BCxFour: Bea

Showing posts with label Bea. Show all posts

Friday, January 27, 2012

I Miss this Face

Just 12 more days till I get to see how far she has come with DD training.

And most importantly squeeze her squirmy little body and kiss her on the head.

I have missed her sunshine & happiness. Thinking about it makes me teary.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Beatle Bea Update

Yeah! A bright spot in a tough week. Kelsey Nichols shot several pictures of my little Miss Beatle Bea.

She has been settling into Orchard Run sheep camp nicely. The first few weeks were tough on her as she came into standing heat which restricted her free time.

She does not look pleased.

These few pictures darn near ripped my heart out. I felt like she was gazing into the camera saying "COME GET ME!"

Common sense prevailed, I was able to get a hold of my overly sensitive canine mind reading skills, reminded myself that all kids scream and want to come home the first couple weeks of summer camp.

Updates came in from Dianne. She was putting the foundation on Bea, getting her listening, hooked & building their relationship. Flanks were looking good, the away side was showing to be a bit tight, so Dianne was focusing on that.

The next set of pictures that came Christmas week from Kelsey made me smile. Not such a scared little face this time. More interested in what was going on around her.

This may sound silly. I was worried about her being warm enough. Bea's main environment has been indoors. She goes out to play, hang out & what not, yet spends the majority of her time in a nice warm house.

I left her in a crate at Dianne's with her thick quilted Sherpa blanket and a cushy, soft dog bed - so she would be warm in Idaho's frigid temperatures.

I am certain all the other dogs were jealous of her luxurious bedding. That was my objective, don'tcha know. Dianne said I could leave the bedding but she drew the line when I suggested hanging curtains, installing a heat lamp and a relaxing water fountain. Apparently Dianne believes she should have curtains in her own house before the dogs are allowed to have them in their crates.

Go figure?

Actually the accommodations are rather nice at Dianne's. All of the dogs are crated indoors at night. During the day they have run of the dog yards when not being worked. The dog barn never drops below 40 and Bea would have acclimated well - the bedding was for my comfort. I can see in the pictures her coat looks gorgeous and thicker than it was when I left her.

The last update I received: Dianne was continuing to work on squaring up the away side, lengthening her out, and started driving. She said Bea has the right amount of eye and is learning to use it well. She has been working her on a group of 20 lively Shetland sheep to keep things interesting. Bea is fitting into the group well and Dianne is very happy with her.

A couple of days ago a whole new set of pictures came from Kelsey, which put a big grin on my face.

There is my girl.

Bea reminds Dianne of Bett (Bea's mother) in looks, mannerisms and sweetness.

Dianne told me Bea really wishes she would learn her name and stop calling her Bett. Bea tells Dianne repeatedly that she is NOT her mother.

There is the confident mischievous little Bea I know.

Dianne said happy little girl that wants to please and is fun to work. Dianne's approach is to not push her, just work her and move along at a casual pace. There is no hurry & I am good with that. No reason to rush her, she has a long happy life ahead of her. I would rather things were slow, then maybe I will have a chance to catch up with her and be the type of handler she deserves.

Someone please please please send me a video! I am about to go out of my mind!

Monday, December 5, 2011

Off to Idaho

Here is an ear worm for you. Go ahead, hum the melody to Rawhide.

Keep walkin' walkin' walkin,

Though the dogs are whinin'

Keep the sheepies runnin'

Trial time!

Tryin' to understand 'em

Just hope and pray and send 'em

Soon we'll be drinkin lots at

Beer Time!

Boy my heart's a thumpin'

Some day a score is comin', be numbers, not letters

Trial TIME!

Pack it up, load em up.

Load it up, drive 'em out

Trial fees emptyin' my wallet,

Trial TIME!

Set 'em out, send the dog

Start prayin, let it go

Humiliation waitin,

Trial TIME!

Yes, it is that time again. Time to go to the post, freeze my overly large rear end, shake in my boots and beg to be humiliated in my favorite activity which is guaran-damn-teed to bring about an anxiety attack - sheep dog trial.

Instead of packing my clean clothes into the suitcase with the busted zipper, I am sitting in front of my computer writing stupid lyrics.

I have a list in front of me yet I drag my feet.

Apparently I enjoy driving across three states bleary eyed and tired.

Oh hell..I don't know. I am the worlds worst procrastinator.

And I am already missing the Beaster.

She is going to sheep camp at Dianne Deal's

She is going to learn all kinds of cool things, hang with the cool kids, get drunk, smoke dope...you know how it is at boarding school.

Okay, not really. She is going to learn how to work sheep. Like a real big dog.

Like how to stay off sheep butts. You know, those lessons on Cause & Effect.

So things like this don't happen as much.

Yep, that is what happens when sheep suddenly change directions.

Tail gating is discouraged.

My job over the past couple months was to get Bea hooked on sheep.

Making sure ever encounter she had with sheep was positive and fun.

I don't know if she is enjoying herself. What do you think?

Did I mention how FAST she is?

She loves to make a mess and then fix it by busting into warp drive as she sails across the field.

She is soft and biddable. A joy to work...but scary to train. Bea is the type of dog, if you make a harsh correction at the wrong time, it will take a while to fix it. I am glad Dianne will start her and get a good foundation on her - that much less of a chance I will screw her up when she comes home.