The End

la fin  –  das Ende  –  that’l do

 

The time has come, time to go into retirement mode.

Its been a hoot but as age is coming on like gangbusters I have decided to close down my blog. I will continue to custom graze cattle and sheep on the farm, at least for a couple of more years. Just me and my 2 dogs. We’ll see who last longer …

The blog will close at year end and I will then remove the contents (if I can). I hope for those who have been following me, and those who drop in on occasion, have enjoyed it and even may have found it useful. If it has made you think or was cause for interactions then I consider it to have been a success.

Thank you to all and remember … watch your dog …. he will tell you all.

 

 

56. Points to ponder!

Here are some thoughts that I have come across over time (a long time) that you may find interesting or:

“Natural ability is often discussed when sheepdogs are the topic. It simply means the dog’s natural instincts as they relate to working stock.”

“Working instinct (the keenest to start work), I like to see  it starting to develop fairly strongly by about four months of age.”

“The basic premise for breeding working stock dogs is that you should never have to teach a dog to work. You should only have to teach systems of commands that allow you to communicate with the dog. Everything else with regards to handling stock should be inherited ie. natural instinct.”

“Good anticipation when working stock means if an animal breaks away the pup/dog should break off and race to get ahead of it (without giving a command).”

Any comments?

55. Dog injuries

 Injury to the stifle joint is one of the more common injuries a working stockdog encounters. The following describes the joint and will perhaps label an injury your dog may display.

Stifle joint

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

This dog’s stifle joint is labeled 12

The stifle joint (often simply stifle) is a complex joint in the hind limbs of quadrupedmammals such as the sheep, horse or dog. It is the equivalent of the human knee and is often the largest synovial joint in the animal’s body. The stifle joint joins three bones: the femur, patella, and tibia. The joint consists of three smaller ones: the femoropatellar joint, medial femorotibial joint, and lateral femorotibial joint.

The stifle joint consists of the femorotibial articulation (femoral and tibial condyles), femoropatellar articulation (femoral trochlea and the patella), and the proximal tibiofibular articulation.

The joint is stabilized by paired collateral ligaments which act to prevent abduction/adduction at the joint, as well as paired cruciate ligaments. The cranial cruciate ligament and the caudal cruciate ligament restrict cranial and caudal translation (respectively) of the tibia on the femur. The cranial cruciate also resists over-extension and inward rotation and is the most commonly damaged stifle ligament in dogs.

‘Cushioning’ of the joint is provided by two C-shaped pieces of cartilage called menisci which sit between the medial and lateral condyles of the distal femur and the tibial plateau. The main biomechanical function of the menisci is probably to divide the joint into two functional units—the ‘femoromeniscal joint’ for flexion/extension movements and the ‘meniscotibial joint’ for rotation—a function analogous to that of the disc dividing the temporomandibular (jaw) joint. The menisci also contain nerve endings which are used to assist in proprioreception.

The menisci are attached via a variety of ligaments: two meniscotibial ligaments for each meniscus, the meniscofemoral from the lateral meniscus to the femur, the meniscocollateral from the medial meniscus to the medial collateral ligament, and the transverse ligament (or intermeniscal) which runs between the two menisci.

There are between one and four sesamoid bones associated with the stifle joint in different species. These sesamoids assist with the smooth movement of tendon/muscle over the joint. The most well-known sesamoid bone is the patella, more commonly known as the ‘knee cap’. It is located cranially to the joint and sits in the trochlear groove of the femur. It guides the patellar ligament of the quadriceps over the knee joint to its point of insertion on the tibia. Caudal to the joint, in the dog for example, are the two fabellae, which lie in the two tendons of origin of gastrocnemius. Fourth, there is often a small sesamoid bone in the tendon of origin of popliteus in many species. Humans possess only the patella.

In the horse and ox, the distal part of the tendon of insertion of quadriceps (‘below’ the patella) is divided into three parts. An elaborate twisting movement of the patella allows the stifle to ‘lock’ in extension when the medial portion of the tendon is ‘hooked’ over the bulbous medial trochlear ridge of the distal femur. This locking mechanism enables these animals to sleep while standing up.

54. When should I start whistling?

I’m often asked when should I start my dog on whistles? or I mention to a handler why aren’t you using whistles?

When should you use whistles? I think, my opinion, that whistles should be used for distance work, and voice for close in. Why? Whistles cover distance more clearly especially in hilly, treed, and windy conditions then voice. Give it a try. Send your dog out, way out, and try giving a voice command in a nice quiet calm voice. Any questions?When a dog is close by the voice, calm and quiet, is accepted better by the dog.

Now back to the whistle: What whistles should I use. This is a personal thing. You can copy other peoples whistles but I recommend you make up your own. What I did was try to mimic my voice commands. It worked out better for me as it was easier to remember them particularly if I was getting panicky. The whistles really don’t matter. It is more finding the 3 or 4 whistles that you can create and use consistently. The key is having whistles that are different enough to one another so your dog (and the handler) do not get mixed up. Practice, practice, practice. You want to be able to give the whistle command without thinking (in most cases) and consistently before you try them on your dog. Its one thing for the handler to be mixed up but definitely not the dog.

Dogs learn the whistle command very quickly so don’t sweat it if everyone else is using them and your not, just make sure you have the basics down solid before you try them.

53. How many dogs are enough!

In my blog 48 How many dogs are to many (  https://theworkingstockdog.wordpress.com/2017/07/13/48-how-many-dogs-are-to-many/), perhaps it should have been titled “How many dogs are enough”. My rule states 3 dogs: 1. Main working dog, 2. dog in training, 3. pup (dog ready to start or started). This of course all depends on the size of the operation.

The following photo is a practical example of this process:

 

Here are 3 dogs working a group of heifers. My former main dog (Jim), the one in the middle, keeps even pressure from the back. The dog to his right, Wage (now my number 1 dog) looks after the open flank. The young dog to the left, Smoke, looks at the closed flank (fence line).

It was very easy training the dogs to cover there responsibility. The only commands given in this case was a stop (preventing the dogs going to far up the flank), and the recall to get them back to the back of the herd. For the most part the dogs now operate on auto pilot. The only time they get commands is when I’m turning the herd.

Feel free to  ask questions or make comments.

50. A winter walk

 A beautiful winter morning here in the Cariboo  -20c, sun shining, deep blue sky you couldn’t ask for any better weather.

Now about that -20 business. If you have to work outside, well OK  but if not what are you doing outside? We walk the dogs every day come rain or shine or cold. It has many advantages for the dog but some that are not that obvious to a lot of folks.

During the winter there usually is not a lot of work for the dogs. Walking/running during the winter helps keep the ticker ticking and the muscles in good tone. It also has some other benefits that are particularly good for the working dog.

When the ranch is located in primarily wooded country side, there is often need to dig stock out of the woods and bush and this puts more stress on the dog. This means that dogs have to be particularly nimble and have to have good stamina jumping over, running under and through bush and in and  round trees.

Now back to the winter walk. The dogs of course can not simply walk at your side. They have to be going at break neck speed running through the snow in the woods. The added ingredient is snow and many hidden hazards. This adds to the work load and of course increases the blood flow. With good crisp clean fresh air who could ask for any more.

Oh yes, it’s also good for the dog walker.

49. I can’t see my dog!

 

Recently I was coaching an up and coming future star trialler.  We worked through a number of problems successfully. We were now starting to work on the gather and fetch and needed to slow the dog down. We wanted a steady pace with just enough pressure on the sheep to keep them moving in a relatively straight line. The handler had sent the dog out and he was fetching but was a bit to fast. I called out to her to slow the dog down and her reply was I can’t see the dog.

The old light bulb comes on particularly when you realize that you missed an important step in your coaching. We forgot to talk about stock behaviour. As I told the handler you have to have 1 eye on the dog, if you can see him;

1 eye on the stock. They will tell you whats going on; And one eye on the environment(?).

When you are driving with your dog your should understand what your dog is telling you. From your vantage point (seeing over the sheep), you my be able to pick up on something that you may think the dog is not aware of. TRUST YOUR DOG. He is aware. This is why we train our dogs so that there is an understanding of what you want or what is implied.

Now if you are herding cattle most of what I have said above applies. As the dog is working closer in, you will likely not see him much of the time you have to trust what the cattle are telling you and that you have made it clear what it is your doing, so the dog knows what is expected of him. Incidently this is one of the reasons I prefer to start dogs on sheep. It will help develop the link between handler and dog.

TRUST YOUR DOG. He is aware

48. How many dogs are to many

When I was breeding dogs I would often get phone calls asking if I had any trained dogs for sale.

The conversation would go like this: My dog has been injured/gone, and I am looking for a trained

dog right now. I really need one as I use a dog all the time. Can you help? The response is usually no

as I was in the business of breeding to sell quality pups. If, and I mean a big IF, if they had more

then 1 dog then they would not have been in this pickle.

My thoughts on this is you should have at least 2 working dogs of different ages, and at least 1 pup beginning training. This to me is the bare minimum. The numbers of course MAY differ depending on the amount of work and the number of stock you are working and of course the health of your dogs.

 I remember talking to an old Kiwi station manager and he said that when hiring new hands they would have to have a pick up and a min of 6 dogs, 2 heading dogs and 4 Huntaways.

We know that dogs are really beginning to earn their marks between 2 1/2 to 4 years of age. This is the stage of their

life when their training skills are to level that you can rely on them in most working situations. it is also the time that

their instincts should be reaching full maturity. From 4 to 7 years of age they should have earned their wings and are

now a full fledged member of the team. Usually after that they are on the downward slide but are getting slower but

can still contribute to the team effort.

Now if you have 2 dogs, one at the 7+ years and an other younger dog say at 4 years of age you should have a well

balanced team on your hands. So what happens to the younger dog as he starts putting on age? It is time to start training

a new pup to take his place in the cycle.

Of course the pup/dog you get all depends on quality of the breeding (see my blog #8 for some thoughts on puppy selection).

Remember, you will get the best results when you have a strong bond and you respect your dog.

47. Injury

I have noticed over the winter my #1 dog favouring one of his hind legs. It eventually got to

the point when he was walking or even trotting he would hold the leg up. When he worked

he would put the leg down but when we eased up the leg would come up.

Examining the leg he did not display tenderness. This included moving the leg in circles,

stretching and feeling for any abnormalities. Nothing presented so it was off to the vet for

some X-rays and expert evaluation.

What we found was there maybe (?) some damage in the stifle joint.

 

The stifle joint is a complex joint in the back legs.  The joint is stabilized by paired

collateral ligaments which resists over-extension and inward rotation, and is the most

commonly damaged stifle ligament in dogs.

The Rx for my dog was 3 weeks of rest (a working dog?), an antiinflammatory drug. Some

omega 3 and Recovery EQ for  control of chronic inflammation*. So far the treatments seem to

be working.

So how did this all start. Of course this is a very difficult question to answer. Working dogs

by their very nature and tenacity often can get themselves into difficult situation where they can

get kicked or run over. Although I did not see it, I heard it. We were digging some cattle out of

the bush and my dog either got kicked or, got run over. This is just one of the hazards of working

cattle in the bush.

 *Recovery EQ is for horses. We adjust the dosage for dogs. It works just fine and is not that

     different then the Recovery for dogs and is very cost effective.

46. Winter training day

Sunday mornings are my usual training day during the winter. This Sunday, Feb 5, 2017 was a typical winter day with blowing snow and cold as ….. Training for only 1 dog today, Smoke, as Wage is in recovery mode. Todays training focused on holding the stock in one area and team driving (me and the dog).

Holding: The command I use is “watchem”. The idea is for the dog to contain the stock in one spot while I move amoung them or leave the area. This tends to be a difficult concept for the dog to grasp particularly when there is a strong bond between you and the dog. It is a necessary concept to master and I hope with more practice we will have that down pat by spring time.

The next task is team driving. Right now working with 1 dog the task is to continually switch from side to side. The dog must balance in order to keep the stock moving in a relatively straight line. With a hyper dog you have use the slow command a lot. Again this will be all worked out when the working season starts. Once I get Wage

back on stream I will be working with both dogs. The have done this before so it shouldn’t take much practice to get the choreography in tune.

Now this all brings up one of my training points I always give in any clinic I give. The dog needs to know what you want and the best approach to this is some training and practising in the off or slack season. It doesn’t take a lot of time and the dividends will be rewarded down the line.

Enjoy.