Once again, the weather was absolutely flawless, and I had some fundamental work and trial prep that needed to be done. So, I packed up 5 cattle dogs and spent the most glorious late February day working the skills we need for future success. It was a much better weekend for me than the last time that I was out.
Fiddle: We worked a lot on getting comfortable on ducks for the upcoming trial, including fetching at an advanced level, comfort driving, and work on balance. We also did the intermediate level cattle course pretty smoothly. I still need to get onto elements of the crossdrive. She has really started to do some calm, steady work for me, and I am pleased.
Ukulele: We have been building confidence and security at holding pressure, and these little call ducks were the perfect challenge for her. It took her about 3 to five minutes to not circle stock, but rather push on the slot to get them to drive forward. She also did a very good job on the started duck course that I ran her through. As she ages, she is starting to understand. I just wish that I had a more fleshed out toolkit when I started to train her.
Mazikeen: Like Fiddle, we did some work driving and holding lines with ducks, and worked an intermediate cattle run. She is still a bit tight on her outruns, and pushes a bit too hard, sometimes splits the ducks up. But, we need mileage on stock for comfort.
Chunky: She put together two wonderful started runs, and is starting to get the ideas on how to be a good team mate. She is holding pressure going into the corners for me, and sometimes we still have issues getting the stock off the fence, as she drops in to driving mode, so we have to sort through how this works.
Rory: We worked in the small round pen on holding pressure, switching directions, and stopping. Then, we kicked the cows out into the arena, drove them up the fence and back down into the round pen. I was very pleased with how she is starting to read the line and work as a team, despite her getting a little overly happy on her feet.
Clarjo Farms 