Open Class..... are you kidding?

There is a saying.... Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.

Moving up to open was a tough decision for me. I felt that neither Cait nor I were really ready. But I thought it was time to challenge myself and Cait. After all.... it's just a bigger Pro novice course, right?

NOT!

It plays in your mind.

When you step up to the same post as some big hats it's scary! You think... what I'm I doing here? I am going to make a fool of myself. I am going to get laughed right off this field.

Dogs that have been to the big trials... Meeker, Soldier Hollow, Blugrass and, of course, the finals. How can Cait compare to these dogs? She can't do a 1000 yard outrun. She doesn't have a solid lookback. Her redirects suck. She can't move those tough old range ewes. Can my little home grown dog compete against these?

I know how important positive thinking is. So I have to think, yeah, my Cait can do it! She might not be the most powerful dog. She might not have the most correct flanks and sometimes gets a little excited and naughty. But she has, what I think is, a huge part of what these other successful open dogs have. She has heart and willingness and try.
I have my faults also. I get too nervous and can't think straight. I put way too much pressure on myself. There is so much I don't know. I get confused and don't know what to do when things happen. But I'm learning.

Also... it's not the right attitude to have... and it's not fair to either Cait or me...to be comparing ourselves to these others. I am a beginner; I don't have years of experience. Cait is still a young dog with miles and miles to go. We have to go out and do the best we can do. Improve on our imperfections and reach for new goals, Take the lessons we have learned in the past and apply them. Just do our best and time will tell... maybe Cait and I will get there one of these days

I think of some of the people I admire in the sport and some of the dogs that stick out in my mind… and while they might not have won the world they have that something special. In my eyes Cait has that something special too.

One of my favorite quotes that sums it up....

It's not the critic who counts -
Nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust, sweat, and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he fails, at least knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place will never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
~ Theodore Roosevelt

We may never win the finals. Hell, we may never even make it to the finals or be invited to Soldier Hollow... but that's ok. As a good friend of mine once told me... It's not the destination but the journey.

So ready or not here we come all you open dogs and handlers!! Better watch your backs cause we will be creeping up on you before you know it!

I know I have told my friends this before but...

I am not perfect and Cait is not perfect... but together we are perfection.
At least at this moment and time we are...and for now, that’s enough.

　

Zeke

I can't say enough good things about Zeke.  We have been together for 4 years now and he has taught me more than I can ever say.  We have had our up and downs but he has never given up on me, clueless as I have been.   He has not taught me just about trialing and sheep and competing but about pride, loyalty and being true to who you are.  He never tries to pretend to be something he is not. 

He has taught me that winning is not everything... that its not really important at all.  Sometimes just walking off the field and being happy with a small part of yourself and your dog is more rewarding than a silly blue ribbon.  Be happy with what you have accomplished today and don't beat yourself up for failures... live through it, learn from it and then go out, practice some more and do better the next time.

 He has taught me that what other people think doesn't really matter.... most times they only see a tiny part of the picture or what they want to see. 

He has taught me the importance of how my feelings, thoughts and actions affect others.  If you have a positive attitude others around you will too.

He has taught me patience and focus and timing. He has shown me how to read sheep.  He has helped me not to be so selfish.  He has taught me how to be happy with me and what I do.  He has taught me that I really don't know everything.  He has given me the ability to be a better partner.  He has taught me how to trust.

He has taught me a very obvious fact of life.... at the end of the day, win or lose, if you are doing what you love to do.... then that day was a good day.  This simple dog has taught be to be a better person in all aspects of my life. 

I have made many, many mistakes with him.  His honesty, kindness and sacrifices have helped me in so many ways.  Every time I work him he teaches me something more.  I am just now learning what a great dog he really is.  This guy has a sense of honor that I will never find in another dog. 

He humbles me everyday.

Picture taken by my  good friend, Barb.  Thanks!

Busy busy

Hi!  I have been so busy i havent had time to do much computer stuff.  Mom and me have been getting ready for all the trials coming up this fall.  We have been going to lessons with Suzy.  I go for a run every night so i can get in better shape.  We go work sheep and practice and practice.  I cant wait for the trials.... you know why.... I get to get sheep!!!!!  YAY!!!!
We have been to some trials.  We went to paso robles to the mid state fair trial.  Those dumb lambs were hard to work!  They had no respect for us border collies and some of them even got bit.  HA HA dumb sheep.  We also went to the scottish games in pleasanton.  That was so much fun!  I got to see men in kilts and lots of people petted me.
Anyways, i need to go get busy doing something.  I am gonna try some thing new and put up a pic my mom's friend took of me.  I hope you like it!

 

The Puppy Jig

as you all probably know by now my mom got a puppy. it was back in february but mom's computer broke so i am just now getting to tell you about it. and, boy oh boy, do i have somethings to tell you!  i really think she has lost her mind... why would she want a puppy when all she needs is me?

his name is Jig and i don't really like him. when he first came he was 3 months old and had absolutley no manners at all. mom says he was good boy and such a gentleman (can you see me rolling my eyes?) mom is always making a big deal of him. telling everybody what a good puppy he is and how easy he is to teach things to. (shes gone loopy in the head) good thing i am not the jealous type. he walks on a leash. SO! he rides in the car. SO! he is potty trained. NOT! he doesnt jump on people. SO! he sleeps in the crate all night and doesnt whine. SO SO SO SO SO!!! mom is always making such a big deal of him. it is enough to drive a dog to chase her tail!!

one of the first things he did was pee in the house!  i know!  disgusting, right? he jumps on me, rude, huh? (obviously he does not realize that I am the Princess Queen Bitch Border Collie).  i always bite him on the nose to put him in his place but the dumb butt just keeps getting in my face and irritating me. when he first got here he couldnt even jump in the truck by himself. mommy mommy lift me up. give me a break!  i think he is a suck up. and my mom still thinks hes great. (she is now officially koo koo for cocoa pops)

he is always running after me and pulling my tail and biting some of my hair out.  i tried at first to scold him and tell him to stop but he keeps on doing it. the dude is not too bright. so now i mostly ignore him but he gets on my nerves. I am telling you that pup is one sheep short of a flock.

and then the very worst thing happened.. i am talking end-of-the-world-evil-bad. we went to work sheep with my mom's friend Eddy and his dogs, Shelia and Joe (i think Joe is kinda cute). of course, the little brat comes along as always. so i get to work sheep and watch the other dogs work. its fun like always. we work on driving and pace and shedding(my favorite thing). and then..... da da dummmmmm ... the evil-bad-earth-shattering thing happens.... mom ties me to the fence and takes Jig into the arena with all the sheep in it. Seriously?!? first im shocked, then i am kinda mad about it. how dare she? here she is telling me that i am her best girl and she loves me sooooo much and she ties ME to the fence. then i start laughing my head off... thinking what the heck is wrong with my mom??? has she gone crazy?  i mean, can you imagine? that little pain in the arse trying to do what a border collie does? come on!! he cant even run right with those silly long legs of his. as much as i hate to, I do have to admit he did pretty good. for a dumb puppy, that is.

she seemed really happy when she and the brat were done.  i guess that part is ok cause you all know i am all about seeing my mom happy! but now i suppose that that pain in the pup is gonna go work sheep with us all the time. YUK!

Honestly?  between you and me... i think mom has lost her milk-bones.

Cait and I

There comes a special time... we have all been there a time or two. We struggle, pray, fight, work and try with all our might to reach it. It only comes a few times in our life if we are very lucky. And only if you have that certain connection, that special bond, that once in a life time partnership, that one certain being that you can come together with and trust with your heart, mind and soul.
I have that with my Cait. We know each other. There have been a very few times when the world melts away and everything becomes peaceful, quiet and calm. A grassy field, a few sheep, her and I. We go to that special place and it happens... a single, small pinpoint of focus. It's far too rare and elusive. A certain time in space when Cait and I are one.
She is in my head as I am in hers. Stillness in our minds as they unite. There is no battle of wills, no indecision, no hesitation. Only unison and a single purpose.
I feel her body tight with anticipation as she waits for the one sound from me that will shoot her from my feet like a race horse out of the starting gate. She feels when I want her to take one step or two. She knows when I make a mistake and she is there to correct it before I am even aware of it. She feels me breath in to whistle but it is too late because she knows what I want and is doing it. We feel the grass whip across our belly as we run to cut off that bad ewe that is trying to escape... we look her in the eye and she knows not to try us. At times there is no need for a command from me, she is there where I want her... with just a thought in my head
And then, alas, it ends.  The world bleeds back into our little moment. Our time of quiet beauty is over.  There is a sense of accomplishment.  A time like no other and might never be again.
We walk off the field... no one the wiser.
She sees the happiness in my eyes and I see a twitch of her tail, that strut in her walk and her little smile that says that'll do, pard.
I reach down to touch her as she lifts her head to meet my hand.
A certain moment when everything fits and is perfect.
My Cait and I.

My Mom

Mom has been on the computer a lot lately so this is the first chance i have had to write and tell you more stuff.... she has been looking for a puppy.... YUK!!! i dont know why she wants a puppy. but more about that later.
i know when i first started this i introduced myself but you know what? i forgot to introduce my mom.... sometimes i forget things like that cause i am busy doing important border collie stuff.
mom wanted to work with sheepdogs cause she likes dogs, especially border collies. so she went to talk to that guy Guido (he is a famous sheepdog guy). he helped her find a dog to start with. that was Zeke. then i came along and the rest, as they say, is history!
she is a veterinary technician and works at a very busy animal hospital. sometimes she comes home late at night from work.  sometimes she comes home from work and she is grouchy cause she had a bad day. and sometimes she is happy cause one of her animals at work got better. and sometimes she is crying. when she is sad or had a bad day i go sit on her lap and give her a big hug to let her know i love her no matter what and it makes her feel much, much better.
sometimes she brings animals that are hurt or sick and helps them get better. that way i get to meet alot of new dogs (and sometimes cats, UGH). when they get better they go back to their people or she finds a new home for them.
some of the dogs i like and some i dont...
there was a puppy named Bart. i didnt like him cause he chewed on my dog house and he dug a hole in the yard... we all called him Bart the fart
Lunatic Luna came and stayed with us while she was looking for a new person. my gosh she could jump really high!
Rocky, the crazy border collie lab mix, also came while he was looking for a new place to live. mom didnt like him much cause he knocked down her cool old dog Willie.
Peaches and her puppies... she had kidney failure, poor girl. she stayed with us a month. Mom got up a lot at night to take care of her and the puppies... she got better and lived for another year with her family! all cause my mom worked so hard to make her well. when the puppies come into her work they all are grown up now and it makes her happy.
Dotty came here too and never left. I guess she is ok.... she is kinda weird. I like to chase her and pretend i am gonna beat her up. but what she doesnt know is that i never would ;) Dotty likes to hang out with the lambs and she lets them chase her... can you imagine???
mom still has her horses. she used to show them, she showed reining horses and cow horses and halter horses. she said it was very expensive to show so she quit. but thats good for me cause that way we get to go to more trials and, yep, you guessed it!!! GET SHEEP!!
we live on a 80 acre ranch with lots of farm land around... we go for walks and we get to run for miles and miles and miles... or she rides the bike and we get to run for miles and miles and miles or she rides a horse and we get to run for miles ans miles and miles.
she works hard. she loves us all very much and she takes good care of us. she bought a bigger truck so i could ride in the back seat. she gets mad when people tell her she is crazy for having so many dogs. but you know what? i dont see them rescuing and fostering and helping dogs that need it. so i really think they should just mind their own business! (sorry, but i get mad when people say mean things about my mom, it hurts her feelings.  i would growl at them but i am way too polite to do that!)  after all... i am just another one of her rescue kids.
my mom is pretty good. i love her and i always try to be a good girl for her.

Looking back

Hi there!  Cait is still working on her next blog.  She won't tell me what it's about.  She said it should be ready soon and in the mean time she said I could write something again... she is such a good girl!

I guess it's inevitable... at the close of the year you look back over the past 12 months and reflect on your accomplishments, defeats and your life in general. You look forward to the new year and make plans, set goals and hope. There are lots of great moments and it's hard to pick just a couple. But as I look back over the past year, and see how far my little Cait and I have traveled, four events stand out in my mind...
First was in February when Cait got the SJVBCA Novice Top Dog award for 2009. We received a nice jacket from the club. I had already moved her up into Pro Novice and we had been to a trial or two and not done very well. But receiving the award made me think back on our first trial in January 2009... when I was so nervous and forgot most of my flanks and Cait was so wild the sheep just ran around me in circles... to the last Novice trial in October where I was able to stand at the post and drive the whole course. During lunch when I received the jacket with every one telling me to put on the jacket and I remember my hands shaking so bad that I couldn't even unzip the darn thing.

Second was the invitational SDT at the Mid State Fair in Paso Robles. I had been lucky the year before and had been invited as a filler, with Zeke, because all the Big Hats were at another trial trying to qualify for the national finals in Klamath Falls. I got invited back and of course Cait was the dog to go. I was nervous because we would be competing against big time handlers with open dogs (here I was a novice with my 2 year old dog and there were dogs there that had competed at the National finals!! Scary, I tell you!) It would be our first arena trial and I knew the sheep would be light and with pushy, speedy Cait it could have been a disaster. We got to do our first competitive sheds and single and we nailed them! My goal for the day was to make it in the top 10 so we could move onto the final round. We did! Everything went well during the second go except a little bobble by me during the single... I got flustered and Cait felt that but we finally got it. You can really tell on the video when I started to get nervous you can see Cait get quicker and tighter... just goes to show how much your dog feeds off of you and your emotions. I think this was the most fun trial of the year for me. Everyone was very complimentary and thought Cait was a really nice dog. I even had several handlers come up to me and tell me that we should have placed higher than we did. WOW!! I was just happy to be there and make it to the top 10.
Third was the Pleasanton Scottish Games. We had never been to a timed obstacle trial and I really had no idea what to expect. The whole weekend was a crazy, loud, nerve wracking time. I was pretty nervous but my little girl came through and saved me... yet again. Everyone was so nice. The spectators were there in droves and they all wanted to talk and pet the dogs. Cait was in her element there... she is a sponge when it comes to soaking up attention! What really hit home for me that weekend was when Cait and I are working the sheep everything else disappears... the bagpipes, the drums, the heat, the millions of people, the screaming kids, time, everything. All that is there is Cait, the sheep, the obstacles and the strategies I have worked out in my head. We won a belt buckle at the trial.. my first ever dog one. I can tell you that, for some reason, I am more proud of that one buckle than all the horse ones put together.
Fourth was the Porterville Fall Driving Trial.... the trial I wrote about last time. A large part of our success was the luck of the draw... we just happened to get sets that wanted to move. (That and the fact that my friend, Judy, set out during my runs and she told the sheep that a bad ass little bitch was coming up the field to get them and they better get their cute fluffy butts moving!) Whatever it was I felt Cait and I walked away from that trial with a even better partnership than ever. And I learned to ALWAYS think positive!
Looking to 2011... My plans are to get an additional dog to trial with. Make more progress with Cait. I feel like I really need to step up my game, as I am the weak one on the team. Cait always gives me 110% and any mistakes she makes is from trying so hard. Moving her and I up to Open is always on the back of my mind but I feel we both need more experience and miles under our belts.  Hopefully, we can make it to a lot of trials, work lots of different types of sheep and learn and learn and learn!