Skills are needs

[Donald McCaig]

Dear Fellow Handlers,

 

We've had a commercial flock for 35 years. This morning as Barbara Ray was sorting off ewes for a training session I had an odd realization: before I knew how to shed I thought it was a test for a sheepdog trial; until I understood the International shed I thought it was the highest hurdle at a big sheepdog trial. I employ both skills all the time.

 

Donald McCaig

[stockdogranch]

Absolutely. Out in the pasture, I often need to sort off one or a small group for some reason--to check to see who's going to lamb sooner rather than later, or to check to see who needs to be wormed or whatever. A couple of weeks ago I was delivering some butcher lambs to a place and had to walk the lambs through a maze of old dead cars and other random junk. Suddenly a group of half a dozen goats that lived on the property came and joined my project. Since the goats were very wily, and knew all the escape routes (and were trying to lead my lambs astray), the easiest thing to do was to shed my lambs off the goats, move the goats away from what I was doing, and proceed to pen my lambs.

A

[Pam Wolf]

Duh!?!? An old man's revelation!

[Debbie Meier]

Duh!?!? An old man's revelation!

 

 

LOL...

[Sue R]

The lightning bolt tends to hit me at odd times - and I realize, "Yes, that's it!"

 

We had to treat a calf out in the field a couple of years back. We did not have a way to get him penned up except to bring the whole herd home. But, with the dogs' help, we were able to corner and catch him, several days in a row, to treat him. Without the dogs, it would not have happened. They grasped what we needed and helped - and these are dogs that learn almost entirely on-the-job.

 

A heifer needed calving help was restless and not settling down to push. She was moving around and around in the field, very agitated, a few years back. Celt and Bute helped us move her down to the pens and get her confined, where Ed and I were able to put her in the chute and help delivery a healthy but large bull calf. We would have not been able to do it without the dogs - in labor, she was not willing to follow a pail (no appetite right now, girl?) or the rest of the heifers (who would follow the pail). Only the dogs' gentle persuasion (and her desire to not be vulnerable to them) got her confined and safely assisted.

 

These dogs are amazing. Thanks for reminding me that the ballet we see on the trial field has its roots in practical, essential work!

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

I'm not even a trialer. I mean, I've been out there on the Open field a couple times for fun and competed in Nursery and Ranch, but it's been years.

 

Absolutely the calmest, quietest way to separate sheep (don't know about cattle) is to do it BEFORE the gate. While handling for worming, I do it in the field, not in chutes or (given the right dogs) squashed in corners.

 

Last night a friend and I brought three lambs to her house to start removing brush in her backyard. That night, we had to move them back from her yard to the truck near the street, and I'd forgotten to bring any kind of food lure.

 

The thing about the International shed is moving and coaxing those sheep yourself. My friend has worked sheep as a student but not dogs on sheep other than a few times in the round pen. That helped I think.

 

She made a great dog! We moved them about twenty five yards, with me picking off their buddies one at a time, with no problems at all. We had to be super quiet with no rodeos - it was after nine o clock at night and we were right there at the neighbor's house!

 

We won't be loading any taxis at Times Square anytime soon, but you really never know when you are going to use this sort of knowlege.

 

As for the dogs' skills, there was the time we had to steal a lamb coming home from church. But that is another story.

[bcnewe2]

i do it all the time at home. Why when I call it a shed and think about it like that do I find it so hard to do?

Kristen

[Sue R]

i do it all the time at home. Why when I call it a shed and think about it like that do I find it so hard to do?

Kristen

Yes, why can I think and anticipate and do things at home, and become a deer in the headlights anywhere else?