I am a child of August, born on August 11th 47 years ago. Where has the time gone? I remember August days, riding our bikes, climbing trees, swimming in the gravel pit, trying to get the courage to go off the high dive. I remember riding my pony bareback across the fields at a gallop, and playing […]
Posted on August 24th, 2008
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Yesterday we went up to Kim’s to herd sheep. We hadn’t been there for a few weeks, and Chase was off. He didn’t have his usual flair for moving the sheep, and didn’t stay on contact. I think maybe the household dynamics are bothering him. Cay is getting bolder and is pestering him a lot […]
Posted on August 18th, 2008
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There are some things about becoming an author that I hadn’t given a lot of thought to. I was mostly focused on the writing and book production, then sales and marketing, to get the story out to people. On Saturday evening, some friends threw me a wonderful book launch party here at my home obedience […]
Posted on August 18th, 2008
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I haven’t written much lately because I’ve been busy with the business of launching a book and putting together a new website. But I want to mention how much Cay has come out of her shell lately and learned from the other dogs. She has learned to retrieve the ball and bring it back to […]
Posted on July 31st, 2008
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Neither Bandit nor Chase has been a counter surfer or a thief, which may surprise some of you. Bandit is a purebred Australian Cattle Dog and Chase, we think, is an ACD-Collie mix. Cay, on the other hand, is getting bolder and bolder around our house. She has taken to checking what is on the […]
Posted on July 20th, 2008
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We went back to Gene’s for the second time to work cattle. First we worked with Bandit on leash in the small paddock area with 3 cattle again. We worked him on moving the cattle in a circle, both clockwise and counterclockwise. We practiced moving them at a steady speed, giving them time to turn the […]
Posted on July 19th, 2008
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Today we went to sheep herding lessons. Bandit and Chase both got to work sheep. They have such different styles; it’s interesting working with one, then the other. I had to work hard to manage Bandit to move the sheep around the field. Especially after working cattle with him, he seemed like overkill on sheep. […]
Posted on July 13th, 2008
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Yesterday Bandit and I got to work cattle for the second time. We found a beef cattle farm within 15 minutes of our house. Gene has Aussies (Australian Shepherds) and runs ranch trials occasionally. He was recommended to me by some Aussie people. We started out by sorting out cattle from the herd so that […]
Posted on July 13th, 2008
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There has been an ongoing discussion about people who let their dogs jump on or otherwise molest a strange dog without asking permission. Click here for a fantastic article by Suzanne Clothier about dog behavior, explaining perfectly why my dog Bandit tries to correct misbehaving dogs, and how their owners usually just don’t get how rude […]
Posted on July 9th, 2008
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Over the holiday weekend, I took Chase along to visit my family in Wisconsin. Bandit and Cay stayed at my friend Becky’s place in Minnesota. I took Chase along because he had a sore back and I thought he could use some time away from the other dogs to recuperate. He is also a sensitive soul […]
Posted on July 6th, 2008
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