NC English Shepherd Gathering 2009

Today was the English Shepherd Gathering in North Carolina. There were close to 50 people and maybe 40-50 dogs - hard to tell because the dogs were constantly moving - and fast. There were people and dogs from Ontario Canada, Texas, Oregon, Illinois, South Carolina and Virginia, in addition to North Carolina. I didn't go this year, but Sandi went with her friend Carolyn (who helped rescue me) and Carolyn's English Shepherd Happy. Happy and Ruby are good friends. Happy had a good time visiting with the other dogs, but she especially likes her people friends. Happy worked for a number of years as a therapy dog registered with Delta Society. Here's Happy with Brian Wingler of White Oak English Shepherds in Apex, North Carolina.


There was an AHBA sheep trial yesterday and today the gathering was mostly social, but Kyt from Amarillo Texas showed a powerpoint presentation on the Montana English Shepherd rescue Operation New Beginnings. For more information on animal hoarding go to www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/hoarding/ I have an earlier post on the Montana ES rescue and NESR.







What a very nice group of people and dogs. Many thanks to Kay Keziah and her family for hosting the Gathering. I hope to go again (I got to go in 2007).

For more information about English Shepherds go to www.englishshepherd.org and www.nesr.info/

Dog Days of Summer!

Once it got hot, the tracking fields were high with orchard grass and the snakes came out, we took a break from tracking in N.C. - and I've been on vacation!

Herman is now working from home, and so I get to run more than ever before. And Sandi takes me swimming at the lake. We meet up with my friends Lucky and Josie and their people Jeanine and Fred. I don't like to chase a stick or ball into the water - I just want to get into the deep water and swim. Summer is great! I haven't done much training this summer, and I know that soon Sandi and I will have to get back to work, but until then....Jump in, the water is fine!

Spring tracking in North Carolina

Sandi and I met Niamh and her person Barbara this morning at our friend Rob's farm. Typical for this time of year, the weather is crazy. We've had warm sunny days after much rain, and then last night we had a freeze. Makes the farmers a bit nervous, but it was perfect tracking weather!

The spring grass is growing green and we had a pretty good breeze. Since I want to take off again tracking after finding an article, our teacher Gretchen has said that I should sit and wait for a release to track again after each interim article. (by the way - you can click on each photo and get a size easier to view)

Our revised ritual is to water and rescent after indicating each interim article (my indication is a down - see the photo), sit and wait for a quiet release "let's track." I really want to take off tracking again like a bat out of hell, but I don't think that's going to fly with Sandi. I admit that this new ritual will help me focus.








At one point I found something really dead and exciting near the track, but Sandi called me back to water and rescent, and it helped me refocus and get back to tracking. I found the next article and I got a reward of rare roast beef. Not a bad trade!

Thanks for the photos Barbara! And please go to Setter Tails for Niamh's blog. She may decide to post photos of little Ambrose tracking. He is quite the tracking puppy! He's going to give the big dogs a run for their money soon!

tracking with Gretchen

This morning I was loaded into the car to go to the barn - a VERY good sign. My tracking gear was in the car and I was psyched!

After Sandi did her barn chores we hit the road to Sanford, NC to meet our tracking coach Gretchen Stephenson. She finished her AKC CT tracking title this winter with one of her Weims, Obie. Gretchen was one of our first teachers in tracking.

We met at a large park, which was mostly under water thanks to the previous 5 days of steady rain.

Check out Setter Tails for a report on Ambrose's first tracking lesson!

Gretchen laid a track for us which included tracking through a lot of standing water.


It was really fun, but it was interesting how
the scent was hanging on the surface of the
water. I could taste it when lapping at the
water.

Here are some more photos (taken by Gretchen)
of our track. This was really fun and I did a
great job. I didn't even really mind my article
indication in the water.

Pet Partner evaluations

Last weekend we had a house guest, Judy Thorn. Sandi has known Judy since she and Ruby were in Judy's Canine Good Citizen class at the APS of Orange Co. dog training program in 1999. Judy also helped Sandi and Ruby become Delta Society Pet Partners in 2000. The Delta Society Pet Partners program helps train and screen handler/animal teams to participate in visiting animal programs in hospitals, schools, libraries and other facilities.

Sandi and Ruby volunteered for 6 years, working in our local hospital inpatient pediatric psychiatry unit, Ronald McDonald House, Neuropsychiatry, Orange County Exceptional Child Program, schools and summer camps.


This past weekend when Judy was here, she evaluated some students from Sandi and Jenn's (Royal's person) Therapy Dog class at APS/Paws4Ever. Here is a photo taken during one of the classes. Our assistant Karen is demonstrating some awkward petting with Whiskey, and Megan is taking notes. Megan is a high school student doing her project on animal assisted therapies.

It was boring for me because I had to stay home - at least it was sunny and warm and I could be outside. Ruby works as neutral dog for the evaluations so she got to go and be a part of the activities.

The evaluation begins with the obedience skills exercises from the Canine Good Citizen test, then moves on to aptitude skills. These exercises simulate experiences a team may have while on a visit in a facility, such as encountering an individual with an uneven gait wearing a floppy robe, or using a loud voice, or in a wheelchair. It also involves uncoordinated petting, and petting by a crowd of people at once. I really like people, but some of the exercises would make me nervous and over-excited. Ruby is good at handling these things. The handler is evaluated on social skills and how well they support their dog at the same time. Both ends of the leash are being evaluated!


Here is a photo of Jenn and Bernie after their renewal evaluation (teams have to complete a renewal evaluation every two years). They did a really good job. Bernie is an English Shepherd type like I am. Judy is in the middle, and the robed volunteer is Deb. Deb was a student in Sandi & Jenn's class, and she and her whippet Tangie successfully completed their Pet Partner evaluation.

Judy spends time with each handler to give constructive feedback after their evaluation.



For more information visit Delta Society's website at www.deltasociety.org and read about their Pet Partners program.

More Snow! Yippee

What do you know? We woke up this morning and we had snow! That is really amazing, since last night when we went to bed everything was dark and dreary, and this morning it is white and fluffy.






I love snow because it brings out all the great smells outdoors, and I can usually find a critter to dig up. They probably think they are safe under that snow, but they don't know the power of my nose.







Ruby loves the snow too, and so do Sandi's horses. They snort and get silly. Willy is a thoroughbred gelding who is 27 years old now. He wears a blanket to stay warm.

A lucky day for me!

It is always a good sign when Sandi loads me in the car in the morning to take me to the barn. Chances are really good that it means when the horses are fed and the barn chores are done, I will get to track! It was a beautiful morning with a blue sky and a little breezy.

We met my BFF Niamh at Rob and Ann's farm - they are great to let us track in their fields anytime we want. They have wheat planted but they leave the back portion unplanted for us, and for our police to train dogs, family cookouts, pumpkin slingings, etc.

My track started in some taller grass, which is hard for me because I love to critter. Sandi did that deliberately as a training exercise. This time of year there aren't too many critters around. I have learned that it pays to track on through this grass to the really really good stuff later on (grasshoppers are fun, but not as much fun as steak). My track crossed a farm road which was dry packed dirt. The scent changes here, but I didn't have any trouble following it across the road to the next article.

After crossing the road we headed across a field passing a camping spot with a fire pit which was very interesting. I had to spend some time checking it out because of the good smells. Then it was time to get back to the business of tracking. There are lots of different scents here - we have tons of deer (and deer poop) and coyotes and field nesting birds, the other groups who train, camp or party here, plus my crittering fun (grasshoppers, etc.) - did I mention that Rob has a wood cutting business here? He has piles of hardwood and equipment here by his wood barn. What I wouldn't give to root around checking out critters in that barn!

I love tracking - there is nothing I would rather do (except eat maybe). Special thanks to Niamh's person Barbara who took my photos. What a lucky dog I am!

Niamh had a great track. She followed her track along the edge of the woods without getting drawn into the woods smells. Her person Barbara is a dog trainer by profession (and President of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers - www.apdt.com) That keeps Niamh very busy!

Check out her blog "Setter Tails" at my links section.

Oh Happy Day!

Today has been a wonderful day! Sandi was planning to take the day off from work to celebrate the Inauguration of our new President, and when we woke up this morning we had snow !


It is indeed a Happy Day !


Playing in the snow is fun, but I get ice balls on the hair between my toes (I have hobbit feet, and have large tufts of hair that stick up). The ice didn't stick to my English Shepherd teflon coat. Ruby's hair is different and she got icy dreadlocks. The cats wouldn't dream of going out in the snow....

Montana English Shepherd Rescue operations

Details from the Billings Gazette Dec. 30, 2008 - The Yellowstone County Sheriff's Department executed a second search warrant today at Shady Lane Kennels in Ballantine, MT and is in the process of seizing almost 300 dogs (English Shepherds and Pugs) and other animals.

A veterinarian assisting in the seizure said he saw dogs without food, water or adequate shelter. A team of veterinarians is examining the dogs at a temporary clinic at MetraPark, where the dogs will be housed.

The first warrant was issued Dec. 11, and after a four-hour search, officials took 10 dogs that they thought needed immediate veterinary care and discovered 13 dead dogs on the property. At that time, investigators took photos and video footage of the animals, which prompted the second warrant. The Sheriff's Department is still searching for about 50 to 60 pugs that were at the property during the first raid but were gone when authorities moved in Dec. 30.

For a story Jan. 3 from the Billings Gazette see:
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/01/03/news/local/24-vetdogs.txt

National English Shepherd Rescue (NESR) is working to help with the care and potential placement of the ES involved. For anyone wishing to make donations, NESR is setting up a special Montana Rescue Fund. This fund will help with food, supplies, vet care, transportation, or anything else that might be needed for this rescue effort, including helping other rescue groups that may participate in this rescue effort. Any funds left over after the rescue effort is complete and all the these dogs are in forever homes, will go to rescue other English Shepherds in need.

Click on NESR on my links section or visit www.nesr.info/montana.htm for information about how to make a donation.

This breaks my heart, and Sandi's too.

Ayla

A great way to start the year! Happy 2009!

I had a great day on January 1, 2009. It started out as just another day for me (I don't understand all this New Year hoopla), but then we loaded up the car with my tracking gear and treats and we went tracking!!

We met my friend Niamh and her person Barbara on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, and Barbara and Sandi laid tracks for us. Even though classes were out and offices were closed for the holiday, there were people walking and pushing strollers through campus.
















My track started on grass and moved onto shredded mulch, then turned onto a brick sidewalk and followed the sidewalk down the side of a big building, then turned again through more mulch and grass - to the final article. It is a very beautiful place, but not as many squirrels as I remembered from other times - bummer.




Tracking is my very favorite thing to do. I'm lucky to have found something that I love to do, and am good at doing. Barbara took some photos of us (she's very smart and brings her camera!) Thanks Barbara! Niamh had a fun time tracking, too. Check out her blog "Setter Tails."

Finally - I am in a "Parade" (and I'm exhausted)

Wow - no one told me how much excitement there was in a "holiday parade." It started out exciting - but I had no idea! I'm really glad I was with my dog and people friends with Paws4Ever (formerly APS of Orange County), because there were a few times it was really nutty with all the clapping and cheering, and the fire truck right behind us honking (he was told he couldn't use his siren!) I wonder what kind of holiday this is? Now I understand why we did so much 'distraction work.' (between you and me, I think people are a little crazy)

These photos are of us at the start of the parade. Sharon was in the dog costume, and we all had to get used to how different she looked! Since we were really busy during the parade, we couldn't get any photos. Jenn's husband Eric took some action shots, so you'll need to go to Royal's blog, and Niamh has some good photos on her blog, too! You can see our other drill team friends Bernie, Elmo, Jib, Vicki, Penny, Amiga, Casper, Hadji, and their people. This was the first parade for Niamh and Royal, too. And now I have my own bandana (thanks Barbara) and I don't have to borrow Ruby's anymore!

Happy Holidays (is this another food holiday?)
Ayla

A Glorious Day

Well, It has been ages since Sandi has taken time to post on my blog. I've been really bored. We haven't tracked because of the snakes and the farmers who let us use their fields have been harvesting wheat, hay, etc. Sandi has been showing my big sister Ruby to finish two Rally titles - I have been neglected....

But now it's autumn in North Carolina, mornings are a little frosty, the colors and smells are amazing and life is good. Sandi went to the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (www.apdt.com) conference in Louisville, Kentucky a couple weeks ago, and she brought back all sorts of ideas about playing games with dogs, an interactive dog puzzle game (www.nina-ottosson.com) which is very cool - and a bunch of different kinds/flavors of dog treats.

Sandi has been very excited about an election (whatever that is). She did some work with registering voters (whatever that is). And this past Tuesday she stayed up all night watching television. She felt really happy but kinda lousy Wednesday. I really don't understand humans. I think everyone should Wag More and Bark Less. Anyway, now Sandi is walking on sunshine and she says to check out BarkObamablog.com - a blog for dog and cat lovers who support Obama. I think my cat sister Rose got her photo on a website for Cats for Obama. Is there a website for Dogs for Obama?

Wow - Time flies!

I can't believe that three months have passed since Sandi posted last on my blog! But really, I have to confess that in a way it has been nice. It really drives me crazy sometimes how much time a human can spend sitting at a keyboard.

It turns out that early in the summer Sandi's computer started getting really really slow and weird things were happening. So she took the computer to a computer repair shop - after a little while it was sent home with a new hard drive. Then, something else went wrong (I am bored by computer stuff so I didn't pay attention to the details). Something about a 'motherboard.' Anyway, she had a good hard drive, but nothing else.

Then she had to get a new one. Then Herman helped to have a local computer place customize a replacement, which really made Sandi happy because she really doesn't want to mess with those kinds of decisions. The problem was that this new computer went back and forth into the shop until all the kinks were worked out (not sure if that has really happened yet).

The good side of this was that instead of sitting at the keyboard and screen - she was playing with us! She didn't check email anymore, and we got to go on longer walks and play in the yard. I got to chase a groundhog out of the vegetable garden (Sandi wouldn't let me actually catch him - bummer) So while you have been wondering about my blogging, I've been having fun!

We don't have the camera plug-in thing installed yet (I think it's lost somewhere in the office) so you don't have photos with this post. Sandi needs to get this set up, and to carry her camera with us when we head out for training or other adventures.

Tonight we went to APS to practice Rally, and my friend Niamh was there. She has a freestyle routine she and Barbara are polishing for competition. I think Niamh is a born dancer! We also ran into my friend Royal - he is growing up and really really handsome! WOW !

But --- sorry, no photos. Maybe next time. And maybe Sandi can keep up with her computer stuff and still give all of us at home long walks and playtime.

So far you have met Ruby, my Aussie big sister, and Rose, the cat goddess. This post I'd like to introduce one of Sandi's horses, Annie. Her full name is D'Annalynn. She is a Hanoverian mare - and she just had her 18th birthday! Sandi got her when she was about 4 years old, and Sandi spent a lot of time training her and taking her to shows. Annie won the Filly of 1990 class at Dressage at Lexington (VA) Breeding show, and she qualified in 1997 for the Bengt Ljungquist finals at Training Level. Sandi said the finals were great fun, although it was pouring rain.

Of course all of this was before I was even born, but Sandi and Annie have done a lot of training together. In November 2007 Annie got a fungal infection penetrating her hoof wall (white line disease). It was a very opportunistic infection with some coffin bone rotation; Annie had to have a hoof resection, meaning that part of her hoof wall had to be removed. So Sandi spends a lot of time with Annie while her hoof grows out, keeping her feet dry and serious farrier work (and lots of radiographs). I've been around Sandi's horses a little, and they are really big. I think it's best I stay clear of them, and respect them - definitely no chasing!

More of my family

I did promise awhile back to tell you about other members of my family. There are two cats in MY house, Rose and Belle. Belle has no interest in me. My person Sandi says that Rose was worshipped in a former life, and Rose sure acts like it sometimes. She was Miss November in the APS of Orange County (NC) 2003 calendar, and you'd think she was Miss Universe!

She is a very petite gray cat (Sandi calls her a silver tabby, which I think is silly) and truth be known, she looks like an overgrown squirrel. She spends a lot of time on top of Sandi's computer, with her head hanging off the edge of the monitor. Sometimes she wants to play with me, and I get the funniest feeling that she is playing mind games with me though. We don't get to play if Ruby is nearby, because Ruby protects Rose and puts herself between us. Obviously Rose has Ruby under some kind of mind control.

My life is very busy!

Wow - I've been so busy and Sandi is very behind in keeping all my activities posted on my blog. (we need to have a talk about this!)

First of all, the VST (variable surface tracking) workshop in February with Ed Presnall and Mary Thompson was so exciting! There were 18 dog and handler teams working, plus a lot of auditors without their dogs. I really like Ed - he is a very successful trainer, judge and author, and likes to motivate people and their dogs. The working dogs (including me!) ran tracks both Saturday and Sunday through the campus of Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, NC. My track began on a strip of pinestraw/grass, turned onto a brick area, then onto a sidewalk, up concrete steps and into a bricked courtyard (along the way I picked up a chicken leg from someone's lunch but Sandi made me give it up - with VST you have the opportunity to find real good stuff laying around!)

Sandi had a great time and learned a lot -she was very proud of me.

Next on our calendar was our ASCA tracking test (TD) last weekend. We had been working hard to prepare and our friend Gretchen was coaching us. The test morning was really cold. Sandi drew track 4 and we waited for our turn. Gretchen entered with her Weim "Obie" and drew the first track. When our turn came, we had to get in the car and drive to the field. I could tell Sandi was excited and nervous at the start flag (we need to work on this part!). I finally got started on my track, which went down the side of a hill, we turned a corner and then the whistle blew. Bummer. We restarted and then off we went again and I quickly found the glove at the end. I'll have to try this again after we work on accuracy and starts.

I've had an easy week this week - except my stomach was a little upset. It's better now. Sandi and I tracked on Monday and Friday, and this morning Sandi and I went to the Animal Protection Society training facility to work on some APDT Rally course work. If you go to my friend Niamh's blog you can see some photos (her person Barbara is much more on the ball about posting photos and updates!) Sandi will try to get a photo up here also.

Training is really fun, whether it's tracking (my favorite) or doing drill team or rally moves. I really am a lucky dog!

more tracking...

Sandi is telling me that this coming weekend is going to be very exciting and fun. We are going to a 2-day VST tracking workshop in Pinehurst, NC.

I can't think that far ahead really, all I am thinking about is today. This morning we headed off early to run in the dog park, and what do you know!!?? There was Jenn and Big Sandy, Bernie, and a puppy. Turns out the puppy was Royal! Finally we got to meet and play and RUN. We ran a lot. It was great! You can find a link to Royal's blog on my page. There are photos of him there - he is very cute!

So..Sandi says that tomorrow we will run some fun short tracks to get ready for the weekend. I'll blog again soon to let you know how the weekend workshop goes (if I can get Sandi to type it for me - she seems so busy...)

Blogging Dogs

One of my human friends, Jenn, has a new dog in her family. I first met Jenn soon after I joined Sandi's family, and later when I joined the APS Drill Team - there was Jenn again with her dogs Big Sandy and Bernie! (Bernie looks like an English Shepherd like me!)

Jenn's new dog is an Australian Shepherd puppy named Royal (my 'big' sister Ruby is an Australian Shepherd). Jenn is a dog trainer and has her own business "Blue Dog Canine Coaching" and Royal is helping by talking about dog training on his new blog named 'The Life of Royal.'

I've added Royal's blog to my list of Dog Blogs. Check it out! And while you are checking out Dog Blogs on my site, go to Niamh's 'Setter Tails' blog. Niamh's special person Barbara is also a dog trainer. I read their blogs so that I can learn from them.

Holiday Time

I have heard so much about "parades" lately, and our APS drill team met for practices downtown to prepare...and I admit I didn't always behave well...anyway, I didn't get to be in the parades after all. Sandi took me to one parade to train. I couldn't believe all the people and marching bands and horses! Such noise and chaos! The other dogs in the drill team seemed calm. I guess I have a lot to learn.

It turns out that our drill team director Barbara (my friend Niamh's special person) was named "Grand Marshall" of our local Holiday Parade. Sandi called the parade moves for the drill team while Barbara got to ride in a fancy car. And Niamh and I had to stay home. Maybe next year ~

The holiday time was fun though. We had a tree in our house and it seemed that new dog toys were turning up everywhere! The cats even got toys - I don't know why because they will play with crumpled up paper - why get them toys?

Sandi had some photographs taken of me this autumn. My "big sister" Ruby was in some of them. I've been wanting to share photos of my family members, so here is a photo of us girls (dogs - no cats!) Ruby is an Australian Shepherd and has lived with Sandi for 9 years. She's done a lot of fun things - drill team, herding sheep, Rally obedience, agility, visiting with children in the hospital Pediatric Psychiatry unit, Ronald McDonald House, children in the county schools exceptional child program and in a neuropsychiatry clinic. She even has her portrait and story in a book! However, she does not track!

I hope to have more fun news about my dog's life soon - people have this funny way of getting excited about when the year changes. I just think that life goes on....Chris (Trotter's person) has a bumper sticker "Wag More, Bark Less" I think that is a good thing ~

I have been after my special person Sandi to put up photos of my family members (Ruby, Rose, Belle, Annie and Willy) and she has been really busy and hasn't gotten to it. But today is a very special day for me and for Sandi, and so I want to write about that.

I really love to track. We took instruction from Gretchen and Marge at Bon-Clyde (their classes were fun!) Tracking has helped me learn how to concentrate, discriminating one scent from another (and there are millions of scents out there!)

Today we had a training session in Vass, NC with Ed Presnall (tracking trainer, judge & author, from Pawmark & TCoW in Wisconsin). He laid several tracks for us, and one was a regulation TD track, and I worked very hard getting to the final article. We had to stop several times to pick sand burrs. Sandi said she was very proud of me.

Ed said that he would certify my track for ASCA TD. Sandi is very happy and excited, and again told me how proud she is of me. She knew how hard my track was, and that even though I had to track through sand burrs, I kept working hard to find the final article. Ed said I was a great tracking dog and he liked me a lot....and he had never seen an English Shepherd work tracks.

What I really liked was that I got an egg and cheese biscuit at the end of each track.