Ricky took over the #1 chore dog role yesterday, not just because I used him but also by the quality of work he provided. This is a different dog, he is way more relaxed then I have ever seen him which allows me to trust him most anywhere around the ewes and lambs. Even when one of the ewes with new lambs took advantage of the situation and pounded on him he just stayed put, took the hit and walked up calmly with authority. The reaction the ewe had was priceless, I think she expected him to retreat or blow a gasket, the fact that he stayed the course threw her for a loop, she quickly gathered up her lambs and moved on and was rewarded, Ricky didn't even offer his old tendency of getting the last word via a cheap shot.
That little change in Ricky's attitude was worth the money and time spent, and for the most part was what I was struggling to get. I felt confident that over time I would get there and wear Ricky down but I also had a feeling that Marc could get there quicker leaving me to enjoy the summer trialing and using my dog instead of fighting with him waiting for him to give up battling with me. After using him yesterday my feelings have been confirmed, we can now move on forward gaining more expirence handling different livestock in different situations. I have faith that handling Ricky after he has been so drastically changed by Marc will help me find my way on the next dog so that I don't end up stalled in the same place with a different dog.
Patty is the next young dog in line for training. She is a different cat then Ricky, softer with a ton of feel and drive. My thought is that she will have more in common with Jake when it comes to what she offers and the trials and tribulations we encounter during our training sessions.
Puppies...
On a different note, Ricky's first pups are 3 1/2 weeks old, I'm going to try to get some pictures of the tribe (3 males/3 females). Early evaluations of temperment and reaction to pressure has revealed one male with hyper sensitivity. Yesterday Dixie corrected him and he went off by himself to sulk. His future as a top notch stockdog is bleak, we will have to wait to see if he will be able to handle the pressure of pet life, for use as a hobby herding dog or if with proper handling combined with strong stock drive if he can learn to overcome his temperment, stranger things have happened, Jake comes to mind.
There is another male that is outgoing and bold, he shows great resolve to get what he wants, he is not easily discouraged and takes corrections from mom in stride. I like him, but time will tell as to how trainable he is.
On the female side we have a brash female that has quite a temper and she bites like a little tiger shark, good thing she does not have teeth yet, I would have harpoon marks on my hand. And then there is the little peanut that stays back out of trouble but stands out from the pack by displaying cute little attention gaining antics.
That leaves a male and a female that are not giving me enough to get a good read on them yet, the male is outgoing and appears to show signs of boldness and the female...well...she is just a black and white puppy.
It's amazing what these little pups can show us at such a young age if we are just willing to look and be open minded, granted these evaluations tell me little to nothing about stock drive and talent, but I feel they do help me determine what I have to work with from a training and relationship standpoint, along with helping me identify weaknesses. There are some traits that I have no issue dealing with and actually look forward to seeing, some that I refuse to work with and others that I find a challenge and I want to take on just to see if I can.
We will have another Ricky litter due in about 60 days, Kess whose sire and dam are both imports had her first cover yesterday. I am also planning on mating Ricky to Bea, this spring/summer. I know it seems like a lot of pups but I want to get a solid idea of what type of female yields the most talented and trainable working pups, we will then determine which females we will keep for the future.
The ultimate goal is to be able to produce more pups simular to Ricky, strong, talented, early starting and relatively easy to train. Ricky was a useful stockdog having all his commands and able to be used on cattle and sheep at the age of 12 months out in open fields, Wayne even took him out horseback, a person could have gotten a lot of work done with him before he went out for training. His work was by far not shiney and trial worthy, but it was very useful, though I did win a paycheck in November at a trial with him. His time spent with Marc was about refinement and fine tuning, the part of training that I have yet to master and actually wonder if I want to, much easier to let Marc do it and I wonder if the handler/trainer change is in the long run really good for the dog.
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