you should get some good learning time in. I have an 11 year old that i've been trying to place and she's physically more like an 8 or 9 year old. She can't handle big Open courses on hot days but with some care, she'd teach lots of lessons on the trial field for another year at least, and maybe 2. At home, i'd think she'll be useful for 2 easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D Strickland Posted January 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 If this dog can be competitive at this age I would sure go for it. I started trialing in 07 in Pro/Novice ( I am on the West Coast, so maybe the cl/........../ity" to learn. I think you may feel the same if you decide to take on this older dog you have been offered. Good luck! Carolyn Thanks Carolyn ..... I am going to drive the 250 mile one-way to go look at this dog tomorrow. The handler is a friend of mine and I trust him to not try and dump a medical nightmare in my lap. This dog turned 11 last fall and was last trialed last summer/fall. He did well in Open but he will grip if he gets too excited - so I was told. I"ll bring a video camera to record his whistles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Crocker Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Thanks Carolyn ..... I am going to drive the 250 mile one-way to go look at this dog tomorrow. The handler is a friend of mine and I trust him to not try and dump a medical nightmare in my lap. This dog turned 11 last fall and was last trialed last summer/fall. He did well in Open but he will grip if he gets too excited - so I was told. I"ll bring a video camera to record his whistles. See if your friend will make a quick tape of the dog's whistles so that you can listen to them shen the dog is not near. The first dog I borrowed were on the same whistles as mine, but this dog I have now is on some different and some the same but meaning different flanks. So it is taking some getting used to. One thing dogs seem to do better than us--they "transalt" our botched whistles very very well! Good luck and I hope it works out. Oh and don't wait until you "get it perfect"with your older dog--get out on that trial field-That's where you learn as fast as anywhere else. The you come home and try to learn what you find you don't know in a trial situation. And HAVE FUN! Carolyn Sorry -didn't proofread and typing too fast. "shen " in the first sentence should be "when". And the first dog I borrowed "was" not "were" . And they "translate" not "transalt" Maybe I should start using that spellcheck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D Strickland Posted January 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 See if your friend will make a quick tape of the dog's whistles so that you can listen to them shen the dog is not near. The first dog I borro................./Oh and don't wait until you "get it perfect"with your older dog--get out on that trial field-That's where you learn as fast as anywhere else. The you come home and try to learn what you find you don't know in a trial situation. And HAVE FUN! Carolyn Thanks Carolyn, I drove up to Thad Fleming's yesterday and after watching this dog work ( with an injured paw from a dog fight ) I video-taped him working and his whistles. He is a very nice Open dog who will teach me so much. I will start running him mid-March at the Knox's benefit trial. He's at the vet right now getting that leg stitched and teeth cleaned. He is too old for 400 yard outruns - he just can't cover the sheep - but he will do great in smaller fields Dave S www.outrunbc.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaBluez Tess Posted January 26, 2009 Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 I retired Scott from Open the yr before....he was too stiff to go the long distance. He was my lesson dog for a bit then went home with Janet to be her new partner on the field. She got him 4 months ago and since then has won ranch and placed 2nd or won PN with him. He is the top dog at her house and they are great on the field together. He can do the PN with no issue and by the time she is ready for Open, he will be the couch dog and she will have another dog. He is very seasoned and has saved her behind many times and she has learned so much from him. They work a lot together. 30 days after she took him home, she was here 3x a week for lesson and then got 1st in PN. Her handling skills have improved so much. It's a blessing to get a good seaoned dog and they certainly like taking the new handler under their wing to show them the ropes. Enjoy your dog!! Diane~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted January 26, 2009 Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 Is this Thad's Bill dog? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D Strickland Posted January 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 Is this Thad's Bill dog? No ... he got this dog from another top handler last May. He trialed him last summer but he has too many dogs and wants to focus on the big field work for the Nationals, Meeker, and Bluegrass. This dog is too old for the big courses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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