Working in the big field with Jet and Ted

Ted in action

Last night I was invited to join some Border Collie friends in a big field to work sheep. I admit I was a little on edge because Jet and Ted don't get a chance to do a lot of herding these days, as I have no sheep and there are no nearby training opportunities. There were enough experienced people and dogs around to save me if there was a wreck...but there was NO wreck, in fact the dogs did amazingly well! They did better than their handler who sometimes was heard to utter the wrong flank (d-oh!). I ran each of them twice. I also had the pleasure of watching Randy Dye, Penny Caster, Abe Marshall and Don Grant work their dogs.

Here is a little slide show of my Jet and Ted working in the big field. Thanks to Randy Dye for taking photos!

So apparently you can click on the little coloured circle in the corner to view a larger size of this slideshow...just pass your cursor over the slideshow image for the circle image to appear (joys of technology)...




The sheep are Katahdins, owned by Louanne Twa but staying with Randy Dye for now. There were also some Ramboullet wool sheep there, so the dogs could work some heavier sheep.

So...after the high of working sheep last night, I am left feeling very frustrated with the lack of nearby opportunities to keep this up! AAAHHH! When you work full time and live in town, it is very hard to fit everything in and all of the driving required to get to places where you can train.

I spent a good hour again on the MLS listings. It seems like the best bet to get some land and sheep would be to move back to Northwestern Ontario, LOL. How ironic is that, after moving to Alberta to follow a dream of Border Collies and sheep?

I apologize for sounding frustrated. But seeing my dogs so happy, and feeling so great out in the field with them reminded me of why I came here. And they are such good dogs, to go to waste. BIG SIGH.

Anyhow, here are some of my favourite photos from last night. A BIG thanks to Randy Dye who clicked away while I worked. He is a real gem, a nice man, knowledgable and so positive.

Jet is a speed demon but she felt good last night and listened really well. Maturity suits this girl.
She is an awesome worker with so much to give. Sometimes I can't believe she is my dog!

Ted is so athletic. I just love this dog. He wants so badly to please and puts his heart into his work.

That'll do Jet!

That'll do Ted!