There's no 'I' in Team

Today was our day.

 Meaning, Jax and I. We've done quite a bit of work with our trainer, me watching her as we work on Jax's sides, flanking, driving. Today I was given the reins, so to speak. There are those moments when everything seems to stop and it's just you and your dog. Horse owners also know the feeling, when finally there is that Oprah-esque ah ha moment and it all just clicks and your animal and you work together. Today was my ah ha moment.

Up until now I've worked with our trainer, the two of us jumbled in sheep trying to keep away from the dog. They stick to your legs like glue as you work on moving across the field with a young dog in tow. We started out the three of us, getting the morning going on the right foot with the right amount of aid and instruction.

 Until she passed me the stock stick and said it was my turn and walked outside the fence. 

With our teacher waiting on the outside of the small round pen, Jax and I teamed up to work on flanking the sheep and moving them from one end to the other, back and forth across the small paddock. We'd get to one side, and Jax would then scoop them from behind me and across we'd walk to the other side of the paddock. 

It's not much use if your dog can't move the sheep forward and just circles them. This is a great training tool, using a small round pen. It keeps things from getting too out of control in a larger field. 

Round the back, lickity split. This dog is lightening speed with everything he does. 

Up to the fence and lie down. He is getting better every time, more willing to drop to the ground rather than consistently question my decision. 

'Come by' to lift the sheep off the fence so we can walk back across the paddock to the other side. Most border collies get nervous when the have to get up against the fence and move the ewes. Today Jax took the pressure without a problem. 

.... For the most part. This girl got a bit of a shave when Jax went in for a grip.

Eventually I'll replace the skinny blue stock stick with a crook. For now it's a great way for Jax to be directed, when he needs a reminder to keep back and move the sheep away from the fence and away. 

Positive encouragement from the sidelines as Jax lies down and stands the excitement of being so close to the sheep. He was quiet, patient, and obedient. When just a few weeks earlier 'lie down' still raised an eyebrow. 

I can't help but beam as my dog took huge strides. Or rather, we took huge strides working together. Not just teaching him the tools of a stock dog to use for someone later. Today I finally understood what it would feel like to have my dog working with me, when sheep dog trials become very real and very possible. 

This one's for you, Buppa.

Small Dog Big Appetite

I love big dogs. When I was growing up we had a border collie who grew to a massive 63 lbs. Granted, that's huge for the breed, but I was hoping for similar when I got Jax. I have never met Jax's parents, so I really didnt have a good idea of what size he may grow to. I fed him well as a pup: vitamins, omegas, you name it.... all in hopes of getting a big boned working dog.

Well, Jax is 42 lbs soaking wet. And if I'm not careful he'll drop down to 37lbs in a weekend. He hasnt grown much more than when he was 6 months old. My hopes for a big dog didnt work out, but what I did get was a dog with a big appetite. Most people feed their larger dogs around 2.5 cups of adult dog food a day. Jax is a special case... he gets double that on a normal day. More on a working day. At 5 cups a day Jax is a challenge to keep weight on. Not only does he get a larger quantity of food, he is also on High Endurance dog food (not to mention his joint supplement and omegas). This food has 50% more fat and protein than adult dog foods! He eats the same amount as a dog twice his size.

Naturally there is a border collie on the bag. I certainly recognize the association with "active". I see the breed and think, "This is for a dog that is busy ALL the time, like my dog." They have a metabolism I would kill for (or at least steal an expensive car, maybe death is a bit extreme). So when his coonhound buddy TJ is on diet dog food to get him ready for bathing suit season, Jax is getting packed full of calories at every opportunity.  So in essence, I have my big dog. Or at least the same caloric requirements. 

Visit from the Brain Fairy

Today we learned that you cant always stick to the original training plan. It's been raining down here for a good week, making all of us a little stir crazy from being stuck indoors. I was excited to get Jax back in the field after such a good training session last weekend. Well, apparently Jax left his brain at home and was on "circle the sheep and nothing but" mode. Granted, my dog has a strong urge to keep sheep gathered.... but this was absurd. In my mind I was thinking, "What the heck is going on?!". Circle circle circle circle. No balancing, no fetching the sheep... just keep them together. It became clear the brain fairy had come and taken his little border brain for a vacation. This pup was in it to run and nothing else.

Running at the come by side

Still circling

We did a whole lot of merry go round at first. He just needed to run it out until he was able to get his brain back. He wanted nothing to do with lie down, flanking the sheep, or moving across the field. He would have been content to just run and run and run. In a circle. We kept it even.... we ran round and round on both the away to me and come by side. Either way he was happy to just be running. 

Take a bow aka "Lie the F down!"

Pretty sure at this point my trainer and I realized we needed to take a different approach to the day. It was a bit more mania than was a good learning tool. What we had planned on working on was pretty unproductive (and frankly just making me dizzy). So my lesson was sometimes you need to just go with the flow and pick an easy win and not force the issue if the day just doesn't call for it. We could have gotten heated over what I wanted to do, but when you have a smart dog it's typically in your best interest to make the situation a "win" for everyone. Otherwise you are setting yourself up for a power struggle. No thanks.

We changed pace and worked on driving. With driving the key is to get the dog to get ahead of you and resist the urge to bring the flock to you. You want him to walk towards the sheep and take responsibility on their own. It's still work for Jax, getting him to be confident enough to move the sheep and put pressure on them to move.

It's not an easy task for a young dog to have the guts to confront the sheep on the fence as they were. He needs to scoop them out of the corner, a scary task that means getting them to move (even when they are staring him down and stamping their feet). 

I'm going in! Dogsplosion. 

Jax will go so far, but when the quiet and pressure gets to be too much, he usually will explode to relieve the stress. We're working on dealing with wearing the big man pants and not insist on diving in and causing a circus. 

Walk up... nice and easy

But we got there! He stood his ground and let things go with the flow. Eventually he'll need to be able to do all of this (flanking, driving, fetching) by himself with me at a distance, not there to help him make the right choice or handle the pressure of a difficult ewe. So after a rough start we ended on a good note, with a quiet pet and some loves for a good boy. 

Someone has some homework

We've been assigned some homework the past few weeks. Some of us have a hard time lying down all the way (ahem, Jax). So after work I spend some time getting him to lie down as fast as can. I want him to drop all four in an instant. 

In Jax's racing mind, lying down means its going to take that much longer to get up if the sheep move. However, as a handler you need a solid lie down, and it cant be an afterthought. We will not be doing so hot in a trial if I say, "lie down" and Jax says, "how about hover?" Not going to cut it buddy. I don't do yoga, neither do I want my dog doing a 'downward dog' while we are in the field.

"Close enough, right?"

He literally has is little dog toes scrunched and digging into the grass, ready to take off like a rocket. The trainer thinks it's pretty funny, though needs to be fixed, "Look at that little shit!" As he grips the dirt with a cheating lie down. And don't get me wrong or think I skipped a beat in puppy training. This guy knows the difference between dogs at the dog park and will chase after each individually if you tell him "Go get Axel" vs "Go get TJ". He knows what's being asked of him. Yet another hard-headed move so typical of this spry young man,  always figuring out how can he manage the situation and call the shots. If you asked him to solve a puzzle he will do it, if you tell him how he'll tell you his way is better. He'll still solve the puzzle, but not the way you asked him to. 

"This lie down is soooo hard.... shoulders up is ok, right?"

But sometimes even the most intelligent students aren't interested in practicing (even if it will make them top of the class in the next training session). We got a little practice time in, started to have some teenager melt downs until I called it quits for the evening. When you start getting your maneuvers mixed up, it's time to end on an upswing as the temper tantrums start to build. One thing I've learned about my dog, sometimes pushing for results is only going to get you into trouble. A couple solid "downs" mixed in with a few "roll overs" to keep things from getting too boring.

Ugh, enough already!

Sunday for the dogs

Nothing better than spending a sunny afternoon getting your dog tired. Well, at least trying. Cause this young dog has endless energy. 

First we spent some time playing ball at the dog park. Most dogs go to the park to play with other dogs. Not my dog. It's work time. And by work, I mean play ball until he has what we call "big tongue". Meaning, he's panting so hard it's almost down to his toes. That's a happy dog. 

  

We also spent some time patrolling the beach for seagulls, a new found favorite of Mr. Controlling. It's hard to see, but the beach was covered with seagulls when we first arrived. Not for long! With Jax on duty the beach remains gull free! 

Scottish Dogs from Irish Breeders- Who and Why I got Jax

Every summer growing up the farm would host stock dog clinics. It was by far my favorite part of the summer to have Mac MacGregor show up with a big truck and a trailer of working dogs. A long time friend of my grandparents, they would sit on the porch and catch up about dogs, trials, and the current litter of pups and whether we wanted one or two. I'd sit with them, eating donuts and listening to Mac's heavy Northern Ireland brogue entranced and charmed by the whole experience. Back in the those days I'd have the opportunity to work with my father's dog, Josie, who had a lot of working panache (and was also a wonderful house pet).

Summer clinic at the Farm

Mac is known up and down the east coast for his high drive dogs and ability to train just about any dog.  His dogs are sold worldwide. Rumor had it that he was getting out of the breeding business a few years back and I had been told to get a puppy before it was too late. My family has always had MacGregor dogs and since the days of sitting on the porch as a kid, I've wanted a Mac pup.

As I've mentioned before, my dog comes from some powerful parents. Rob, the mostly black male in the video is his father. Kate, the other black and white border collie is his mother. In the video, Mac works with four dogs at once, with his "Rob dog" as he calls him taking the lead at moving the indignant cows. In the biz, going in with the teeth is called "gripping". It's a tool that my dog uses, often at the wrong time, but with the right training it can be used to move sticky stock. I love watching this video, it gives me goose bumps. And makes me excited to see the potential I have in my dog. 

This is the current potential, still a bit fresh. We have a ways to go, Jax is strong like his father, Rob, but yet to get a handle on what to do when things get a little squirly. This video was taken a few months ago, when using his teeth was part of the fun and going after one ewe is pretty exciting. My trainer likes to call it "getting in a mess", when the situation becomes so tense things get a little explosive. And one poor sheep gets gripped.

42lb Mack Truck

 Jax and I like to spend our weekends at Cheswood Farm, an awesome little training farm in Hampton Roads, Virginia. We've been in training for a few months now. Progress is happening. This is one of the great parts about not living in NH (along with saying y'all, which I think is adorable). We get to work ALL YEAR ROUND. Pretty fantastic to keep the winter cobwebs away and make progress while my parents are shoveling out the propane tank and plowing the driveway back at home. We got an early Saturday slot, which means we were the first team on the sheep. They were bummed.

Jax and I have been spotted across the field. "Oh #$&%, not that guy again!"

Jax is one of those dogs that has a lot of power. His stare alone make the sheep move. Jax comes from a solid cow herding background, his father and mother both made to be forceful at work and make big beasts move. My 42lb ball of energy is cut from that very cloth. The kind of dog that doesn't take 'no' for an answer and will use his teeth if required (we're still working on when to use our teeth and to not take a huge hunk out of a ewe when we do).

And we're off. We are currently working on balancing the flock as well as doing what we call a fetch. If you don't know much about the breed, the border collie is pretty natural at balancing a herd. If left to his own devices without any training, Jax would keep the flock in a circle all day long. We've managed to get our sides down already. 'Come by', which is go clockwise and 'away to me', which is counter clockwise.

Jax in action, getting a little carried away from himself. Probably going in for a snack a this point. You'll notice the blue long line on him. It's good with a young dog to keep things organized and always be able to stop them. 

Regained composure

Looking good!

Here we our with our trainer, taking a moment to talk about what we are doing and what the next skill Jax is going to be learning. Next- driving a flock. Eventually you need to get to a point where you dont just go around the sheep and keep them in a circle. We worked on driving for a good ten minutes.

Jax has come a long way since the first time he started training at Cheswood. The first time out he only worked for about 10 minutes before he was done. His stamina has improved quite a bit, both mentally and physically. He is now getting more responsibility and we are asking him to make decisions and manage the flock more independently than we have before. 

Once a sheep farmer

I grew up on my grandparent's sheep farm in rural NH. There was always multiple border collies on the farm to help keep things running. A vast improvement from the early days, before the dogs, when my father as a young boy had to chase the ewes instead. The breed has always been a part of me, part of the family. None of the dogs were mine, perse. Family working dogs and pets that were for everyone. Some better working dogs, others better pets. I had the opportunity to be in some clinics and I always loved the experience. Loved watching the trainer work with his dogs and hoped to get there myself some day. 

Since we sold the last of the sheep about 10 years ago, replacing them with a good flock of chickens and a grumpy chihuahua, I've wanted to get back into owning and working with the border collie. I've counted down until I've had the right house, right amount of time to get my own dog and start training them for trial. 

Enter Jax. 

A wild man from the moment I got him in June of 2011. A hardheaded young man, he was ready to push every button and call the shots if you let him get away with it. Also, the smartest damn dog with an intense work ethic and personality that never quit. His first experience with sheep was at 6 months old. He's had some time off since then, to get his guts in order, mature a little, and time for me to find a trainer in my new Virginia home. This blog will be about Jax and I as we grow together as a team and start doing to sheep dog trials.