Penning

Ah penning.  It is a challenge.  I have a group of flighty, wily sheep.  We have been working on our penning skills.  They are honing our skills but we still have a long ways to go.  And now I have an opposite problem to my old, don't watch the dog watch the sheep problem.  Now I am watching the sheep to much and not seeing Rave starting to move.  So I need to learn to see the whole picture.  I am having to keep Rave way off to make these sheep go in the pen.  We generally have to work them back and forth as they try to break to the repen to wear them down a little as Marilyn, yes the same Marilyn, will try to dodge out, put her head down and run at the very last instant.  That is until she is convinced that the dog will catch her and turn her back.  Then she will allow herself to be penned, if the dog is right!  I still have a long ways to go to get my timing right. 

Tried penning the ducks.  They are tough too.  I need to be able to pen them in a more timely manner but we are getting it done, eventually.  Which is an improvement from last year. 

So after that I wanted a win.  I got out the old wool girls.  They mostly are retired except when I want Rave to work a large group of sheep.  They where a bit disgruntled about having to work.  Rave calmly took them around the arena, I opened the pen and in they went.  Wow.  ;-)

Peaceable Kingdom

Marilyn is a Problem

Yesterday went to Roy's and worked his toughest sheep.  It was a great experience.  Marilyn is a red Katahdin ewe with a black spot on her cheek.  Just like Marilyn Monroe.  And she likes it all her own way looking for every opportunity to beat the dog.  And she is fast, especially going up hill like Roy's arena is.

We drove her and her group down the fenceline and through the panels with a few bobbles and then made, or tried to make the turn to the center pen.  As soon as the dog swings back around the group of sheep to turn them through the panel Marilyn takes off  for the repen.  Dog has to kick out going up hill to cover.  Very difficult to catch her.  Re setup and tried sending totally around the outside of the sheep instead of the fence side but Marilyn was waiting for her opportunity and as soon as Rave swung out she kicked in the after burners and up the hill she raced.  Now this is a bad sheep.  She has figured out all the ways to beat a dog.  But she is exactly what I want to work on.  So that in a trial when things go absolutely wrong Rave will have already experienced that and not go over the top in reaction!

So we go back up to the top of the arena and discuss how to handle this situation with Roy.  He said if you have such a sheep and you can stop the group before you get all the way back to the fence you will save the runaway.  Lose a lot of points but save the runaway.  So then you have to keep them off the fence and ease them back to the center as the sheep know they can beat the dog on the fence but don't know they can beat them in the middle.  So we did that and where able to make it to the center pen.  Now the real fun began.  Oh and of course Marilyn was the leader sheep of this group.

So we tried putting them in the center pen.  Marilyn looking for any opportunity to duck out.  And her little group following if they could.  We where able to stop her from using the after burners on her break after a bit but as you swung the dog into position to push them into the pen she would duck out the side and try to make the break.  Rave would swing back and catch her.  Finally Roy came down and with him working the gate and me making sure that Rave didn't come in on her flank we finally got them in the pen.  Woo Hoo!

After a break we worked a slightly easier group.  Penned them once fairly easily and on the second go fell apart but finally penned them.

We took a third time on Marilyn's group.  It was a bit better than the first time but still needed both Roy and I helping Rave to get it done.

I was real pleased with the way Rave kept her cool.  There was only once at the very end that she over reacted.  Good job Rave.