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Hedds

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Everything posted by Hedds

  1. Hey Sparty! Come to a day at Tullamarine! We can all 'play' together then. How much fun would that be?? We drove 200kms yesterday round trip, but it's all freeway for us, so only took a little over and hour each way and was easy driving, esp the trip home yakking about how much fun we had. Now Chezzy, that rake. :p I spoke to David coz I was really worried about scaredy pants Banjo. The rake is only to be used like an extension of your arm, and kept low at all times, NEVER NEVER raised over the dog or waved around, I hope you can see that by the pics. David said to try him, I might be surprised, but if he was worried, he'd get a thin piece of poly pipe, long or short, whatever he took to stop when asked, but with NO PRESSURE. He was very big on taking the pressure off the dogs, and making it enjoyable for them. As Nat said, once he got Banjo into prey drive, it was like 'what rake'? When I had my go, I had to tap it quite hard on the ground in front of him (again, never on him, above him or too close to him). The object is not to make the dog back off, just to get their attention and to somehow :D start working on control so you can start to make things happen together. I hope I explained that right, can someone who knows more than me help out if I didnt? Here is a pic of Eb. I've posted one just for Chezzy where you can really tell she's just not into it. David and Nat are in the corner going 'ooh, lovely lovely sheepie', but there is no pressure on Eb to do anything she doesnt want to do... she'd had a good look at this stage, and was just wandering off to have a snif and nibble on sheep poop.
  2. And here is the star one more time...... one sheep got away, and he was off like a shot, turned it round and brought it back. (and this is a dog who had never seen a sheep before) Hmmm, looks and brains maybe after all? Only bad part of the day was the paddocks were so nice and dry, so there is STILL no pics of Nats dogs looking anything but totally powder puffed. DOH! (I will get some though...... one day...... )
  3. Come on over then..... I've got em all ready for you......
  4. Moop, as Nat said, Eb wasnt interested and was a bit worried about the sheep. A few dogs David and Geoff managed to get interested in no time. They really tried hard with Eb, went and caught one sheep, brought it over to her etc etc, but nup, the 'queen' had decided it was all beneath her totally beautiful self. They did say that if she came another day with Reilly Nat could give her another try and that sometimes it took dogs a few goes to get the idea. They were also very good with any dogs that were too keen. There were muzzles to use if needed, but none of the dogs there yesterday had to wear one. They said some dogs start off barky and snappy, but usually get the hang of things. If not, they'll put one of their dogs in the yard with it, to help it along and give it some direction...... They had an answer for everything! ;) Honestly, if you'd like to give Jack a go, find a herding day. Trust me though, after making us all take turns being the 'dog' to see just how hard it is to keep those *bleep* sheep in line, you'll need a comfy bed to come home too. :D (you could come down to Melb, spend the weekend with all of us and go herding too? ) I had no idea the skill involved in this sort of work. Even if Mr floppy ear hadnt had such a fun day, I am just so happy I went and got to learn what I did. It wanst just a 'herding for the city dog' day, it was a 'herding for the city gal day' for me. Here is a couple of pics of gorgeous Rosie out in the big paddock. To watch her work for her dad Geoff, was just a delight for me. So clever, what a team. Here she is holding the mob yet again, waiting for one of those silly city dogs to turn up and ruin her good work
  5. You went out? You legend! ;) I hardly made it to the shower. Ok, now you're back, hurry up will ya???
  6. Now, come on Sky and Purple Julie..... were are your pics???
  7. Time for a break. "You didnt do all that bad I guess mum" The yard sessions were short and sharp, but there were plenty of them, and the offer for more if you wanted them. No pics of Banjo out in the big paddock, but he had a wonderful time out there, with Rosie helping him out of course. A fantastic day. Honestly, if you ever even considered doing something different with your dog, go and have a try..... (psst - if I can do it, anyone can)
  8. "David says I cant cut in front of you, so can you at least give me room to get round behind you woman?"
  9. My turn... Geez, once again I was my dogs biggest handicap. And I thought getting the lead and bum bag organised was a challenge..... Here is Banjo saying "mum, what on earth are you doing?"
  10. And then being able to say "But not quite that much Banjo my boy"
  11. David got him switched on though. He has a real nack for reading the dogs and giving them just the right amount of encouragement to get even a really quiet dog like Banjie to have a go. It didnt take long for David to 'create' this.......
  12. "What about these ones? These ones look much easier?"
  13. Ok, here are Banjo's pics. Banjo has seen sheep before of course, at Rozzies, so they didnt really excite him that much to start with........ "Wha? You mean you want me to do something with these smelly old things?"
  14. Reilly showing some 'balance' with Nat..... I'm so sorry Sky, the ones I took of you in the big paddock have showed up my true photo style
  15. "Ok, you slippery little suckers, get back round there"
  16. "Weeee, look at me! I'm a sheepdog!!!!"
  17. Out in the big paddock, with lots of sheepies. The beautiful and oh so clever Rosie shows Reilly the ropes. (geez, it was worth the trip for me just to see this dog and Davids dog Scout work. Fantastic *sigh*)
  18. Banjo hasnt had a turn yet, and Reilly's got it all worked out.
  19. Hey Sky, it was so nice to meet you and your totally gorgeous furkids. What a day we've all had hey? Phew, I'm beat. Oh yeah, the dog is too. Nat had the day off camera duties today (about time I say) so pics were left up to me. I know you're all moaning right now, but bad luck :D . Sooo, here is the gorgeous Reilly, who went into the yard this morning having never seen a sheep in his life. It took about 30 seconds for him to turn into a sheepdog! He was a total star. ;) Here he is learning the drill....
  20. Would it be possible to leave class for 5 or 10 mins when she switches off and come back later? Then if she doesnt get back into it, leave it for the day totally. You see this everywhere, and it's very sad. Bored dogs standing around for way longer than their attention span. IMHO, you are undoing your good work and if you can guage when she has 'had enough' and leave it there, even for a short break, it might really help. If I asked to be excused because fido needed a break and an instructor said no, I'd be looking for another club. Oh, and I'd also do tricks and stuff as soon as she starts looking around with that 'ho hum' expression. Doesnt matter what it is, ANYTHING, as long as it gets her focused again.....
  21. When Riley goes to his off leash park to play, can you tell us what happens? How do you get him back when its time to come home? Do you have any hope at all of recalling him at that park? If he comes to you at home time, can you get him to sit to have his lead put back on? Great advice given so far on this thread.......
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