Nothing changes

Wow, last time I posted was in 2012.  Just looked at my winter goals from them.  Sigh, still the same ones now.

Here's My Sheep

 Here's my Sheep.

 Will you play?

 Please?

 Sigh

Mud-Ugh

Winter Plans

It's been awhile since I blogged.  It seemed I was just repeating myself over and over so I gave it a break.  Now fall is hard upon us.  The trees are loosing their leaves, the frost is on the pumpkin and the water buckets are frozen in the morning.  Trialing season is over and it is time to get back to training.

Goals

• Improve our stop--it has come a long way but I need to be vigilant to not let it slide.  Easy to have happen working my sheep.  Dog and sheep know what to do so easy to not notice when Rave isn't precise
• Keep working on keeping myself quiet-soft voiced unless really needed.  Soft body, no conductor motions, queit comands only raising the volume in real emergency
• Make sure I have square flanks
• Work on the back--turn around and go straight back.  A back isn't a really good square flank.  Rave should not flank until I tell her to
• Work on adding a few whistles.  Of course I need to get much better at whistling!  I would like a stop, that I could use when her focus is too intent to hear me.  A slow down,  a walk up, and a that'll do.  Will decide if I want come bye and away, there, get out, back.  My skills at whistling may prevent anything but the easiest of whistles 
• Train in new places.  I am always saying this but failing in being able to make it happen.  But I really need to at least load up a crate of ducks and go somewhere new now and then.  No excuses about how hard it is to get the ducks out of my field and into the truck!  Which is a real problem when it is winter if there is mud instead of frozen ground.  My truck gets stuck trying to get up the hill.
• Let Rave have some fun.  Don't always insist on controll.  Fast is not always bad.  Remember to praise her efforts.

I am sure there is a lot more that we need to and will be working on as the winter progresses.  Fingers crossed that it isn't to harsh and that we can get lots of work in.

Back to Basics Once Again

Worked at Roy's last night.  It was hot so we tried to keep things quiet.
First group was a very heavy set of sheep.  Great for working on push.  I decided to work on taking sheep in unexpected places.  Rave has pretty much figured out that once we pick up the sheep and head out that is the direction we go.  So if I want to go somewhere else, such as in a different venue, then she thinks I have made a mistake in my command.  Not that she wouldn't usually be right in that assumption.  I still find myself saying away when I meant go bye and vice versa!  So we worked taking the sheep to the far corner behind the bush.  It was really fiddling work as she had to apply pressure to one sheep, then lean over and apply pressure to the next to get them to move together.  It was also a great exercise in self control and patience on both of our parts.

The second group was a much lighter group.  So we worked on doing figure eights around the end panels, and taking them through the panels and turning and going right back through. And also worked on the corner get back and flank exercise that we learned at the Roger Stevens clinic.   Ended with a run around the course and through the center chute. 

I was happy with the work that we did last night. 

Slump

We seem to be in a slump.  Both of us.  I am not keen, and Rave only wants to work the goats.  Well Rave wants to mother the goats is more like it.  She still sees them as babies.  They still see me as momma.  So goats gather at my kness and Rave licks their faces.  And Rave is so distracted by the goats that she doesn't want to work the sheep.  Will keep trying for a month or so but if it doesn't improve as the goats get older I will have to take them back.  Rave may always see these goats as being needed to be babysat instead or worked.  That said when needed she did go up on top of the hay stack and bring the babies back to earth.

The goats, as goats, are a great lot of fun.  Because they were bottle babies they are really bonded to people.  So you go out and they all come running for some petting.  Streaching up their little necks to look at you and wagging their tails when you pet them.  They also nibble on your shirt.  They are a laugh a minute.  But heaven help you if you want to get into the barn without them.  Six little goats all pushing their heads in the door, between your legs, around your back. 
Rave has worked 'regular' goats.  Meaning adults who were not bottle raised and she had no problem with working those.  But she seems to think that these goats are babies and need baby sitting not worked.  I think she would have made a great mother.

Lighten UP

I had a lesson last night with Roy.  Rave did pretty well but I have lost our 5th gear.  In attempting to make her less pushy I have lost the speed when I really need it.  Also had trouble with getting her to reverse direction on the drive.  She knows that she is doing a cross drive and even though I wanted to go the other way she figured I was making a mistake and continued on her straight drive.  It was a nice drive LOL.  So I gave her a very harsh verbal correction. I have to change that.  Stop her.  Let her settle a bit and think before I give her a change that she might figure is a mistake.  Wonder how she came to that conclusion?  That I don't know what I am doing LOL