Wilson's Winnings on Wordless Wednesday

Jimmy is usually the recipient of my performance praises. He is a high drive boy who loves to work. But before I even had Jimmy, there was Wilson doing his best! He may not have had Jimmy's love of agility, but he loved to please and earned plenty of ribbons himself......

On the left, Agility. Top right three, Herding, and lower right, Rally.

Jimmy's thinking "Just wait til she does MY post like this!!!"

Sheep Herding for the Suburban Corgi

When getting out to the country for some lessons on herding sheep isn't possible, you can always go Jimmy's route. But be warned, it's noisy! Turn down those speakers.....

Have a great weekend, Everyone!

Kicking Up Dust!

Here's another photo courtesy of Anne. I really like this one because Jimmy is moving so fast he's kicking up dust! I also love the body language he is displaying. His head is down and you can just see how very focused he is on the task of getting that sheep. I also like the way the white tip of his tail stands out. All in all, a great action shot!

Click to enlarge


Also, the professional photgrapher has his pictures posted as of today. Click HERE  if you want to see those. Look for the Saturday Herding Test in the second row. Wilson is the 2nd dog and Jimmy is a bit further on.

The Weekend Report - Now for Something Completely Different!

This weekend, the Chesapeake Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club held it's annual herding trial. After our impromptu lesson back in March , I set myself a goal of being ready for the Herding Test for this trial. So on three fridays in May, and this past friday, Wilson, Jimmy and I have trekked out to the country early in the morning before work to get in lessons. I can without a shadow of a doubt say that they LOVED it! I enjoyed it as well.

Yesterday was sunny and quite warm and of course, just like Novice Agility, the beginners doing the Herding Test waited until the end of the day. I was kind of hoping the heat would slow them down just a tad, but it really didn't. Wilson went first and I quickly learned the trial sheep are MUCH more flighty than the ones we had trained on. Wilson gets in a bit too close, and this scattered them several times making it hard to get in my 3 passes at the cones. But eventually, as he tired in the heat, we got it done. Fortunately he listened when I called him to me to finish the exercise. It wasn't too pretty, but it was a qualifying run. Woohoo!

Jimmy went several dogs later. He gave me a gorgeous stay to start, and since he works at a better distance off of the sheep, we were able to get around the cones quite quickly, and he also came when called! He got it done in just a few seconds over one minute compared to Wilson's four plus minutes. He also qualified. Woohoo!

Today, it was another hot day. Wilson pretty much did a repeat performance. He scattered the sheep every which way but we eventually finished the cones and he came to me to finish the exercise. He didn't really want it to be over, but was very hot from his efforts, so it was good we were done. He hopped right into one of the stock tanks to cool off. He did manage to qualify so he can (AKC pending) add HT to the end of his name!

Jimmy had the last run of the class and he too repeated his nice job. We were in and out in a little over a minute, starting with a nice stay and ending with a successful recall. So Jimmy too can sport the HT letters after his name. Both judges complimented Jimmy's work, one by leaving a comment on the scribe sheet and the other as she handed out the ribbons so I guess he really did do a good job of it. Poor Wilson did not receive any kudos, but of course he doesn't know that and he still had alot of fun.

Here we are getting our ribbons at the end of the day today.....

The club gave out really pretty ribbons with a cute Cardi logo in the center.

We had to wait while the Pre-trial class ran before the ribbons were ready, so here is Jimmy just chilling out.

All in all, a very fun and satisfying weekend! I am proud of my boys!

More Herding Pictures

Here are some more photos of our day out in the country. Originally, my intention was just to go out and watch Claire's and Bobby's lesson and get in a little visit. As it turned out, the person taking a lesson after Claire cancelled, leaving an opportunity I just couldn't pass up! The sheep are in Berryville, Va. at a place called Keepstone Farm . If you are interested in herding lessons, this is the place to be!

In this first picture (and all photo credits go to Claire who did a fabulous job taking pictures of my guys), Wilson, who is easily put off by strangers, is sassing the teacher, Susan. Her stick had a noisemaker can attached, and he did not appreciate that!

His interest started to kick in and so the can became less annoying!

Keeping his distance.....

I started with Wilson because I expected him to be calmer. Jimmy raised a rukus in my car while waiting for his turn, but more due to jealousy over Wilson having fun than wanting to get to the sheep. He was actually a tad more hesitant than Wilson and took a while to get going. Actually they both performed very true to their herding evaluations at last year's National Specialty in Gettysburg.

Going this way.....

Going back the other way.....I love how the three sheep are lined up by size!

And performing a nice sit/stay to finish the lesson.

Both boys seemed pretty pleased with their morning and went right to sleep on the ride home. I bet they are both hoping that another trip to the farm happens soon!