Lesson #2 - July 31, 2009

Today it was just Porche and I that made the journey to Lyn Ferris' place in Ft. Saskatchewan as Lyn and I had talked about it last lesson, and decided to work Porsche twice a month this fall, and Vala only once per month because of her age. Come spring, we're going to work the ass off both of the girls to get them ready for some trialing! :)

So this morning Porsche got to try her hand in a medium sized paddock - a new thing for her as prior to this she's only worked the sheep in a round pen. I started out wanting to work on her stops to remind her that she had to listen, but that just frustrated the both of us so Lyn suggested we just see what Porsche would do in an open paddock.

Well! The first go around was a bit of a gong show...me not knowing what to do to direct Porsche properly, so she pretty much just ran the show...and the sheep! TIME OUT!!

We took Porsche for a drink and a soak with the hose (she was HOT!) and Lyn and I talked about what we'd seen - from my perspective and from hers. Then Lyn asked if I'd like to try working the stock with Marlowe, a young bitch that Lyn had started about two weeks ago. Lyn thought that Marlowe was still green enough to test me (i.e. make ME work) but had enough experience to be able to show me what a working dog is supposed to look like.

What a fantastic experience!! And what a great way to learn what I was supposed to do and what Porsche should be doing. As Lyn had expected, Marlowe tested me and tried to see what she could get away with...which was great for me because Porsche does the same thing, but more from inexperience than being contrary. LOL...I'm sure that will change! /grin

After a fantastic go-round with Marlowe and the sheep, it was back to give Porsche a try. This time it went SO much more smoothly!! I knew what Porsche was supposed to do, and what she was supposed to look like when she did it. Awesome! With a firm visual in my mind, Porsche and I were able to handle the stock well enough (I was even able to get a couple of controlled stops!) that Lyn found a few minutes to run to the house to get her camera and snap some photos of us "doing our thing". Brilliant!!

All in all it was a very satisfying day...I feel that I've progressed in my handling skills and that Porsche is learning to be a real herding boxer!

Look out, Louise & George! Here we come!! It's too bad they don't have a title for brace herding...yet! That would ROCK!

Here are some of the photos that Lyn Ferris took today of Porsche and myself. Thanks for these, Lyn!





Oh yes! And I did almost forget to tell you about falling on my ass, didn't I? Well, as Lyn was hustling to the house to get the camera, I tripped over a piece of dead wood as I was walking backwards. I went down in the middle of a flock of sheep, scrambled up in time to see Porsche attempting to take advantage of the situation (or maybe she just wanted to come and see what I was doing laying on the ground?) but one firm OUT! command and she went back to her correct position. Good girl! Oh! And I did manage to avoid the steaming pile of dog crap that Porsche had deposited a few minutes earlier...so it was a good day all around! /grin

Lesson #1- July 17, 2009

Porsche, Vala and I made the reasonably short trek to Fort Saskatchewan (only about 90 minutes to Lyn's place) for our first herding lesson...though I'm not quite sure it could be called a lesson - more like a comedy of errors? I think the only thing I did right was to NOT trip over the sheep and land on my ass...I saved that trick for Lesson #2 - but more on that later!

We met Lyn, checked out the round pen where we were going to start working, said hello to the sheep and then got started. Poor sheep! LOL

Actually, it wasn't so bad considering that I didn't really have any idea what I was supposed to be doing and only a vague idea about what Porsche was supposed to be doing. Luckily, Porsche has some natural talent and Lyn has lots of patience, and I picked up a few things that day. Mostly, trust your damn dog. :)

So Porsche did well for her first lesson, got over her excitement about seeing sheep again and settled into some actual work. We still need work on our stops, but as all things in life, it's a work in progress.

Then came Vala's turn. With Porsche having seen stock before, I had some idea of what to expect (i.e. I knew she wasn't going to eat the sheep!) but with Vala I had no freaking idea and was more than a bit apprehensive. On top of that, Vala's no retiring flower - she spotted those sheep and was pulling on the leash to go check them out. Eek!

Lyn, trusting in my dog (and in the fact the round pen wasn't that big and I had running shoes on) said, "Just let her off the leash". ....Gulp!

So, I let Vala off the leash and stepped into the middle of the round pen with my stock stick and said a silent prayer...Please don't eat the sheep...Please don't eat the sheep...

Well, she didn't eat the sheep, but Vala SURE was excited! She circled the sheep, faster and faster. You could just see her little brain work..."If I go faster, THEY go faster!!!" It took a few minutes, but Vala settled down and then was able and willing to take some direction, changing directions and learning her new least favorite word...OUT!!!

Even though Vala had a lot of excitement/energy and worked too close and too fast, Lyn thought she showed a lot of promise and encouraged us to continue...and so we will!

Overall it was a very good experience, just a lot for my brain to put together. The girls did great and I learned something...how could it not be a good day!?

Our adventure begins....

Well, not really...not quite anyway! :)

Our first exposure to herding, specifically herding with boxers, was in April 2004. Our friend Louise Watson, who had already attained at that time a CKC Herding Started title on her boxer, George, organized a Herding Instinct Test during the weekend of the Boxer Club of Canada National Specialty show in Chilliwack, BC. Always one for trying new things, I decided I'd give it a "kick at the cat", so to speak.

What I didn't guess, and really couldn't have guessed, was how much natural instinct both Porsche and Charlotte showed that day. What a thrill to watch my dogs have their "lightbulb moments" and then watch them actually start to work the stock, keeping them gathered. Shelley Friske, the examiner was very impressed and encouraged me to keep going with the girls.

Since then, I've been working towards finding someone within reasonable driving distance to give us lessons - the dogs and me! I was quite sure that *I* was going to need far more training than the dogs, and that's exactly what's happened! LOL

I got in touch with Lyn Ferris of Spinoff Enterprises and she was happy to help me out, though I could hear her scratching her head in the background...boxers!??...herding!??? :) I'm always happy to show how versatile a breed the boxer really is!!

We scheduled our first lesson and away we went...