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vaider 24 months

Well in a couple of days Vaider will be 2 years old, it is hard to believe. He is very comfortable to work. He tries so hard to be right and is very kind to his livestock.

We went to his first trial the other week at Widbey Island. I ran Ty in open and Vaider in ranch. It was not our best trial but we did have fun. The set out had the sheep very settled as we went to the handlers post so there was no motion up field. When I sent Vaider I felt he was going a little narrow but let him go. It turned out he got drawn by the motion of a vehicle going up the road, when I tried to redirect him he started for the sheep in the exhaust. I left the handlers post to help him find his sheep. Once he found his sheep he lifted them very nice and held the fetch line well. His drive was good; he held the line and made all the panels. We ran out of time at that point but I was quite happy with what he did. I was glad it was a training trial so even though we retired on the outrun we were able to keep going and still get to show him. I truly was not expecting him to not see his sheep as that is something that he has never even hinted at doing. With more experience he will have a better idea where to expect his sheep, even though we have been stretching him out, this trial is the first time he has had to go for sheep in a new field that we did not set the sheep before we started his outrun.

Vaider helped me with the rams today. They come and knock the llama’s grain off the post so she does not get any unless we hold the rams off. I was pleased with Vaider, he controlled the rams well and showed force when he needed to (something we have been working on). He is so kind and patient with his stock yet he was able to handle the rams, moving them away from the grain and llama when that is where they wanted to be showing both force and cover.

Vaider is more and more able to fill in for Ty which gives Ty the rest that he needs and I hope that will allow me to trial them both more then we have been able to the last few years.

Vaider has nice eye being able to hold his stock but not holding them so hard that he draws them back upon himself. He is beginning to hold drive lines for some distance (how far he will hold the line varies depending upon how freely the sheep are moving, free moving sheep allow the line to be longer). He is putting herding principles to work, being able to preform tasks he has not been asked to preform before.

Vaider is still a nice dog to hangout with and as he matures he just keeps becoming a nicer and nicer dog to herd with. The way he interacts with me is very similar to my old Border Collie, Nikki. He helps me relax and not take things so seriously (though Trudy would tell you this is still my ONE weakness haa haa).

Vaider at 20 months

We are starting to be able to work on some yields with Vaider. These yields are starting to enable him to reach a little farther for the outside eye. If he does not release the stock on his gather he tends to run short (this is the reason we have been so antsy to work on his yields).

He is beginning to be able to drive both cattle and sheep. He shows a lot of patience in his driving giving the stock plenty of time to move off of him; this does diminish some battles as the stock trust him and is very nice for young stock.

I am still letting him be a little pushy on his lifts but it is beginning to feel like we need to start to ask him to change that. I have been letting him be pushy on his lifts hoping that it will build him up for the cattle work.

Setting stock for a Larry Painter clinic hosted by Kelly Orr in New Plymoth Idaho the other week, Vaider did step up to deal with the cattle and their draws. The cattle that were being used were young dairy bulls. I was pleased with what Vaider showed, holding the heads well and even showing some strength turning back some of these bulls from running to the feed yard or towards the others not being used.

Vaider is slowly becoming less of a specialist and more of an all-round dog. He has always been a nice dog to hang out with. He likes to be with me and is very manageable in most situations.

Vaider at 19 months

At 19 months Vaider is proving to be a willing sheep dog. He is doing well with his driving becoming more and more willing to walk straight into the heads of the sheep. His eye is hitching him up a little on his gathers. He still worries when asked to yield so we have not focused on that but have accepted small bends off the sheep to break his eye in smaller increments.

I put him out to help Ty when I went to wean the calves and he did not think much of that. He had a mother cow come out at him. To this his answer was to run off. He has turned away from the heads of cattle since that incident but is slowly getting better. He is still willing to work the steers and heifers that he had been working before the pairs incident but does check up when they turn into him.

At this stage he definately is prefering sheep to cattle but the hope is that will change given more time.

Vaider at 16 Months

Vaider is coming along. He is a little slower maturing then Ty. He does some nice things and is getting stronger all the time. I do have to be careful when training him as he still does not take large yeilds well yet. He is outrunning fairly consitantly at 60-75 yards although he will go farther. He has started driving the triangle as well as straight away from me.

We have backed off on the cattle. He is dealing with them but I feel he needs to build a little more strengh on sheep before we focus on the cattle. This is not to say he does not see cattle just that we pick the situations to be sure it is a good experience (for him and I). He is showing some very nice sheep dog qualities, cattle dog qualities are a little hit and miss at this time.

Vaider is a dog that is very eager to please. He likes to be liked and tries to be fair to handler and livestock.

Vaider at 14 months

Vaider is now 14 months old. He is starting to accept the pressures of working livestock. He is proving to be a quick learner and is always trying to figure out what will please. He is beginning to get more confortable reaching for the outside eye. The inside work he is very comfortable with and likes to be ontop of sheep in the chutes.

Vaider at 5 months

Vaider getting a go at 5 months

While doing the large flock clinic we brought out the pup during some down time to see what he would do. He was egar to be there. He showed a thoughful attitude on the stock. He was willing to go between stock and the fence with little concern evaluating each situation I put him in. I look forward to working with him more.

He is now getting to the age that he is able to start, that puts him at 11 months. He is much more excitable off the stock then he was at five months but still shows a thoughtful attitude when on the stock. He has a very “lets go” personality, always wanting to be doing something. What he is doing can be quick and fun loving or it can be as simple as being with me step for step.