Rocking Dog Ranch

2012.....the end is near.  The quiet breath, slowing; lengthening between in and out.  Time to finish the final paragraphs. 

I'm looking at my 2012 vision board, reflecting and finding much to be grateful for.

*Qualify Nell for the 2012 finals*

Indeed, I did

*Clutter free home*

Hahahaha......well, the Mission did come and get the garage full of goodies recently...I'll leave that on the vision board for another year.

*Run a dog in the prelims at the 2012 finals*



Sigh, that brings back fond memories. It was almost Heaven.....the long walk to the post. I wanted to baby-step it, make it last just a tad longer, feel the incredible feelings all mixed together...joy, pride, anticipation, with a hint of nervousness just to keep it real. 

*Secure three fields for hauling out to train*


Now this one is a little more complicated.  2012 saw me actually doing some work for a Sheep Boss here in the valley;  there were so many fields that I went to and worked my dogs.  I think this is my most favorite of memories of 2012.  The days of gathering and counting sheep for the Sheep Boss and the Shepherd.


Dog days of summer in hot August, lambs needing gathered from a mile of secret garden and pushed down to the river to drink.  The steep bank descent keeping the inexperienced lambs from seeking water on their own.  Each day a different dog was "dog of the day",  even Miss Gyp got a few goes for the job.  Counting allowed for some international shedding, disciplining myself to count in groups of 10.....when I could.  Watching my three girls gain confidence and understanding right along side of me: priceless.


Oh yes, Hide-and-Seek mountain!  The days I spent with the Sheep Boss looking for ewes that had summered on this steep, tree laden mountain that locals call a Butte.  Butte sounds like a summer picnic to me...this was no Butte.  This was a mountain that the sheep knew every escape route, every trail, every hiding spot...and I took two days to help gather half the flock.  The other half was gathered when the Shepherd got back, he and his faithful Huntaway rounding out the team of seekers with better success. 

One of my life mentors has sent me a few questions to answer in the coming two days:

*identify three lessons of 2012?
*what did you discover about yourself in 2012?
*what are you most grateful for in 2012?

Certainly good questions to ask and just as certain, questions to answer with great thought and consideration. So I'll spend some time pondering my year, not just dogs and sheep.  Making my vision board 2013. I'm baby-stepping it to the first day of the new year.....I want to feel the incredible feelings all mixed together...joy, pride, anticipation, with a hint of nervousness just to keep it real.

Seize the Day!

All the Christmas to-dos have happened and now its the calm after the unwrapping storm.  Not quiet what it used to be....the storm of unwrapping....the kids have grown and we share them with other families now.  Change: the one constant in life.  And yet, change is good...it keeps us grounded in the now.  Not lingering, lost in the past, nor worrying about what the future holds.....today is today and it is good.  So as the night settles in, the mice begin to stir, and the day-after looms closer each passing moment.....Merry Christmas. 

Seize the Day!

One of my most favorite days of the year is December 21st...The Winter Solstice!  This means that each day, from here on out. has a little bit more light shining on it...not that we notice here in the Valley of Eden.   Most days the sky displays its original shade of grey artwork, better than the magic of photoshop; layering clouds and embellishing with chemical property variations of rain drop actions.  Spring is imminent once the Winter Solstice has been celebrated; although its physcial arrival date is determined by Master Groundhog, who always sees he shadow.  Try as he might to keep hitting the winter snooze, he can not stop the lengthening of the days.

Me, I'm taking a winter break from sheepdoggin.  True confessions:  this is hard!  I keep telling myself that even the best of Olympic athletes take breaks, goes to reason my girls all deserve one.  Trials every weekend whisper to me at night....send in your entry form!  send in your entry form! With Christmas just two days away....its been easy to give the girls a break from training.  I rotate through them for the chores of the day and listen to the grumbles of those left in their box. I think they are a bit disguised with me, and rightfully so.  We'll get back to training Wednesday, I promise them. In the mean time, I am dealing with my withdrawals in a functional fashion......reading, watching, preparing, talking and exercising my brain with all things sheep and dogs that don't require the actual physical being of sheepdoggin.  I'm also looking forward to the new online course with Scott Glen that starts Dec. 31st called The Started Dog  Though the dogs are taking a quick break....I've got work to do!

In the hustle and bussle of life, amidst all the activities of the holiday season....I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and the best days of preparation for the new year!  May you find time to spend with those important folks in your life....two and four legged....in person, in words, or in spirit.



Seize the Day!

2012 crested the peak and now begins the inevitable descent into, what will be, the adventures of 2013.  As always, this time of year finds me preparing for the climb.  I've been taking a few on-line courses throughout the year, honing skills, learning, and pretty much loving every minute.  The dog agility and behavior courses have made me step back and look at my dogs and training; giving, perhaps, better peripheral vision.  Then there are those computer program courses that make my head whirl and I dose those out less frequent.  I stumbled upon an on-line fitness course and well, I am feeling a little motivation coming my way...just a little but it is a start.  Come what January 7th, I sure hope this program has some tweaks in it for those who are not young and fit like the instructor....or I just might have a few tweaks in my back!  Anyway, one of the pre-course challenges it to make a gratitude list and an enthusiasm list.

My year end tradition has been looking over the past year with a discerning eye; not quiet critical but certainly not just looking at all that was rosy and sweet smelling. I look at my vision board from the year before and see what, if any, of those dreams have come to real life for me.   Then I make goals and a vision board for the next year.  I like adding the new list of gratitude to the ending of the year. I also think the enthusiasm list is a great way to kick-off the launch of the new one.

The coming week, post Christmas, I will being that journey of 2012 review...although I have already sampled some of my closure.  I've been working on my gratitude list....which will be very long and detailed as I have a lot to be grateful for.  "What we think about, we become".....

Recently, I accidentally ran the wrong dog in place of the right dog at a trial.  The story is old, and pretty ridiculous,  but what I am grateful for is friends....friends who have shared their "wrong dog running" stories with me.  Friends who have lifted me up with humor......I just received a copy of a book: Super Brain...I will look forward to "unleashing the explosive power of my mind" in 2013!!! Friends...who have given pep talks and butt kickings....keeping me grounded and real....I think friends top my gratitude list for this year. 

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
― Fred Rogers

Such is life, when things become scary.....it seems there are always helpers.  May I always remember to look for, find, and be grateful for them.

Seize the Day!

Though some dragons should be slain...I've heard there are those that are better tamed.







God, grant me the serenity to accept the dragons I must slay,
The courage to tame the dragons I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference

Seize the Day!

Eastern Washington Eagles Football..... the team my son plays for....is making a run for a Natty.  I've just learned that a "Natty" is a National Championship Title...so a Natty it is!  Coming into the playoffs ranked 2nd keeps the games local, well at least for the team, so every weekend, I 'm off to Cheney.  Winter weather makes for iffy passage through the Gorge, where intense winds, freezing rain, and snow can make travel hazardous, and the 7 hour drive unpredictable in time spent on the road.  So instead of visiting friends and working dogs on my journeys to and from football games....I am now flying. Its fun to look down and see the vast land that has become so familiar to me at its level, looking slightly different from above, though it has not changed.  I love it when I am given a tickling reminder that sometimes changing perspective is what is really needed: take flight.

the windmills of Washington

Making it to the quarter finals.....the whole fam-damily came to root, hoping to keep the momentum rolling.

son #1 and gf of son #2 made the trip way more fun!

I can never get over how RED the field is.  And my mama heart goes pity patter when I see my boy, dressed down in football gear, out on that college football field. 


Eastern has THE BEST mascot.  Who ever is inside that eagle costume....dude, you rock!  All the other mascots tremble in fear of the dance offs!!  The first flip Swoop the Eastern Washington Eagle lands.....its all over!

Swoop is in the house.....

I am indeed one of "those" fans...the kind that yells and cheers......frustrated that there is nothing I can do to help besides not let the opponent's fans create more excited noise momentum.  So I yell some more, ring my cow bell and practice my finger whistles- the loud finger whistles! 


Eastern Washington is on to the semi-finals this Saturday playing Sam Houston.....I'm thinking a Texas team.  I'm busy washing all my lucky clothes and sipping honey, lemon water so my voice is ready......they need me!


Seize the Day!

I'm entering the bitter sweetness of twilight with a few of my dogs......Spark and Snook.



photo by third age

I hadn't really noticed that Spark was getting older.  Well, not really.  He does go out into the back yard and barks; out of the blue, no reason in sight....maybe visions in his head.  He also forgets what he is doing at the water bowl; sometimes he stands there, sometimes he drinks unending, much like that misplaced cup of coffee......now what was I going on about?  Sunday, my good friend pointed out that he is getting older and it hit me.  Indeed he is.  When I look at Spark, I see my memories of him made a bit fuzzy by the gray in his beard, the haze in his eyes, the stiffness that has crept into his bones....but still I see that young boy dog that Jake and I had to sweet talk into our pack....forever changing my destiny.


After the course of the past few weeks, I have decided to simplify around here.  I've come to the conclusion that every creature that needs a name will be named Nell.  And not Nell (a), Nell (b), or Nell (1), Nell (2); just Nell.

The day before Thanksgiving, my llama Grace passed away.  I now know more about llamas than I did before Grace got sick.  I feel bad for Miss Grace, I think I could have saved her had I known then what I know now.  But she was too far into the disease to be helped and thankfully she died as comfortable as I could make her.  Now digging a hole big enough for a llama in flooding conditions is a story for another day.....but today is about new beginnings and simplifying.  After putting Grace to rest...I did give thought to not having a llama for a while.  The days taught me that the ranch without a llama is like a barn without a cat.  Some don't mind being cat-less, my ranch felt very lonely and my sheep very vulnerable llama-less....so let me introduce to you: Nell


Okay, her name is not Nell......due to the fact that I will never walk to the post with her.....I settled for Penelope.....Pe-NELL-ope!  So she kind of is a Nell but just the stay-at-home llama version of the name.

Sigh, I really like her.  She came from Rain Dance Llamas and she meets all the conditions that I had as I looked at another llama.  First and foremost, I needed to be able to catch my llama: she is friendly.  I also wanted something "younger" versus "older": Miss Penelope is just 4. I did not want white, white makes me want to bath things: her body is a dark cinnamon.  She is settling in very nicely to believing the sheep are her new, if not strange, family.  And curiosity makes for intimidation when meeting the dogs, who will eventually need to be able steal the sheep from Penelope. 

Nell meets Penelope

 
I'm taking it slow, introducing the dogs to Penny through the fence so maybe they can become comfortable with each other.  But I do want to give Penelope some time to unpack her bags and begin to make RDR her home.  She will learn that I really only want to work the sheep, not her, and that she would be better off eating her llama pellets. She will also learn that when I am there; dogs don't matter so much. When I am not there; kick some dog bootie!  Llamas are smart that way.

So all creatures great and small are settling into the rhythm of winter at Rocking Dog Ranch.  Short days and hard rains make me glad my flock is manageable in numbers, with shelter and feed.  Time spent away from the ranch is made easier knowing I have a llama on patrol.  Now if the barn cat could just step up and take her job a little more serious.....chickens have invited mice to move in!

Me, I'm taking doses of vitamin D, ginkgo and neuro boost.  I'm also very thankful for friends who can share a funny story or two to ease the pain of  mistakes; both the llama kind and the memory kind. 

Eastern Washington Eagles Football team continues their run at the playoffs. Christmas is just around the corner.  The new year is starting to drop into position to be born and the braxton hicks contractions are making me start my journey of assessing 2012 and dreaming 2013. Amidst the gray...I love this time of year.  I must remember, I appreciate spring ever so much more because it follows winter.

Seize the Day!

Yesterday, while I waited around a lot....I learned that Buck Brannaman has a 7 Clinic DVD series.......7 Clinics with Buck Brannaman  Who Knew?  But wait, it gets even better......on YouTube the creators have done little teasers...here is my favorite:




After watching this, I was thinking about the first days with my Bella.  She came with a lot of tension and I have to admit, I was afraid.  I was afraid she was gong to kill a sheep, I was afraid she would never trust me, I was afraid that all my time and effort would be wasted.  One of my mentors told me there was a nice dog trapped in Bella.  I needed to either sell her or commit a year to her...but my "wishy washy, gosh I like her one minute and want to sell her the next" was not doing her the justice she deserved.  So I gave her a year....and that year turned into two.  My Bella has taught me so much, once I opened myself up to learning. Through Bella, I've learned about trust, relationship, and seeking answers.  The biggest gift she has given me.....I'm not afraid of what a dog can do anymore. 

Check out the 7 Clinics with Buck Brannaman teasers here....on YouTube

Seize the Day!

Amidst the day-in, day-outs of life.....routine, unsuspected, fabulous, tragedy, boring, crazy, drama-filled, beautiful, new-life, amazing, catastrophe, endings, peaceful......no matter what; I'll give thanks.  It's a good day to reflect on all the blessings in life. I think unconditional love tops the list......



Happy Thanksgiving!

Seize the Day!

Isn't it interesting that one word can have a different meaning based on where one puts emphasis/focus. 

Perfect: per-fekt adj -entirely without any flaws, defects, or shortcomings

Perfect: per-fect verb - to bring closer to perfection; improve

Such is life....where we put our focus; our emphasis...is where we get meaning.

I've been listening to, and reading, sports psychology for many years now, starting when my boys began to play sports. I find it fascinating...especially for one who thinks....about that stuff.....lots! Visualization has been pretty easy for me...I have a very creative mind when it comes to daydreams.....and I practice filling in details: colors, smells, temperature, which way I sent the dog....very vividly! 


Where I have had to dig deep, work hard, and practice diligence is....my self talk.  You know, those voices inside my head that point out over and over and over all the things I do wrong.  Those voices that remind me of past failures, even failures 20 years ago, that don't even count for much any more...I'm married, stupid voices!.  Those grudge holding voices that not only point out failures but, if left to run rampant, show me, in exaggerated, grandiose detail, how I will fail again.  They don't tiptoe, instead stamp madly about shaking my brain...reminders of past, current and potential future failures created, so the voices sing...loser!  Those voices are many, and are my dragons that need slayed.  Those voices are not just about dogs and trialing...they started long ago with relationships, food relationships, competition and fitting in with "that group". They speak to me while I am treating my llama...all the things I missed in diagnosis and lack of care as I focused on myself and my quest for that nod to the finals. They speak to me of that one time I sent Sally, walking to the post while she watched the sheep be exhausted into the trailer behind me. When I sent her...she made the short trip to the trailer to bring me sheep......how stupid can one handler be?  I could go on but you get the drift,  they speak to me.......they are not nice.......they are meant to demean....and they suck!

I'm working a good program to slay those dragon voices in my mind. It's taken me some time to let go of per-fekt-ion and train my brain to see the learning gifts in the im-per-fekt.  When life does not go as planned, I'm working at stepping back and looking at the good, what needs work, what needs changed and then back to cleaning up my thoughts to head towards where I want to go and be.  No dwelling on what went wrong. I've also chosen to be real careful what I let flow through my ears into my brain...where those words can either create feeding frenzies for my dragons, or assist my slaying. One reason I like my iPod....it is a good tool for letting in only dragon slayers. It's another reason I really, really love my family and close friends.  They certainly understand my dragons and know they can be assistant slayers.


Guru of positive thoughts and managing a strong mental game, "dragon slayer for hire" Lanny Bassham talks about the incredible power of words.  With that, he addresses self degradation talk:.  so easy to fall into, especially when the far extreme is the boastful person who can't stop talking about how great they are. In an effort to not come across as an egotistical jerk, instead, it is easy to put oneself down, in a humorous fashion, in an effort to be humble.  Lanny Bassham encourages me not to do that.  He says to be careful with my words....somebody very important is listening....ME! Say words enough...they will be believed.


The Phoenix and the dragon look similar, don't they.  Back to focus.  This is not about winning or losing for me.  It's about becoming....becoming all that I have the potential to become in the time I am given. There are "black dog" days in my life where I feed and water the slain...then the dragons open their wings and roar.  Days where getting out of bed, let alone facing people, feels like Mt. Everest.  I wonder if others fight to slay dragons?  All I know is: I do, daily.  Life is ever too short to let the dragons nest and multiply in my brain.  Influence....it carries so much responsibility; daily I need to remember to respect the incredible power of words.

Please, Don't Feed The Dragons.

Seize the Day!

I've augured with myself over the next three chapter instalments of Chez Clinice`...THE Stop.  First, I really don't want to write about it. Second, I really don't have an issue with stopping (my dogs do!). Third,......never mind.  When I wrote chapter two: "habits", all my commenters went right to the stop...hey, quit reading ahead folks!  Then I go into defense mode: I do have a stop when I need one. I have a Jake Brake on all three dogs.  I've seen many a top respectable handler's dog not stop on occasion.  Stops are over rated.  blah blah blahblah blah!


Last year, after my stop-talk from Scott, I began to wonder if maybe HE had a stop obsession.  Maybe a pre-recorded stop session is a go-to when he is tired and just wants to put the lesson on cruise.  Funny, later in the year, when I worked with another clinician I respect, he talked about my stop too...of course it was a different voice with different words...calling it like HE saw it.  Diagnosis: two for two.


This time, my "stop lesson" did not really come out until Nell graced the field....and I actually told Scot that I was f'ing tired of this same lesson.  In fact, I had paid for it 6 times before, maybe this one could be free, eh?  (adding some Canadian to see if I could be better understood) He did the Cliff Notes version but added greater intensity.....perchance hoping this time it might sink in.  Break for a poll:

Do you prefer being spanked softer yet over a longer duration or being spanked super hard but only a few times? 


Okay, okay, I'll stop and get on to the meat of the subject....My Stop.  Because I use My Stop for so many different reasons, my dogs are never sure.  It is like I run them, "stop...kidding; stop...kidding; stop....how about I come up there and kick you ass, I said stop!".  In other words.....they never know if I really mean it......to stop this time or not stop this time, that is the question?  Funny how I have been to three shedding clinics and one private lesson specifically on shedding with each of my girls...and I know that each time I get greater understanding on shedding.  Though The Stop is black and white for some, it is a Joe's Walla Walla Sweet Onion for me......it does indeed make me cry and it apparently has layers! My challenge is....very similar to E O'B......just use the stop when I really mean it.  Otherwise....figure something else out to use! 


During the time spent in my pressure chamber, the one I use to acclimate myself back into the real world post clinic...I've had some serious ah-ha moments.  Stops and habits hold hands in my brain.  Starting out....I used to watch my dogs and was admonished to "watch your sheep".  Now I think I watch my sheep too much...so when I blow a stop, and my sheep move off line, I correct it without even looking at the dog.  It happened at Fire Ridge....I blew a stop for Bella, and glanced at her, just as she was hitting the deck (gasp she never has done this before!) I blew her over on a flank to cover those crazy fine wools booking from the release of pressure from my poorly timed and not really meant stop.

Funny, as I think back over the last chapters of my Chez C.....this is all about me.  The Whistles, The Habits, The Stop (use and abuse of)....it all comes back to me!  This is not about the dogs at all......it is about me!  Then this gets a little too real-life....."that there piece of really fabulous chocolate is not going to make you really feel better and might make your ass look fatter......oh but it tastes so amazing and for years it has gotten me by".  Sheepdoggin' - Life hold hands in my brain.

Whatever you're trying to do. You're capable of MORE. Don't settle. ~ Joel over at Impossible HQ

Seize the Day!

Nell is the first dog I have trained to open....Bella is the second....these are the two dogs I am running right now.  Go figure that habits I have developed in myself as I trained them up stuck while I run them on an open trial field.   Light Bulb, Ah ha Moment! I get the progression of training the dogs but things I did when I ran them as youngsters have not gone away now that they are big girls.  An example is: when my dogs are young I generally stop them before I ask them for some new directions; either forward out of a flank, or flanking out of forward.  It does indeed help create a nice flank or tidy there for walking on.  The idea of losing this habit with my more trained dogs: giving stops I don't really mean as they have become more markers that something new is coming....well it was a darn interesting theory for lots of fabulous over thinking and tons of discussion in my mind!  Back to the idea: can I run stop-less?

I've also caught a slight case of panel-itis again.  Darn it anyway, those drive panels are so freaking hard to see for these eyes.  And I don't often practice, as in never, panels.  Maybe I need to practice panels for me to see if I am hitting them....oh and I do have another eye appointment.  All this said, I'm going to follow the prescription for panel-itis because this disease is affecting all the dogs the worse I get. 

Habits.....I guess that is a really good reason to keep attending clinics.....sometimes the development of habits are not readily seen by the habitor/habitee.  Clinics.....and watching taped runs of myself.....with a dash of looking at pictures from LaCamas!  Habits.....it's time to kick a few.....

Seize the Day!

Certainly a clever palindrome but still I have one:  A god-dog....sort of like a god-mother but not fairy.  Or maybe she is.  Hmm....well, I am babysitting my god-dog in the girl fashion and so I interrupt my regularly scheduled "bare all memoir" to show what my life has been like for the past few days......

Meet my god-dog: Mist


She is four months now...just beginning to enter that awkward stage...and had NO idea that so many border collies could live in one place!


She likes to hang with the alpha of the pack.....and licks Snook's lips to get tender growls from her.  It's a love/hate thing.


She has become quit courageous here.....running out and around the sport court with the big dogs.

haha that is her there behind the fence of the court...terrible photo but ever so cute

I feel a bit bad for Mist....at her home, her pack plays with her as well as cuddles her.  Here, well she is a non-event.  No dog really likes her...nor do they dislike her.  No one wants to play or include her in their reindeer games.  And Grace and Gyp just want to see her go home......


My husband adores her...and me, well, I've looked into my crystal ball and see some serious fun ahead of us!  Take time, grow up, it will all make sense....Mist.  There will come a day when the other dog's won't matter to you......and the sheep will be what you live for.  Until then....

Seize the Day!

Indeed, I attended a four day handling clinic with Scott Glen.  A friend was teasing me (so that was my interpretation) that I was either in desperate need...that I required four days to learn what others might in two days.....or he had better watch his hinny from all that I learned in four days from a Jedi Master.  I think I am somewhere in the middle....but no need to watch anybody's hinny.  As one can imagine, four days of a clinic makes for fabulous blog fodder...broken down into clumps of how I remembered it....here is chapter one.

Today I'll bear my soul about whistles!  I have been working at finger whistling for two years, as a friend pointed out.  It has been just this past spring/summer that I had the courage and consistency to attempt to run my dogs on them.  In an effort to die to perfectionism...and an "all or nothing" personality disorder.... when I run my dogs now, in addition to taking my two pinkie fingers to the post,  I wear a my mechanical whistle...using it when I need to. For the clinic....I jumped off the cliff of safety and committed to leaving my brass whistle hanging from that beautiful lanyard off the rear view mirror of my truck. 

The first day, I did not think it went too bad...my finger whistling, that is.  I used Bella as "the dog of the day" and the focus was outwork....not so many whistles needed with that dog or portion of the trial field.  It is really "cool", "neat", "fantastic" and well just darn right "fabulous" to see so many friends picking up finger whistles.  There was one gal at the clinic that I have always admired how quiet her whistles are...always!  She might blow a hard one every now and then but mainly her mechanical whistles are sweet, melodic and a real joy to listen to.  Drawing a card from the deck of excuses, I was sure her whistles were like a symphony because she has been doing this a while, mechanically.  As she walked out for her first session, she confessed she is motivated to move to finger whistles and then, she pulled her fingers out of her pockets....slipped two into her mouth...and low and behold...they were quiet, indeed quiet as a choir of church mice!!!! 

Good Morning, Bryan....What's new?

Oh dear, not sure if this is good or bad, but I have Monty Python on the brain....right before a clinic!

"Frank was just asking, what's new?.....Hey look, Howard's being eaten!"

I've been thinking lately about "why" I blog. I know there has been discussion about this in the past but I've been evaluating that again. I blog for myself....to sort through my journey of life....which is funny how the dog training, working, and trialing, mixed in with the raising of sheep, is a huge, accurate pictorial metaphor of my whole life! I blog like a journal...which is a little frightening because it is public and people read it, sometimes. Although I have heard there are those who like my blog roll on the far right and visit to use those doors. (glad to be of help, Joe). My blog is a bit of venerability; a piece of myself. Maybe by sharing the wicked wrestlings of my right and left brain....I can give others hope that this journey is amazing....dogs/sheep/life! And maybe, just maybe, my blog is like an OTA meeting, "Hello, my name is Lora and I am an over-thinker" They say the first step is admitting......my blog is certainly that in white on black!

"Makes you think, doesn't it? I mean, what's it all about"

What my dogs have taught me so far:

*Don't be afraid to make mistakes
*If it is not working, try something different
*Be fair. Be firm and fair.
*Be consistent
*Be clear -mean what you say - say what you mean
*Be quiet so that loud has meaning
*Frivolous chit chat is never a good idea, to yourself or to your dog
*Just like people, dogs interpret......it's the telephone game. Work to be understood
*Use the smallest correction and fit the crime; sometimes disappointment works.
*On the other hand, don't nag....making an impressionable correction might be what is needed.

"For millions this life is a sad vale of tears
Sitting round with really nothing to say
While scientists say we're just simply spiralling coils
Of self-replicating DNA."

* Pay close attention to Intention
* Hone skills of Observation
* Strive for Supple: tension free in self and dog
* Stay cool....tempers and anger create fear not relationship
* Listen, listen carefully
* Study: thoroughly, complete, wholeheartedly
* Become

"So just why, why are we here?
And just what, what, what, what do we fear?
Well ce soir, for a change, it will all be made clear,
For this is the Meaning of Life - c'est le sens de la vie -
This is the Meaning of Life."

Off to a clinic.....

Seize the Day!

Daring Greatly Book Trailer from Brené Brown on Vimeo.


"What would you do if you knew you could not fail? What's worth doing, even if I fail?" ` Beren` Brown


I was chatting with a friend the other day who reads Brene Brown, and was sharing with me how fabulous Brene's new book, Daring Greatly, is.  The impact the book has had on her personal life...giving examples of venerability she has shared, and found amazing support as she broke through her facade of an exterior.  Perfection, Bullet Proof, Facade, Self Preservation.....Authentic, Venerable, Shame Resilience, Daring Greatly.  One of the "things" I love so much about working with my dogs is:  there is no perfect when it comes to that work.  There is the satisfaction of a job well done (or not)...but the dogs whisper to me (or maybe that is true and good caring friends) how I am affecting the relationship, the understanding, the reaction.  I'm the one who can stop the insanity; to step up and try something different ...and the dogs always answer.  If I am unable to pay close attention to the details of the whispers....my dogs continue to do what they do.  However, if I can rise above my ego and really look at what I am saying/doing and what my dogs do in response.....then I can make changes in myself in attempt to add clarity, understanding, partnership, building up, easing tension and growing.

I'm heading off to a clinic very soon.  Packing and list making....I've spent much of the summer, and most certainly all of the fall, trying to step back and see myself/my dogs/my work from a most critical point of view. Not critical as in negative but critical as in honest, authentic, venerable, transparent....me and my part of the journey.  Clinics often make me step out of my comfort zone....letting go of the negative critic, the perfectionist, the know-it-all, the show-how-far-I've-come; all main courses I've sampled, both in dishing and being dished; none of which were tasty nor satisfying.  I've got a clean slate and an empty notebook....my personal agenda is "how can I be a better team mate running the dogs that I have?" Daring Greatly.......failing really is not the worst thing that can happen.....Never doing is.

Remember: The only one who ever really stops you from doing something you need to do, is you ~ Joel, Blog of Impossible Things

Seize the Day!

I am taking a little break....from sheepdog trialing "stuff". While I confessed in my last post I was feeling a little lost, I gave up trying to self-remedy that condition and let life sort of manifest itself for now.  I have found that "Lost" is not a destination on my map of life.  And Down Time is not a bad thing, well, at least not right now. 

Today I made a haul to the auction yard....I always feel a little sad driving the truck, pulling the trailer, sheep needing culled, dropping them off at the auction.  On the other hand, I'm a little melancholy on "processing" day too.  I know to be a responsible sheep person, I need to cull and process. Today, being responsible sucked.  Check that off my to-do list.

After the auction stop, I headed down the road to a good friends house for some "girl time".  If you have not read Shannon's story about her felted dogs and the WHY behind them....read about it at Kenleigh Acres Farm Blog  Having a son, myself, that required some serious "outside the box" education, I have a real soft spot in my heart for Shannon's son.  Shannon's "take" on life is such a fabulous elixir so soak in when Lost is the adjective for my noun of Down Time. A group of girl friends were getting together to learn to make these now famous felted animals.  I asked to audit but instead was given the "felting for dummies" mini course....a sheep laying down (no legs to felt) sleeping (no eyes to worry about)...all very free form.  Sigh.

This was a Kiwi bird in the making

Shannon has a never-ending supply of patience.....or fakes it well.  She also lavishes praise, thank goodness.  And the fun making was all in good fun, the best kind of fun making to be had. 


We were treated to a special private show of "Rose, the Disc Dog."




Mr. T has done amazing things with Ms. Rose.  Being a typical border collie, Rose loves having a job to do, and does that job with enthusiasm I wish I could put in a jar and take daily doses of myself!



Being "lost" in not such a bad place to be when there are friends around to bring perspective.  Can't wait to see what the next page looks like in this chapter of Down Time!

Seize the Day!

Seize the Day!

The 2012 trial season has come to an end for me.  Bitter sweet for sure but a rest might be in good order.  On my long drive home from Fire Ridge last night, rain bucketing down, big red truck hyrdo-planing, forcing me to slow down, creating more time to reminisce.....some sweet memories came back to me of understanding, partnership, and some super fun times with my girls on sheep.  Crazy days of working for the Sheep Boss, learning along side a few new friends from the Shepherd.  Lazy days on secret fields filled with scrumptious sheep, learning together with my dogs...freedom to try and fail, without ridicule, to try again.  Amazing trial days...sitting at the feet of some of the best handlers and some very treasured friends, watching, taking notes, trying to absorb through my eyes and pores.  Hours and hours of editing footage, capturing runs, more learning opportunities.  And then there are my own trial runs, the good bring such amazement; the bad: there for me to learn what I need if I am willing to look. 

I feel a little lost right now....no real goals just yet for 2013.  I think maybe those seeds have been planted but are not yet sprouting.  It feels a bit like January here in my mind.  Though not comfortable, being lost is not where I enjoy finding myself, I'm going to revel in the calm, feel it, soak in it, roll around a little and look forward to coming through on the other side.

Goodnight

Seize the Day!

I'll have a super-sized order of FUN with more Fun on the side, please!  A weekend filled with college football and sheepdoggin'......and a good book-on-dvd to help kill the driving time! 

Now it is Monday, raining and cold with snow in the mountains and more sheepdoggin' awaiting my next weekend.  My time at the Close's with Gyp will give me plenty of mind fodder till she runs on Thursday.  Thinking on things like "stop", what "stop" really looks like, what I want "stop" to really look like and lifting off people. 

Maybe I should get a chocolate lab......



Happy Monday!

Seize the Day!

After my dogs had finished running on Saturday, I ended up working the exhaust.  I heard whispers in the wheat stubble.....could they be true?  I found one of the trial hosts and, indeed, the next day we would be running on 8 sheep....split in the shed ring taking four to the pen and leaving four.  I started in on my happy dance again, eight sheep.....some the size of ponies!  Maybe those eight sheep could work with me in getting Bella to realise I really do have her best interest in mind as I give commands on the trial field.  As I thought over my run with Bella, and runs from trials past, I remembered this was exactly why I had come to Trailing of the Sheep.  To experiment, try new ideas on for size, stop the insanity of doing what was not working again....I was excited to work eight sheep.

Sunday was cooler.....Bella drew up late morning.  I got a hold of her early on with a dandy stop at the top and a few on the top end of her fetch.  She reacted to the handling with a little bit of "tell me what to do then" and I tried to convey that this was not either 100% her way or a 100% my way...team work was in order. By the third leg of the drive she had settled in and was feeling her sheep ever so nicely, rating herself a bit and allowing me to run her stop-less.  It was so amazing to watch her sort it all out on her run, looking for answers and beginning to work with me.....felt a bit like the makings of my own personal MasterCard commercial "Priceless".

Nell drew up at 2:30, that dreaded time of day where the sheep are wanting a nap and extra hungry.  As her sheep were escorted onto the field, there came the black pony!  The one with the gray birthmark arrow on  her side.....I thought, "bring it on, baby!  Let's see what we are made of, Nellie girl!"  Nell was ever so good....working hard to hit the fetch panel as the black pony-ewe tried everything to not go through and her seven dwarfs were waiting to follow.  The run was not all perfect and pretty, but man oh man, Nell gave me her all.  As a good friend texted me, she is becoming quiet consistent....the journey continues.

Miss Gyp got the opportunity to exhaust sheep a bit.  I was excited but nervous...the four by four split creating an interesting gather for my baby girl but she rose to the occasion and my fellow handler friends never left me hanging.  After about 7 runs, Gyp actually told me she had everything under control and I could go sit in the truck....I found another person to exhaust but was glad to see the confidence in my Gypsy!

The sheep were set by the same men who set for Meeker. They did a fabulous job!

Here Rob Miller's Jen takes her sheep around Rob....the sheep are most definitely the size of ponies!

Rob and Jen get their 4/4 split

Rob was raised right here on this very piece of land.  It was a bitter/sweet trial for him with memories of his father and retiring his good dog Jen.  It was a beautiful final run for her...she has always had a sweet spot in my heart for sure.

The whole trial was just darn right amazing for me.  The sheep gave me a glimpse into myself and my dogs......and together we made improvements thanks to those honest sheep.  The majesty of the land was breathtaking in a rugged way.  I've never seen mountains without evergreen trees, instead covered with sagebrush and giving the impression that winters are bitter cold, wind whipped.....not for the faint of heart. Trailing of the Sheep goes into my book as one of those really fabulous trials.....a not-to-miss trial if one can muster the courage to see what can be done in the high dessert mountains on sheep the size of ponies!

Seize the Day!

The Blog of Impossible Things has caught my attention...and in a timely manner, thank you very much.  First World Problems provided perfect over thinking fodder for a long drive to Trailing of the Sheep.  I had been looking forward to TOTS for quite some time; when I got the call from Don Helsley that I was in, there was a waiting list, and was I sure I wanted to come.....I think my happy dance and party of "yes, I got in!" said enough. After NOT putting Bella on that special list at the finals that would have had her running......and all the bad things Bella said to me about my lack....I was very excited to get her on fine wool sheep for the second time at a trial, and see how she handled sheep that pushed back a bit.  As I drove, I thought about my "first world problems"...you know those tiny bitty nonsense things in life that, if allowed, can become bigger and potentially all consuming.  Very much like a hot air balloon, when not inflated fits in a box; yet filled with hot air can block the view of amazing splendor.  They are quite beautiful, yes, and can serve a purpose...yet imagine having hot air balloons, filled and sitting in the back yard day in and day out. Not seeing anything but big multicolored man-made balloons, and all the energy that goes into keeping them filled with hot air.....overwhelming, distracting, fake, bigger than life, and not how I want to live.  As I drove on, I pondered how to put those hot air balloons back into their boxes and possibly consider shipping some of them back to their manufacturing companies.  How does sheepdog training and trialing fit into living a good story without a focus on First World Problems??

A friend of mine told me a story of one of his runs at Trailing of the Sheep.  He had a rogue ewe that ended up running back up into the mountains on one of his runs.....his story was a good one, reminding me that if indeed, I made it to TOTS, my "goals" would need to be realistic and "myself" to not be taken too serious! After my two runs with Nell at the finals, I was looking forward to relaxing, experimenting and taking some self imposed, first world pressure off myself.

The days dawned early, those in charge of the trial "morning people" and just as important, conscientious about getting all 54 dogs their time on the field. It was cool watching the sheep get moved from the overnight pen to the top end, in the dark, only the lights of the four wheelers giving a glimpse of ghost-like sheep moving in and out of the foggy, dust swirl they were creating. The first day, Nell ran early and I loved how we worked together....getting around with a nice shed..but no pen.  The day showed how challenging the sheep were....not a pen was to be had.  A very good friend texted me that he was seeing consistency in Nell....time to get to work on what points I was leaving on the field. 

Bella, Bella...Bella Mia.....let's just say "she brought them"!  She was tense and lit and I walked, much to the surprise of the announcer and the judge and the exhaust.....I was getting around but with no "relationship", it was the tense Bella show.  Bella was on her own agenda...so I walked.  And I thought.....life is about "relationship".....how do I "get" Bella to want to work with me??  She is so different from Nell, not that Nell hasn't had days, months, years of thinking it would be better if I sat in the truck while she ran.  How do I get in Bella's head?  What does Bella need from me?  What I do know is: I would rather not run her than have her run all over the sheep and me...and I believe she does this out of tension and not naughtiness.  In the instant of a lift, she turned nice sheep into wolf-fearing, reactionary sheep...and kept that theme on the first end of the fetch.  Once settled, the tension was dipped into time and again, her dysfunctional habit of dealing with stress. I get it...I live Bella's life...I love chocolate and birthday cake when my sheep of life get out of control......neither of our reactions to stress provide the desired outcome and I think we both feel like crap when it is over!

After watching, then not watching, my first run with Bella from LaCamas, I have been searching my soul as to which first world issues keep me from doing what my dog needs at a trial and staying at the post, filling hot air balloons instead.  Ego?  Pride?  That crazy, bitchy side of myself that wants to "make" my dog?  The balloon fills to capacity when I look at "others" and their journey with their dogs.  The cool, quiet, beautiful people who pip along while their dogs lie down with the enthusiasm that one of mine would eat bacon! And then I open the escape hatch....the hot air rises and the balloon deflates....becoming just the material that can be folded and put back into that box that needs a shipping label to get the hell out of here.  My dogs, my journey..funny how I have just what I need to become;....and maybe just maybe, as I live a good, honest story and keep digging deep with my relationship with Bella, I can find the ability to keep on, find answers in myself and along the way, to be as kind and forgiving of myself as I am of my dog.

Seize the Day!


Indeed the 2012 USBCHA Finals were quite the ride.  Nell made it through the first round and finished mid-pack in the semi-final round.  She gave me her all and I must admit..I enjoyed running her.  I most certainly feel blessed to have a few nice dogs and folks that believe and invest in my partnerships. There is so much more that I am experiencing post-finals...maybe the words will come with time but for now I'm just treasuring my two runs for how I remember them.  With finals blogging and live-streaming and a world full of critics...I'm thinking enough "other" has been said. 

The very best part of the finals, for me.....was watching and celebrating my friend's and their success.  It was super cool to have a group of "rookie" friends who made it to the finals for their very first time...hence the "rookie" brand.  I'm proud and amazed at all my friends who conquered their fears and walked to the post to send their dogs....some at the time of day where even the best of hands struggled.  I cheered with pride as a handful of us "rookies" made it to the semi-finals.  Each of us, with our own journeys, our own goals, our own dragons...being counted amongst the top forty teams.  And the rookie who runs his dog as if riding a wave, he dug deep and made it to the last day......they say it's a Cinderella story....somehow that minimizes the work and effort that team has put in. 

I also was witness to the other spectrum of dog trialing......you know...the runs that don't go as planned and most certainly not as visualized.  And yet, again I am awed and humbled by the grace, dignity and character that my friends exhibited as they walked off the field.  Even those who did well with what they were given, yet it was not enough for the nod to the next level....those disappointed and yet able to celebrate, encourage, and cheer on their friends, were unsung heroes.  I wonder if they know how they touched my life?  They most certainly have left a fingerprint that I hope doesn't wash off.  At the end of the day, may I be as full of strong character.

Keeping it real, there was a lot of "other" stuff going on for me during the week. I don't live in a Willy Wonka world, though I do work at trying to see the good: lifting my eyes to see the beauty on this journey called my life.  Yes, Susan, trialing is about the sheep.  It is about seeing what you can do with the packet of sheep your are dealt.  But life...oh life....it is about becoming and along the way I am ever so thankful for my friends. I want to remember that the trialing is just the thin layer of icing but the cake is really what matters.   Its the substance and foundation and determines the quality of the final dessert presentation.  Dogs, family and True Friends......a good cup of coffee and a bite of chocolate.......Today, I lift my eyes, give thanks and find that my cake of life is good.......

Seize the day!