Hold on!! Were going fast....

Puppy Pictures

Meg and Craig's Kids! 

Floyd the Sheep Dog gets one last chance to herd sheep.
Click below to watch

Dog’s dying wish: 15-year-old sheepdog gets one final herd | KREM.com Spokane

Norman and I had the pleasure of hosting Floyd and Samantha for some sheep work, and a bit of tea. We all had a wonderfull time especially Floyd!

Catching up in a matter of moments!!!

New Puppies

Meg and Craig recently married and were blessed with 9 beautiful pups!

The Finals
The Finals were good, lots of fun. The art was well received, one of the hits was a new "Beware of Dog" sign. It seems we have some sarcastic border collie friends. 

Norm's nursery dog got around. He was pushy and had to fix his little mess at the top. It's one of those good news, bad news things. The bad news is, no nursery win. The good news is, it looks like that little hot rod will be around a while, Norm loves him. My Scarlett went to the post, ran out ,and shouted back at me: "throw the Frisbee." She had not a clue she was supposed to "do her thing." Take your nursery dog to more than 2 trials, and pray she isn't in heat, or bring a Frisbee to the post and prepare for humiliation. That is my wisdom. And yes, she never does that at home!!
Gale ran really great. I thought we had enough points to make the semi finals, and while we were close, no cigar.  The sheep broke out of the mouth of the pen and ran out and around it. I had 23 seconds on my watch, and she managed to stuff them in the pen. It was a thrill. As a handler, I need to be a bit more tidy. Working on it! 

Congratulations to Patricia MacRae, the winner of the finals.

Meeker 
Sold 5 original paintings at Meeker! Thank you all so much. It was fantastic.

Blaze had a little weird start to his out run and then laid an awesome run down. He missed the semis by one point.  Jess ran great. When I got in the shedding ring, I had two minuets left. She gave me a nice shed and penned the range sheep with 2 seconds left on the big clock. It was so thrilling. That clean pen would get my young dog in the semis, unfortunately, the official clock had expired....... no pen points. no semis. Gale had three really nice sheep, and one crazy one!  She handled them well, I shed, held my shed, held my shed, never heard him call it, the crazy one finally blew her gasket and ran for it. Serves me right for shedding her to that side.  Faansie Bassone, was the big Meeker winner. Congratulations to him and his lovely wife.  

Soldier Hollow 
Congratulations Jack Knox, it was great to see him win Soldier Hollow!  

Another successful art show, selling 4 original paintings. Jess ran really nice, I am thrilled with her, range sheep are a test and she passed. Blaze had a decent run, then crossed on his second run. Norm lost that loving feeling. Which is why Blaze is now on my page... Gale was absolutely awesome, she had the best run of her and my trialing career, with 85 points without the pen. Unfortunately, a ewe lowered her head at her at the pen, she lunged at the sheep with the intent to bite her nose and we were DQ at the pen, with 2 seconds left on the clock. It was so disappointing, but my dog was terrific and she knew it!! It gets weirder. Norm was running Brian Ricard's Cody and having a decent run, when a large shot was fired. Of course the sheep jumped, the dog jumped, and Norman jumped, they went off line, got back on track and made the panel and finished. He lost a load of points. It turns out a boy was pumping up his wagon tire and the side wall blew out.....how does that happen???  I got a ride with the culprit in his infamous Wagon.
I don't believe in luck, but if I did, I would have said that as far as trialing, we didn't having any. However, the extra time that we had from not making the finals was spent in our art booth and it was a huge success, thanks to all of you! How do you argue with that? Still feeling blessed!

We want to thank all the trial producers, these three trials are so well organized, the hospitality is outstanding, the sheep are healthy, challenging, and for the most part, completely even. The set out for all our runs was perfect. It is a privilege to be able to run at such high quality events and we really appreciate the standard that these organizers have set and achieved. 
http://www.handhills.com/gifts_and_cards.html

Big Willow 
Noun
1. An exceptional  trial, in a beautiful location, with great sheep, and perfect set outs. 
2. A place in Idaho where one can be exalted and or humiliated by sheep and dogs. 
3. A very large tree.

Norm and Blaze

The judges view

Brian Ricard's Cody he did great!!!

Cody at the pen

Big Willow was a success for us earning us those precious points Norm's Blaze was 6th, Vickie's Gale his sister was 8th, in the second trial, 70 dogs ran. Cody and Jess our younger dogs really did well moving the range sheep with ease, I think each ended up around 16th/17th. We are well please with all our dogs.

To run, or not to run?

The Heppner Sheep Dog Trial was last weekend. The food and hospitality were top notch. The set out was perfect. Angie Untiz did the set out with help, and every set that I saw was spot on.
The sheep were a challenge the first day, they were hard to handle in the morning. Some dogs couldn't move them, some moved them too much. By the second day, they were lovely. They were all healthy and even, well fed and cared for. In the afternoon, the wind blew hard in our faces, making things difficult. The weather was cold and frustrating. The company was warm and the atmosphere was light and full of laughter and bantering. We all took turns being the butt of the joke. I think I may have taken an extra turn, and Ray Crabtree never got a turn. Is it because he is the announcer at all the big trials, or  couldn't we come up with anything? The humor fixed the weather, and made you feel like it was worth it.
 Gale ended up lame the morning of the trial, she was limping on her right front. I proceeded to drive myself and anyone within ten feet of me crazy trying to decide whether I should run her or not. Was it minor, like a toe nail, or major? I toughened up and so did she, and I ran her both days. I found it hard to concentrate, knowing she was hurting a bit. She ran well, ending up 4th overall. The best news is it looked like the right decision, as she is hardly limping now. 
Norman ran Brian Richard's Cody. On his first run he crashed them at the top, and then proceeded to clean up his mess, but too late, as Norm hustled down the field. It was his first Open, and only his 3rd trial and probably a bit much. His next run he did some funky stuff on his outrun and then made it to the top and looked great from there on, losing only 4 points on his drive. A great improvement that left us excited to run him again.
My young Jess was also on the run order. I had been praying for brakes, as she is a forward moving thing. The first day at the top she had some brakes. I was thrilled with her, I was able to slow her down to try to be accurate, but she was still able to walk into the range ewes and move them, which is always a relief. Her brakes failed on her second run though, but by the fetch panel she decided to listen and we got around pretty good. My driving was a bit off and I made her miss a panel, I hate that. She ended up tied for 15th overall out of 56, not terrible for her first Open trial.
Norm also ran his Meg, a very obedient bitch that he loves dearly. She, like the others, has little trial experience. She really struggled and it was unclear whether she was having issues hearing or if the sheep had her rattled, but her first run was very disappointing. Her second run was a huge improvement, she was hearing at the top and looking more like herself. Norm hustled her along to the pen and she hustled the sheep along, grabbing one in the buns. Norm made it easy for the judge and excused himself.
There was enough daylight to also allow Norman's third dog Blaze to run. He was very respectable, scoring a 73 the second day without a pen, and ending up 6th overall. Just a side note about Blaze, I am looking for a weak moment so I can whisk him to my side of the kennel. As of now, I have had mercy on Norm, but Blaze is so much like my Gale I am not sure I can keep it up.
As far as other dogs that turned our heads, we both came up with the same answer: Lavon Caltzacort's Gus really looked good. He flanked nicely and when asked to come forward, forward he came. Scott Glen's June is a beautiful mover. If you don't appreciate her athleticism and grace you may need to check your pulse.

Jess

Score sheets

Score sheets

Heppner Trial field from above

Heppner Trial field from above

Congratulations to all the winners, and a big thank you to Karen Mohney; Meredith, Karen's mom; John; Angie; the wonderful cook, (I am sorry I have forgotten her name); and all the rest of the workers, for putting on such a wonderful trial. We look forward to it next year!

2011/2012 Training Dogs 
We have had great weather and a barn full of  talented dogs to train. As you can see they are having fun and learning lots. A big thank you to all our clients. We appreciate you! 

Brian's Cody 

Sam's Nick

Tim and Jana's Pedro 

Brian's Cody 

Sam's Nick 

Sam's Nick 

Dorothy's Wizard

Tim and Jana's Pedro 

Tim and Jana's  Pedro 

Dorothy's Wizard 

Dorothy's Wizard

Kate's Conner

Kate's Conner

Bob's Serge

Bob's Serge 

Brian's Cody 

Sam's Cloie 

Sam's Cloie 

Sam's Cloie

Sam's Nick 

Bob's Serge 

Kate's Conner