View from the Stockpens P1
I created a new category on this blog called “Amy Things”. Originally when publishing here I wanted to stick to the hard nuts and bolts (rocks & sticks?) of stockdog work. Though in this little adventure i’ve found that trying to separate Molly’s training from my ‘training’ and personal growth is much like taking peas out of their shell. Gotta deal with the shell to get to the pea. That’s a bad analogy, but they are calling me from the garden. I have peas on my mind. 
This last month has been really busy. Mostly with good things, but busy none the less and has put me in a position where i just couldn’t get down to train. I have a dear friend who, among other things, trains team leaders. He tells me it takes 6 weeks of hard work to make a habit. I find a lot of solace in that as i’m missing the rhythms of working stock and missing my weekly yoga work that helps to make that stock work more fluid. I suppose that means that despite the nutty schedule, I have in fact made that habit and can’t wait to get back to it. While i have been deeply enjoying the other things i’ve been up to, I find a lot of satisfaction in knowing that i’m excited to get back in the groove.
It’s a neat feeling to have my stock work sit in balance with the other things in my life. For a long time it felt like something i had to do to get where i wanted to be. Like washing the dishes or mopping the floors to keep a home presentable. Lately though, i’ve found myself wanting to trial less and work more. Not because there’s anything wrong with trialing, but it just doesn’t seem to fill me the same way that working does.
Which is strange because i like to go to trials. I like seeing my friends find success (and sometimes just to see them as success was elusive that day) and I enjoy the view from the stockpens. I feel that handling stock in the pens is slowly making me a better handler and I learn so much from watching the runs. It’s not a replacement for actual trial time; that’s why the ASCA-gods created the Novice and FEO classes. However, it can be interesting watching run after run and knowing which group of stock – in my case cows – people have consistently had trouble with. In that scenario is the learning opportunity – are they all finding the same problems because they’re all doing the same thing or are different handlers trying to use different tools and still not finding success? At what point are they just backing away and calling their run? If one handler seems to find success where the others with the same group do not, what are they doing differently or what is different about their dog? Or conversely what happened that, for a variety of reasons I wouldn’t be comfortable trying to replicate despite success or lack thereof?
Typically i have the opportunity to work stock at little at the ASC of BC trial. That should settle my needs. While I love my club, the Canadians are a group i especially like to watch. I see a lot of the same dogs/faces every year from the cowpens and it’s fun to watch them progress even in the little snapshots that are my 2 day visit. From a handling perspective, it also presents a set different set of challenges for me, which i like. The lower fences (maybe 4feet?) in the handling pens combined with the necessity to gate sort each run, it forces you to not only be aware of pressure and how best to use those pressure points. Too much pressure or pressure in the wrong place and not only will you miss the cow that you’re sorting, but it’s entirely possible that a cow might take a flying leap into an adjacent pen. I know it because i’ve done it, twice on two separate trips. Oh, and you’re on the clock as the handler is waiting on you and there really is only room for one or two handlers. Every trial has their challenges and it is in working through those errr… missteps(?) that i find i learn the most.
Of all the trials I learn the most about how i’ve progressed as a handler at this trial. No room for a dog, so there’s no crutch or distraction. Just learning how to use little motions to move steady and set the group.
Anyhow, so i’ll post photos on BC. It’ll all make more sense and it’s super pretty up there!!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend in BC. I’m looking forward to getting to spend some time with Simon!
It was fun working with you this past wknd. Hope you have fun in BC. Wish I was going but still need to get that passport! Anyway, one of the things I noticed w/Courtney is she learned more of the value of the commands I use while loading the cattle. I think they all learn more in real work scenarios then in training exercises.