Monday, January 14, 2008

Goal for the evening

I plan to set the course tonight and see how Gel and I can handle it. This course will be a challenge and will help me improve on my handling skills.

Even though I know he's not going to agree, Gel and I need a break from sheep for a couple of days. Maybe it's more I need a break from sheep for a few days. Trying to make panels (meaning, positioning Gel so that he puts the sheep through the panels on the fetch and drive) is frustrating. I think part of the problem is my depth perception is off. Also, I haven't asked Gel to completely circle around the stock at a distance for a while now so I think that's an exercise I need to keep up with. I firmly believe once Gel understands that he needs to put the sheep through the panels he'll start to do it on his own. It is a matter of my pointing the sheep and Gel in the right direction. Not always an easy task. I have to keep in mind that Gel is only three and that is really young for a male Border Collie. We have plenty of time to master USBCHA trialing.

So, for the next couple of days, we'll work on Jumpers courses. I can work on many of the same handling maneuvers with Fern with the jump bars on the ground. I need to drag out my 2x2 weave poles and get her going in that direction.