Category: Our Dogs at Sheepdog Trials
Fond Memories of Mel Five Years Ago
Mel at her last sheepdog trial in July 2011 Many of you will remember Mel as one of the great sheepdogs we’ve had the pleasure of living and working with. Sadly, Mel passed away in March of this year, but she’s far from being forgotten. Her daughter Carew may have been easier to control in a delicate situation, and indeed Mel was not an ideal… Read more.
Farm Dog vs Trials Dog?
Was Carew right to disobey me, when she could see it wouldn’t work? I’d looked forward to Penybont Sheepdog Trial for months. It’s a delightful setting with a friendly atmosphere. The sheep are good, the field’s reasonably straightforward, and once the sheep are in the exhaust pen, they’re well out of sight for other competing dogs. A slight complication is the outrun. If you send… Read more.
Training Really Works!
Carew’s performance is vastly improved at The Vale of Evesham Sheepdog Trials I’ve got quite a soft spot for Evesham Sheepdog Trials. The “Open“ at Evesham was the first sheepdog trial I ever attended (albeit as a spectator). It has a long history, is always efficiently run and has a friendly atmosphere. Some of the top handlers in the world compete at Evesham sheepdog trials.… Read more.
Carew’s declared fit for Evesham Sheepdog Trial!
She seems sound again now, so we’ll give it a go! After her cattle herding escapade last Sunday, Carew went lame, and we were worried that she might not be fit to run in the Evesham sheepdog trials this weekend. Several careful examinations failed to reveal any sign of injury, foreign body or obvious inflammation but we were concerned that her recovery seemed slow, but… Read more.
Carew injury worry for Evesham Sheepdog Trials
We’re worried that Carew may not be fit for Evesham SDT. On the downside of Carew’s heroic cattle herding on Sunday, we noticed in the evening that she was limping on her left front foot. With all the fencing we’d been doing that day we assumed she’d picked up a thorn, but when we examined the foot and leg in question, there was nothing visibly… Read more.
Long distance motivation – give me ten points ‘stead of three!
With apologies to Chuck Berry Many years ago, I asked a regular prominent member of the Welsh sheepdog trials team for advice on what to do with a dog that sticks on its outrun. “Sell it,” came the blunt reply. I was shocked at the time. I hadn’t realised how difficult it is to train a dog to keep going once it’s got into the… Read more.
Oh, me of little faith!
Or, if you’re a sheepdog trainer, practice what you preach! They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and we’ve been very much aware recently that our regular readers will be wondering why no new blogs have appeared. For this I apologise. I’ve been intending to write a blog for several weeks now, but there’s so much I want to write that… Read more.
A sweet and sour performance from Carew at Ivy House SDT
And it wasn’t just the Red Arrows that were jet propelled – WAS IT, KAY? I’d heard about the challenges of Ivy House Sheepdog Trial, and was (cautiously) looking forward to it as I drove to Shropshire on Sunday morning. Sheepdog terminology – explanations of the terms and language used in this article At Ivy House, the letting out pen is two fields away from… Read more.
Limited success, but valuable lessons learned!
Kingsland Trial’s a reminder of an important point I’ve been looking forward to Kingsland Sheepdog Trial for some time. The trials field is less than an hour from home, and I remember really enjoying myself when I ran Glen, several years ago, on its unusually-shaped course. Sheepdog terminology – explanations of the terms and language used in this article When I arrived, soon after 7.30… Read more.