Working Skar

Went to Janie's on Sunday.  Kirk took a ton of photos for me.  Skar is working beautifully ... reminds me so much of her dad.  So far, it seems, she's everything I've been looking for.  Very natural balance, is pacing on her own, afraid of nothing, comes between the fence and the stock without a problem, downs herself when she feels she needs to release some pressure, etc.  What I'd like to start working on with her is having her start to bend off my pressure.  She likes to come straight up the middle, so we need to work on that.  And it just so happens we have a clinic coming up.  Woo hoo! 

 

Here's a few of the photos Kirk took:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another Southpaw

Yes, Grace is also a Southpaw!

Worked her today with Jen's help. She is just lovely. She is stopping on balance, is not afraid to walk in the pressure. Has no problem coming between the fence and the sheep. Has no problem peeling the sheep right off the fence. She's pretty tight on her right side ... and pretty lovely on her left.

Jaenne took some video for me, and as soon as she sends that to me, I'll post it ... well, the good parts anyway. ;-)

Happy herding!
Jodi

Shannahan Clinic

I sent my entry off today for the Patrick Shannahan clinic. I'm very excited about it. I've lived in Idaho for almost 4 years now, and have never taken a lesson with him. Woo hoo! I'll be taking Grace ...



Jodi

Sheep Stuff

Ok ... I think this will be the final post to get everyone up to date.

Sheeps! We had a couple of lambs at the end of last year. They are probably Dorper x Katahdin crosses. Cute as cute can be. See?

Lamb #1:



And Lamb #2 when she was first dropped:



A couple of weeks later:





We also bought 7 new purebred Dorper sheep, with one ewe lamb by the side of one of the ewes. I don't have pictures of those yet, but I will soon.

My friend Jen was kind enough to work Echo (I keep wanting to call her Kiva) for me last week. She did awesome! Here she is at 7 months old:





And here she is ... all so proud of herself!



Oh, yes ... the snow. We have been getting some of that. Isn't it gorgeous?





Oh, and one more thing ... in the middle of all this chaos, Phyllis and I rescued a "purebread" Border Collie. We went to go pick her up, and I couldn't help but to laugh out loud. She is so adorable, but she is so not a Border Collie. She is a Bearded Collie mix, with a lovely lovely lovely personality to match this adorable face!



I handed her off to rescue, and she now has a wonderful home here in Boise. Woo hoo!

Ok ... I think that's it. We have weekly herding lessons going on ... and we have a couple of fun days coming up, and also a clinic. The AHBA trial is set for May. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to working dogs soon and will have updates for you on Grace, Tess and Echo.

Happy herding everyone!
Jodi

Happy Ewe Year Fun Day at Ohadi Ranch

Well, I wasn't able to participate, but I went and hung out at Janie's for the fun day on New Year's day. The wind was whipping, and it was blistery cold out, but everyone hung in there and it seemed that everyone had a great time! If you'd like more information about Gem State Herding, please go to Gem State Herding. Here are a few photos from the Fun Day!









Janie baked a ton of potatoes, Kirk made chili, and everyone brought all the toppings for the potatoes, and it made for the perfect lunch on a nice cold day! And now, thanks to the fun day, people are taking weekly lessons, so hopefully I'll see you all on the trial field for our trial coming up in May! Woo hoo!

Jodi

Surgery

As many of you know, I had surgery on December 19th. I had a Medial Epicondilectomy on my left elbow, a piece of my ulna bone shaved off at my left wrist, and a ganglian cyst removed from my left wrist. Yes, I am left-handed! I am still recovering and am unable to work dogs until I am prepared to fall. Here are a couple of pictures of what my scars looked like two days ago.





(That was the best I could do with taking a photo of my elbow. If you think it's easy, try it! LOL)

So, it's healing, and I'm anxious to get back to working dogs. In the meantime, I just get to drool as I watch everyone else work.

Jodi

Puppies!

Jenn (x Zip) gave birth to 6 puppies on November 14, 2007! There were 5 females and 1 male. 3 red merle girls, 1 blue merle girl, 1 black and white girl, and 1 red and white boy. Here they are as itty bitty puppies:



Perdi is now known as RR Mocha Express (aka "Mo") and is owned by Jaenne, a friend of mine who is involved with Gem State Herding with her Aussie.



Pongo is now known as RR Foxy Rommel and is owned by Kat in Eastern Idaho. Kat also owns Deucey from last year's Zip x Jenn litter -- a littermate to my Grace.



And here's a shot of him with his brother, Deucey:



Cinders is now known as __________ and is owned by Karen Early here in Boise.



Inky is now known as RR Scout and is owned by Katy here in Boise. Katy is also involved with Gem State with her Aussie.



Freckles is now known as RR Powder Keg (aka "Peeka-Boom") and is owned by Rrie in Salmon, Idaho!



Splatters is now known as RR Rio and was kept by Melissa.



A random shot:

Still updating last year ...

November ...

Gem State Herding had their first trial. It was a huge success! It was an AHBA trial, complete with an HCT, JHD, HTAD, and HRD. I ran Zip both days in HTAD III and HRD III and qualified on all four runs, giving us our HTAD III and HRD III titles, plus three points towards our herding championship (HTCH). Obtaining these titles was the last qualification that I had to meet in order to become an AHBA judge. I've applied and was approved in December. Here's a couple of shots from the trial.











Can't wait to do it again!

Jodi

The New Year!

Wow! I haven't updated this thing since September? Well I guess I'd better get busy ...

I don't remember what I did for the remainder of September. In October, Grace came to live with me. Grace is a Jenn x Zip pup from the 2006 litter. She didn't have much in the way of manners or training when I first got her, but she's come a long way now. She is just a lovely addition to the crew here at Hay Ewe. She is goofy in all the good ways.





Here's a photo with her brother, Rook:



We've put Grace on sheep a few times, and she is going to be so fun to work with! I can't wait!

More to come,
Jodi