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. :)
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