Fall Sheepdog Trials

We wrapped up our cattledog trialing season with the P & B Trial, but we still have 2 sheepdog trials left to attend. We will be at the Southwest Oklahoma Sheepdog Trial on October 25th and the Washington County Junior Livestock Show on November 1st. Josh will be competing with Pete and possibly Nanna and I will be competing with Blaze & Tess. Check out the OSDA website for more information on these trials. Check back for details after the trials completion.

P & B Cattledog Trial

If you missed it you missed a really nice trial in a quiet country setting in Lexington, OK on October 4th. All the dogs were required to gather the cattle from a pasture and bring them into the arena to work through 4 obstacles. The Open handlers had a blind outrun and they moved the cattle forward a little more for each class. The cattle were pretty consistant and nice to handle. We all had a great time and Josh came away with the win with Pete in the Beginners class and Jenna and Blaze placed 2nd. After the trial we did a Buddy Brace. We paired Open handlers with Beginner and Novice handlers to run the course together. It was a blast and very comical to watch. Josh with Pete and Blake Byrum with Rope, through all the chaos, won the Buddy Brace. Congrats guys! Thanks Yancy Paul, Blake Byrum, and the rest of the behind the scenes crew for all the hard work. Looking forward to next year.

Blaze's Video with Pics

Pete's Video with Pics

Tulsa State Fair

We competed at the Tulsa Fair on Sept. 30 & Oct. 1 with Blaze and Pete in the Beginners class. The cattle were fresh and had never been worked by a dog before so they were pretty tough, but I think no more experience than our dogs have on cattle they did a great job. Jenna and Blaze were sitting in 5th after the first go round, but the cattle worked much better the 2nd day and several folks were able to finish the course. We couldn't get Blaze's cattle anywhere near the last obstacle, the trailer, so we fell behind. We didn't place, but we were proud of them as always. Here are some links to videos and slideshows of Pete & Blaze.

Videos
Blaze Day 1
Blaze Day 2
Pete Day 1
Pete Day 2

I couldn't get the slideshows to work directly on the blog, so click on the link to see them.
Blaze's Slideshow
Pete's Slideshow

Thanks Tom & Ruth Hines for the pics. More coming soon from our friend Kevin Bradbeary.

Oklahoma State Fair

Well, got another one behind us. The cattle were run on Tues. Sept. 16 and were really tough. They had been used the day before for a team sorting and they weren't happy about getting messed with. To my knowledge, they had never seen a dog before and even the most experienced of dogs had a hard time completing the course. The cattle walked all over dog and human alike. In spite of the bad draws and lack of handler and dog experience on our part, we were still pleased with Blaze and Pete.

Blaze had a little touble driving instead of balancing, but he listened decent for a young dog and we were able to complete 2 obstacles and nearly the 3rd. Josh and Pete had a really bad draw and spent most of their time going back and forth across the arena trying to keep the cattle away from the exhaust, but they handled it like champs and managed to get them through the first obstacle.

The sheep trial on Sept. 17th had its challenges as well. Blaze still had cattle on the mind and was like a rocket in both his runs and I never could get him to settle down. We managed a 6th place in the first trial and a 5th in the second.

Pete worked extremely well in the first trial and placed 2nd! I am so proud of Josh. And to think I practically had to beg him to put his dog in the box that morning! He isn't much for sheep trials, he's more of a cattle guy. Pete got a little too excited in the 2nd trial when a sheep broke and ran like mad to the exhaust. He caught up to it and gripped out. Check out his video.

Tess blew her first run when the sheep were being sticky. She couldn't get them to lift easily, so she gripped out of anxiety. She's still got some confidence issues, but she's come a long way and we are still proud of her. She redeemed herself in the 2nd trial with a 2nd place finish. Watch Tess' video.

We had some rough spots, but after it all, we still came home happy with our dogs. Tulsa here we come. :)

Sneak is a TV Star!

Sneak is out of our Nanna and started her training here with me. She now lives with Miles Allen in Texas. We miss this girl, but we are so glad to see her happy!

Click Here to see a video of Sneak.

Fall Trial Schedule Update

Here's a more up-to-date list of the trials we plan to attend this fall...

Oklahoma State Fair Cattle Trial Sept. 16th
Blaze & Pete will be competing in the Beginners cattle class.

Oklahoma State Fair Sheep Trial Sept. 17th
Blaze & Pete will be competing in the Ranch (Novice) class.

Tulsa State Fair Cattle Trial Sept. 30th-Oct. 1st
Blaze & Pete will be competing in the Beginners Cattle class. We wanted to compete in Tulsa on sheep too, but the sheep and cattle trials are at the same time and we figured it would just be too much for our young dogs running back and forth with the possibility of the runs being at the same time. So, maybe next year...

P & B Cattle Trial Oct. 4th
Lexington, OK
Blaze & Pete will be competing.

Washington County Jr. Livestock Goat Trial
Bartlesville, OK Nov. 1th
Blaze, Pete, & Tess, & possibly Nanna will compete.

Check out the results of the trials we've already attended at http://www.baxterbordercollies.com/2008trials.html

Pete Photos

Here's some pics of Pete dog breaking the calves too. I used the same movie making software to capture these photos. Since Pete's had more frequent interaction with cattle, he's been learning how to use his teeth effectively. :)

Blaze Photos

Blaze is nearly impossible to get snapshots of because he's in and out so fast the cattle don't even know what has hit them, let alone the person supposed to be taking pics. So, I found some movie making software and was able to get shots from the video. The quality isn't great, but the pics are pretty cool. This is from the video of Blaze's 2nd time dog breaking our calves.

Grady County Fair

If you missed it, you missed a great time. The sheep were a little tough at first. Can't blame the girls. Our stock contractor (Yancy Paul) had a blowout on the way and they were all stuck on the side of the road for awhile on a very hot afternoon. So, they were a bit hard to handle at first, but as the night came and the cooler temps came with it they began to cooperate a bit better. They were tough but it sure was fun!

The points and time format on sheep was something new to all of us, but everybody seemed to agree that it was a refreshing change of pace. We were invited back for next year and will start the planning process next spring.

I want to thank everyone that made this trial a success, the trial committee, the sheep crew, the handlers, the fair staff, etc. Thanks to Kevin Bradbeary for taking some great photos of the action. Thanks so much and we are looking forward to doing it again next year.

Check out the OSDA website for pics and placings... http://www.okstockdog.com/results.html Don't forget to check out the photo gallery too.


BBC Dogs @ Grady County Fair

We took Blaze, Pete, & Tess to Chickasha with us to compete.

Tess competed in the Ranch class and did very well. She took every command she was given and never faultered. She won 2nd in the class. We tied with points for 1st, but our time line wasn't quick enough for a 1st place finish. The sheep were very sticky to the end of the arena where the exhaust was and it took a bit of time to get them through the first obstacle, but we couldn't have been happier with her performance.

Blaze did an excellent job in the Novice class at his first sheep trial. He listened very well, and handled his sheep nicely. He was one of a few dogs who made it to the last obstacle, the maltese cross. Blaze got his sheep through one part of the obstacle, but ran out of time getting them through the 2nd part, narrowly missing the only perfect score! Good boy Blaze!

Pete and Josh got dealt a tough hand. They had a sheep that absolutely refused to cooperate. She tried in every way possible to escape the arena through the fence, but didn't succeed. They peeled her off the fence numerous times and she would just run right back. They brought the other sheep to her, but she wouldn't stay with them. Pete handled it well and wasn't ready to quit trying. Better luck next time guys! Great Try!

Fly's Webpage

I finally got Fly's webpage put online... It has some pics and pedigree info as well as links to her videos. Click Here!

Fly Videos

Added a couple videos to YouTube of the new girl playing with her dad and Jaycee. Check them out...

Jaycee Training Fly

Blaze & Fly Playing

Dog Breaking the Calves

Here's a video of Blaze's 2nd time on the new calves. They still have some learning to do, but Blaze is sure having a good time breaking them in. :)

Click to Watch.

And here's a video of Blaze working sheep from last week.

Click to Watch.

Got Cattle Yeah!

We finally made the leap into cattle ownership. We got a heifer and a bull calf. We were hoping to be hauling home 3 but got there a little late. Have had the dogs on the calves twice now. They didn't know what to think about the dogs at first. We put Blaze on them and he soon showed them not to walk up to a dog to sniff it. The heifer got a nose peircing courtesy of Blaze! They are starting to move off the dogs now. Pics coming soon.

New Puppy

So we finally got to go see the Blaze X Blue pups. They are some nice looking kids. We chose a female and can't wait to get her home. We got to work Blaze and Pete on John's cattle and we were happy with their progress. Here's the new girl, now we just have to think of a suitable name.

I believe there is still one male available.

Summertime Fun

We have been taking the dogs down to our "Pond" every evening after training sessions. The dogs really enjoy it and Jaycee thinks its hillarious. She's usually right in the middle of it, but she got distracted looking for frogs with Josh, so it was just me and the gang. Blaze has never been much for water, but Josh finally threw him in a couple days ago and he decided it was pretty fun. He was hesitant to go in again, but I finally coaxed him in with a stick for the 2nd video. Click on the links for videos of the fun.

1st Video
2nd Video

2008 Trial Schedule

Here's a list of trials we plan to attend this summer and fall.

Sundowner Stockdog Association Cattle Trial June 21-22
OSDA Grady County Fair Points & Time Sheep Trial August 23
Oklahoma State Fair Sheep & Cattle Trials September 16-17
Tulsa State Fair Sheep & Cattle Trials September 30-October 1
Sundowner Stockdog Association Cattle Trial October 11-12

There is talk of more possible trials in the fall hosted by the OSDA. I'll post them when they are scheduled.

Blaze Pups Are Here

The Blaze and Blu pups were born today. Last count was 7. Can't wait to see these little guys! For more info... click here.

Grady County Fair

The Oklahoma Stockdog Association is going to be hosting a points and time sheep trial during the Grady County Fair in Chicksasha, OK on August 23. I will have all the latest info as it becomes available on here. Contact us at baxterbc@yahoo.com or 405-387-5734 for more information.

May Sundower Stockdog Association Trial

Thanks for the pics Pam! (P.S. Josh paid extra for the text on his pic! YUCK! Boomer Sooner!)

On May 17th Josh and I took Pete and Blaze to all of our first ever cattle trial. It was only our dogs 3rd time to see cattle and they both took it all in stride. We entered the Beginner's Class and had a blast. The cattle were pretty flighty, but our dogs worked well and we were very proud of them. We took video of Blaze but didn't have enough room on the memory card for Pete's run too. We broke them up into four videos so that they wouldn't take so long to upload and watch

1st Video
2nd Video
3rd Video
4th Video

Blaze & Pete Videos

We took Blu back to John after breeding her to Blaze and brought a couple dogs to work on cattle. These are videos from John of Blaze and Pete's second time on cattle. Not bad! :) Thanks John

Blaze's Video
Pete's Video

Orin Barnes' Bred Pups

Baxter's Blaze X Keim's Blu

Blaze was bred to John Keim's Blu in early April and the pups will be here in early June. These pups should be some excellent stockdogs. John guarantees his pups to work. Check out his website at Crossroads Border Collies.

Blaze's Pedigree
Blu's Pedigree