Coolhand Luc, Then and Now

These 2 pictures are of Luc at 10 weeks old and the first day I met him and he stole my heart.
Luc got his 3rd Starters Standard run last night and another Steeplechase run.
He is now in Advance standard. He has 2 Advance Gamblers, one more to go and he is up in Masters. He still needs one more Starters Jumpers and Snooker.
He has started to test his contacts and has self released a couple of times. He is very eager. That's ok... he reminds me to stick to my criteria and he needs to be reinforced for when he does them correctly. He also needs to have quick releases mixed in with times of having to hold them. This is also true for the start lines.
I have watched Rachel Sanders DVD Bridging the Gap, between Training and Competition for Contacts. Really liked her ground work and last winter Luc and I worked on the flat work without equipment. Then through the spring and summer transferred it to the contacts. I really liked what she does on this DVD. It made sense to me.
It was one of many components I used to teach Luc his contacts.

Then (May 2009) & Now (Dec. 2009)

Picture of our training field in May and the field now. My husband clears a path so we can walk the dogs there.
Maybe only 3 1/2 months till we get back out there.
We were able to start classes this last spring in April. Hopefully that will happen again for 2010.

Merry Christmas !

Wishing everyone the very best Christmas ever!
Cavall 7 yrs, Reba 11 yrs, Luc 21 months, Lessa 12 yrs

-35 this morning , no wind

-35 this morning, there was no wind , so was bearable enough for the dogs and I to do 2 laps around the field. My husband keeps a path cleared around the fence line so we can walk in the field. Luc is never still. Running, running. I think he figured out if you keep moving your feet do not freeze. The 2 old ones, Lessa 12 and Reba 11 walk right behind me waiting to go back to the house for breakfast. Cavall runs around with a stick, sometimes lies in the snow and shreds it.
Our older sons are coming down next week and we are having Christmas early this year, on the 23rd. This weekend was productive, Christmas pudding, shortbread, gingerbread, Carmel popcorn all made plus the tree up. Still have butter tarts and muffins to make and last minute shopping. We will have 3 of our 4 grandkids here. One is almost 15 months old. Should be fun with the tree and all the Christmas decorations.

DAL trial

Yes I drove to Edmonton on Friday. When I left Olds at 9 am I got on the #2 and got as far as Bowden and turned off and went for coffee at a friends. I was debating to wait till early Saturday morning ( 4 am ). Glad I did not.
I phoned friends in Red Deer to see if they were still going. They were. We met up in Red Deer at noon.
To get to Red Deer I drove the 2A. It was a very good choice. the hiway was snow covered , hardly any traffic and visibility was good.
Trip to Edmonton was twice as long as usuall as we drove mostly at 80kms. Sometimes slower.
Mostly both lanes were clear of snow, slippery sections, visibility was still good.
The wind however was really pushing on the van.
The big 4x4 trucks blasted past us and shortly ended up in the ditch. My little van and I tootled along and made it without any scary incidents.
At the trial boys did fairly well, not alot of Q's , lots of learning stuff, especially with Luc. I really, really have to pay attention "all the time" where on the course he needs the collection cues...will someone hit me on the side of the head to remind me?!!!
Standard and jumpers were the NQ's, gamblers on the other hand were unbelievable...
Luc was in his first Advance gamblers, under Christina, there was 2 mini gambles, one worth 14 pts with 12 weaves and a tunnel and the other was 12 pts with 3 jumps which included the 4 pointer. He got both those twice which left us at 52. Then we did the wall twice, teeter some other jumps and tunnels.then I was left standing wondering where to go next as I ran out of obstacles to do.Christina laughed, she knew exactly why I stood there. Finally the whistle blew and he blasted the main gamble and got it!!! When the dust had settled he ended up with 130 POINTS!!! Now that blew my mind. I have gotten just over a 100 with Cavall once or twice , but this? What a start to the weekend!
His second advance gamblers he earned 84 points. one more advance and he is in Masters.
What a dog!

remembering the special ones

This is Lisa Von Birkland, our beautiful intelligent pure of heart, German shepherd. She passed away 2 months before her 14 birthday.
1980-1994

Lisa came from working lines,
her father was:
Ulk vom Bungalow SchH III AD KK1 11a who was originally
from Germany
her mother was:
Katja Vom Bergmannshof SchH I AD KK1 Ia, also originally from Germany

She was with our 4 boys and was the best dog ever, so kind and gentle with kids, She actually got some kids over their fear of dogs.
Always remembered with love, Thank you Lisa!

Brrrrrrr

Its here, - 21 this morning,
winter tires on today. Starting to get ready for the DAL trial. Long underwear and wool socks will be packed.
Dogs are in the house alot more now. Sleeping inside.
Cats have the heater on full blast in the "cat house"
Mama cat who is 16 1/2 yrs old does not want in the house, probaly because she has always been an outside cat.
Cheech our 12 1/2 yr old cat and is a huge one ( 18 lbs ) is helping to keep her warm.
Luc loves the cold and the belgians are having a hard time walking in it.

sheep

Yesterday Luc went chasing sheep! When he was 9 months old he did really well, than at 1 year old he was not interested.
Yesterday we opened the gate and he ran in, 3 sheep went in 3 different directions. We let him have fun. Now I want to go back and see how he progresses with this.
Thanks Lou! Isla too. I think she got him all riled up, thinking he was a stud muffin and the sheep let him blow off steam. Luc is very sensitive and always wants to do what is asked of him. I think the instinct will come out even more if we just get out and do this.

Thoughts

Luc has been in 2 trials, Our first one was our group, Training Troop trial in Oct.
He was just in 2 runs per day. Our next trial was in Calgary at the CAA Nov. trial.
He was entered in everything. I was very pleased with him.

Words that people have used to describe him are, kind, common sense, thoughtful, and the latest one is peaceful. I agree with these descriptions of him.
Do not let these words foolyou into thinking of a easy,loping dog on course. He is a speedster.

We had to move our equipement out of the arena for 2 weeks as they are having a couple of cow sales in there. So I brought some equipement home. Teeter, jumps, weaves and tunnels.
Today we are going to do some jump grids.

Australian Kelpie Wranglar Lilly burradooranch.com

This is Luc's mom working in the sheep station in Australia before she was imported to the US

Cavall's Steeplechase Championship Regionals 2009

Regional Championships 2009

Luc first trial

ouch was really a ouch!!!!

4 broken ribs......from the first accident. Then this last Tuesday afternoon, Cavall and Luc collide while chasing balls, smack right into Luc's right side, ribs bowed out, got xrays this morning, everything is good, found the "healed" ribs from the first collision. must be muscle, so off to the Canine Fitness Center

Luc's first trial

Luc earned 2 qualifying runs in his first trial!
I got everything I asked from him. I made a handling mistake in the jumpers and standard and did not support a couple of the jumps and he pulled off them.
Next time I am going to be the handler this dog deserves!!!
A dear friend of mine, Penny, videoed our steeplechase run that we "Qed" and placed
2nd in. Dogs of all levels compete at this game masters to starters.
a beautiful border, Blue Eye Skye , master level dog was first.... Watch out Skye, Luc loves to catch the girls!

Please find the link to YouTube in the side bar to watch Luc run his Steeplechase.

Luc's Ouch

Well Luc is hurt. He ran into a steel pipe racing with his "brother" Craig.
He is quite bruised and stiff with swelling. Happened at 8:30 yesterday morning. I had an appointment scheduled with the Canine Fitness center for Luc and Cavall's regular check up, so if it was going to happen, yesterday was the day.
Margert said he was very lucky not to have broken any ribs. Has it was he had ribs, spine, hip and pelvis that were out. He was adjusted, treated with laser and about 45 minutes with the magnetic blanket. Cold packs applied when we got home, and leash walking for a few days. No agility for 2-3 weeks. Oh boy that will be a long time.
Luc is in very good condition which probably helped not be any worse and hopefully with being young he will mend quickly. He goes back in for reassessment on Oct. 19.

update stuff

We are "fostering" a border collie for a dear friend. Craig is a very sweet boy who loves a good time. Luc and Craig are best buds and race around the field neck to neck! Craig is a very busy boy, loves to escape out of the 6 foot dog runs. climbs right out from the ground up. We now have a roof over top.
one night he comes in the house to sleep in the crate, was before we had the roof over the run, and he sees Luc in the front room and its yipppee time! over the lazy boy rocker, across the back of the couch. He got one more lap in before I closed my mouth in shock and hollered at him. He comes over and sits beside me with a grin and shining eyes, "that was fun mom". Luc was in shock too, he just stayed in one spot and watched him.
so the next morning Francis lets him out of the crate, I am in the bedroom making the bed, next thing I know a flying border collie lands on the bed in a beautiful down and a big grin!! We are enjoying him !
You have to realize our dogs are not allowed on the furniture or beds, because Francis is allergic to them.

long time coming!!! continued...

2 days back from nationals I was off to a Dr. Jean Dodds seminar. Wow! very informative. Damn vaccinations!!! Cavall's eyes flared up the first time was 2 weeks after shots. He was diagnosed with pannus. 1 year later low thyhorid.
Needless to say no more shots, titers only.

I got Luc's titers done also. He had recieved 1 set of shots at 8 weeks and then another at about 16 weeks. This was distemper and parvo. He was 16 months old when we did the titers and his immune levels are very high and she said we should not have to retest for another 3 years. Luc will be 4 yrs old then!!!!
also had his titers tested for Rabies. He had one shot at 5 months of age. levels are excellent.
Dr. Dodds also suggested for puppies that they have the shots split and the amount they get should be done by their weight. should be distemper wait 2 weeks then the parvo.
no 3, 4 or 5 ways. If they have a reaction how will you know what too?
The immune diseases that over vaccinating cause is horrendous.

long time coming!!!

Boy oh boy, I have not blogged forever!!
Lots of news,
Cavall was 1st at regionals in his height division. His points were not has high as the year before, but ok. Cavall has been having some problems. We are not sure whether it is his eyes, vets thinking it was cataracts or PRA (progressive Retina Atrophy)He has been doing some very strange things on course. bars coming down, running past equipment, not driving out to tunnels,stopping dead in front of jumps.
have him regularly checked out at the Canine Fitness Centre so pretty sure it is not physical. They are even saying it could be neurological.
I have lowered him to 16" vet. We are also heading back to the eye specialist in 2 weeks. We did a full blood panel and it is good, we just had to adjust his thyroid meds to a bit lower. Ah, my very special needs dog. Only I love him and he really does not want to have a lot of friends.

Cavall and I drove out to Ottawa. It was a great drive and I loved the travelling with him. We slept in the van a few nights, no worries with him beside me and my finger on the panic button of the key chain.
The first day of nationals was very bright sunny day and that is where he had problems. 2nd day was very cloudy and rainy. He did very well, but it was too little too late.

Luc 17 months Sept 2009 Keats Seminar

Enjoy!!

Regionals Fun Match June 6th

Regionals is fast approaching. It is being held in Leithbridge this year. The groups there are well organized and I am sure it will be a fantatic event.
I am offering a Regionals warm up event on Saturday June 6th.
start time is 11am until we are finished
we will start with a gamblers, followed by standard and jumpers.
cost is $5 per run or $12 for 3
things to bring are:
shade
chairs
lunch
plenty of fluids.....
we will have a BBQ / potluck after
bring your own meat, something for the potluck table to share, and your refreshments
there will be a port-a-potty on site
email for directions and more info : flcaugh4@telus.net
please check back here on Friday and I will confirm that it is a go, weather permitting. ( it is looking good so far)

Coolhand Luc

Luc is really getting to understand the weaves. also I am realizing to keep my arms /hands still when running him as he responds to pressure with the slightest flick of movement. and he does lovely outruns when that happens

Cavall march 2009 TT trial

I love running agility with Cavall, he does awesome for a 62 lb dog, great speed and jumping style

Well, only in Alberta...

4 pm this afternoon out at the agility field training my dogs. Warm enough to take off a jacket.
Walk back to the house, by 5:30 pm the ground is covered with 2 inches of snow!!!
Come on now, just stay warm! Thats it! move on snow, go away...

This, that and everything

This morning I went out to Cavall's dog run ( yes my dogs sleep outside now ). As I am walking towards it I think how did a black garbage bag get in there and he ripped it up !! He is standing looking at me , looking back at the black....thing, back at me...
Well holy sh_t, Cavall is on the raw diet and he got himself a prairie chicken!!!
It landed in his run and POW! Gotcha ya!
He did not eat it, just a few feathers scattered here and there. Its neck was broken.
Sure would have liked to have had a camera on the situation and the look on their faces when they saw each other.
Of course Francis takes it out and throws it in the dumpster. I know, I know I should have gotten some pictures. Next time.

On March 7th we had to help our old dog,Dusty, on her final journey to the Rainbow Bridge. She was 15 1/2 yrs old. We got Dusty as a 6 week old puppy in Dec. 1993. She was a husky/malamute cross. We were going to do dog sledding. Dusty was a kind gentle soul. so good with kids. There was many nights, when she was 6weeks old, she slept on my chest on the couch. As we all know now that is way too young to be taken away from the litter.
The funny thing is two years ago exactly we had to help our malamute, Charlie ,at 13 1/2 yrs old with his final journey. He was cremated and we kept his ashes. Dusty is also cremated and now we will pick a day to release them together to run free. All huskies love to run, as we discovered, away from you. Of course that is what they are bred to do.

On April 6 Luc was 1 yr old. What a lovely journey it is with him. He truley is a remarkable dog. Looking forward to many more fun years with this dog.

kelpies are sooo much fun!!

fun never ends!! Cavall loves his little brother

Well this will be a short blog. I have added a short video of Luc @ a workshop with Kathy Keats. Luc just got a couple of turns as he is still young. 11 months old at the workshop. Of course I put the best part up for your viewing. Its short and so sweet. Enjoy

GRRR....TUFF ENUFF TO RUN FOR THE CURE"

I am very forunate that for the last 5 winters to be able to rent the arena in town from the Ag Society. Heated and washrooms.
This is our last week at the arena until next Oct. My clients and myself are praying for an early spring. A few years ago we were able to start classes the middle of April.( we can only hope)

I have such a great group of girls and 1 guy ( he really loves it, and he gets to visit with the other husbands that come out to watch and support their wives ).

They are devoted to the sport and love to learn their handling. They never complain about helping set up or take down equipment. They arrive on time and stay late to help. They support and encourage each other.
Gals,all of you did so well in class last night and this morning. Thank-you for allowing me to be a part of your life. It is so wonderful to watch you run with your dogs and to see the team that is developing.

This year, in Olds, April 4th, we are having our 2nd annual AAC Sanctioned Agility Trial.
It is called "Grrr...Tuff Enuff To Run For The Cure". After expenses, all profit is donated to the Tom Baker Cancer Center for research to find the cure for breast and prostrate cancer.
I decided to organize this as a dear client was diagnosed with breast cancer in the fall of 2007. My dad had died from prostrate cancer in 2006 and my brother-in-law was diagnosed a year ago. A dear friend/client 's best friend just died and had been dealing with breast cancer and now this friend is going through tests also. The more I listened to people the more I realized how many people were dealing with this disease themselves or family members.
So the idea came to life.

Our dogs are our greatest comfort and support. They listen, they let us cry without interruption, kiss us better and keep us company at all hours. They are truly remarkable animals to give so much.
What better way then to have our 4 legged friends help us to help their families have hope for a cure.
Hug your dogs tonight and be grateful that we have had the opportunity to share their lives.
Take care

Cavall, Coolhand Luc & stuff

I have been busy teaching and training. Gotta say I have a great bunch of gals (and one guy) that are very devoted to the game. We had a wonderful class last night. We set up an advance level standard course. Boy did it have some challenging handling opportunities in it. I have to remind my clients to not just do things they know because then they are just practicing, but to train so you and your dog can learn and progress. the best is when they are successful at a new skill and walk away feeling good about what they just did with their dog.

Now for my own dogs, Cavall and I, as most of you know have a "little" start line issue. I know that to get him more comfortable at the start line his emotional state has to change. We have been training lots with that. I know with him turning 6 yrs old next month that this will be a "management" behavior for the rest of his agility career. I just want to help him out as much as I can, because damn when the dog and I are on , well...... he smokes!

Coolhand Luc is growing into the "man". He is 10 months old on the 6th of this month.
We have just started weave pole training, been doing lots of jump foundation training :jump chute, bended grids, set point. also front cross, rear cross and serpentine cues. and start line work!!!!
We have just raised the jumps to 12 inches.
Luc is now starting to show some adolescent behavior,

"oh did you call?"
Oh yes I did!
"oops I am so sorry.. I am coming now"
Right choice little guy!

The other morning I was walking in our field with Cavall, Reba and Luc.
Francis ( hubby ) comes around the far corner out of the tree line and Luc figures "hey who are you?" barking and hackles up and running towards Francis. We got that under control quickly. Luc was very apologetic when he realized the err of his ways.
guess he is trying to find himself, hopefully he will not go overseas to Singapore, Bali etc like our 3rd oldest son who I miss dearly.

lessons from herding, Luc's and mine

There is alot to learn!! my poor head.. and my poor buttocks.

Got up this morning and my butt is sore! What the heck is that from!

Oh yeah... backing up to the sheep in deep sand is a great work out for tighter buns!! Highly recommend it!

When I was in the right spot Luc did great, When I wasn't.....well the poor dog had no idea what he was suppose to do.

I have a dear friend who teaches, Louanne Twa from High River. She gave me a lesson and when she was out there with me it went much smoother for Luc. She is blessed with tons of patience. Thanks Lou!

We met at another friend's arena (10 minute drive from my place), who also teaches herding, Randy Dye in Bowden. Either one of them would be great for lessons.

Thing is I have been watching herding since 2002 and you would think I would have absorbed some of the knowledge. but oh no...

My lesson for the day was: Its really good for instructors to be students once again so we can remember how it feels to be learning. Hopefully to make us have more patience with our students.

finally a little blog

Well it has been a very busy, bone chilling last month. Hope that kind of cold is gone for this winter. We lived up at Norman Wells NWT for 4 1/2 yrs and that kinda of cold you except there but not here and not for so long.
Luc was tougher with the cold then the long haired heavy coated Belgians. They were going "ooh its cold" and trying to walk on three legs or two. Luc would run out to the middle of our field and " who's playing? hey hey someone join me!" and he would finally get Cavall to join him and off they go a million miles an hour. Luc would be sloppy wet with drool and have to dry off in the house.
Luc is such a polite, easy going dog.Don't get me wrong Luc is not soft, he is very confident. I have and have had dogs that focus on me when we are working/playing together but with Luc its different, he is so there with you, intense and always ready. He seems to problem solve and put things together so quickly and willing to go the distance with you.
The one and only time I took him out on sheep he was wonderful and to see him do what he was meant to do, that was goosebumpy. Sometimes I think I am doing him an injustice not having him on sheep more often. I am planning on it just got to get it together and do it!
On another note the ranchers, Burradoo Ranch in Montana, I bought Luc from have started to put together their website. It is not completed yet, but they do have some stuff on it and one is a video of Luc's mom, Wrangler Lily, working in Australia. In fact they have 3 video clips on their site. Check it out at : http://www.burradooranch.com/ContactBurradoo/contact_burradoo.htm
make sure you have the sound on. They are amazing dogs!
I hope to add more pictures to the blog as soon as I find my cable for my camera.... though I think my son took it with him overseas.
take care all