Posted By Sandy Wilson on January 16, 2011

Delta moving along the boundary beside the vineyard.

Last week was the first time I had taken Delta to herd the sheep in the snow and also the first time we worked next to the vineyard.  She is starting to work much more independently and freely.  I was so happy to see her moving along the boundary and also being very aware of the posts and going around them.  She is getting the boundary work down, but now we will be concentrating on some road work and also her being able to stand while the sheep will pass her.  This makes the “Steh” command so important in herding, but it’s something too that the dog must get used to.  As she is a young dog, I have to be patient and take small steps to get her solid and to make her understand what is expected of her.

It was a beautiful crisp day, without much wind, so even though the temps were in the 20′s, it was bearable.  The dogs don’t seem to mind a bit, but it definitely is a work out for the dog having to move through the snow.  Delta didn’t seem to mind it much, but did take a break once in a while just watching the sheep.  She is starting to also use a little more body language as she moves towards the sheep who are close to the boundary.  She throws in a hop or jump when the sheep are close and pushes them back.

Here is just another shot I took of her watching the sheep as she was making a pass along the boundary.

Delta snow herding!

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Posted By Sandy Wilson on December 31, 2010

Aiko von der Kleinen Wiese (Diesel v. Schulmeister, AD, SchHI X Hera v. Fafnherhaus)

Aiko working the sheep in the vinyard.

This week we had our first real snow and it was fun to take the dogs out in the snow to work the sheep.  Even in this weather with the grass down low and the pastures covered  with snow, the sheep are able to forage in these cold weather conditions.  The dogs love this cool weather and are happy to go out and work.

Aiko is coming along very well in his training and will be ready to trial this coming October at the 2nd Annual HGH in Knowlton, NJ at Kerloff Farm.  He is doing well with his road work and certainly has the confidence and power to control a large flock.  He is a dog who is very relaxed and calm around the sheep and is always watching over his sheep.  Aiko is very responsive to his handler, as well as an intelligent worker.  He keeps a nice steady trot while going around the boundary and so he is very calming to the flock so they can eat close to the boundary and eat all the available pasture in the vinyard.

Delta von der Kleinen Wiese (Hawk v. Eichenluft, SchHIII X Arla von der Kleinen Wiese

Delta is just a young gal and a very good size for a working dog.  She is only about 54 lbs. and is as light as a feather and she is very quick and agile.  For me she is the perfect size and build for a working german shepherd who is going to herd sheep.  She can move quickly when needed, she is able to maneuver around the sheep effortlessly, and she can work all day.  She has a very smooth balanced trot when patrolling on the boundary and she seems so light on her feet!  She is really a pretty sight to behold.

Delta working the boundary.

She has been working the boundary and doing well with her commands for changing direction and we have been also working on making her corners accurate.  When she is moving quickly, sometimes she would cut a corner (Post) and so I would go out and show her what I wanted and have her do the corner correctly several times to show her what I want.  At home, I have a graze all set up with a mowed boundary that I use for dry run work and this is helpful for training.  I have posts set up at each corner of the graze and I direct her to move along the boundary and then before she gets to the post, I will remind her “easy” and then she will go around the post with the “come over” command.  She is very obedient and she learns quickly, but when she is moving fast, the tendency is to cut the corner, so I have to have her slow down a bit and then she is  able to think about it and take the corner correctly.  I don’t want to be constantly correcting her verbally and nagging, but I want to remind her and then praise when she is doing it correctly.  She picked up on this exercise quickly and is doing well.

Delta working the cross border.

More on training for the coming New Year!

Looking forward to 2011!

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Tags: Aiko, Aiko vd. Kleinen Wiese, Delta, Sheep Herding

Posted By Bill Wilson on December 13, 2010

The late Fall is a good time to graze in an orchard.   The trees help protect the grass from frost and early snows and in addition, the sheep are able to munch on the fallen apples.

Aiko and I had a nice training session with Geary this weekend.  We were grazing the sheep in the orchard for the first time this season, so it was a nice change of pace and a challenge for Aiko.  Even with the leaves off the trees, visibility is greatly reduced by all the branches and obstacles.   It’s important to keep an eye on the boundary, as the flock can easily leave the graze.  Aiko had his work cut out for him watching over the flock and also having a different environment in which to work the sheep.

Working in the trees also triggers prey drive.   It’s very similar to stalking prey in the wild, so you have to keep the dog from getting too excited and keep them focused on their work.

Geary’s new Dorper ram (pictured in the center with the black head).

On the way out to the orchard, I spotted this young bear up in a tree.

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Tags: Aiko, D Litter Pups, German Shepherd, Herding - HGH, Kleinen Wiese Dogs, Wide Graze

Posted By Sandy Wilson on October 15, 2010

AKC C-Course

Held by:  Greater New York Herding Club

Place:  Kergloff Farm, Columbia, NJ

(See Geary Loff’s Herding Beaucerons on Side Bar for Link to Herding Club/Premium List)

Dates:  Saturday, November 6th, Judge:   Judy Vanderford

Sunday, November, 7th, Judge:  Deborah Pollard

Just recently the HGH was held at Kergloff Farm in NJ and the turnout was super!    Last weekend was the first Official  HGH held at this farm and in November will be the third AKC C-course to be hosted at the same location (Farm side).

All spectators are welcome to come and see the dogs work.  I also believe that there are still openings to enter this trial.  I urge anyone who is interested in herding to come out and watch the dogs herd the sheep through many obstacles to demonstrate their  herding abilities.

Note:  If your interested in pursuing herding with your dog in this style or type of herding with a larger flock of sheep, please inquire as there are openings for new students.  If you contact Geary Loff, you can schedule a time for him to evaluate your dog and arrange for lessons.

Herding lessons are for breeds that are suitable to handle large flocks, minimum 100 sheep, but usually more.   Breeds that work larger flocks in the C-Course or HGH style are the  Beauceron, German Shepherd, Bouvier, Briard, Belgian Malinois, Belgian Sheepdog,  Belgian Tervuren and similar type dogs. If you would like to see if your dog would make a good herding prospect for this type of herding, you can contact Geary at GJLoff@msn.com.

Training at Kerloff Farm

Herding takes a lot of commitment and time, but if your dog has the talent and the attraction to the sheep, it can be a great way to spend time with your dog.  It is a terrific way to build your relationship with your dog and a fantastic way to spend time in the great outdoors.

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Tags: C-Course - AKC

Posted By Sandy Wilson on October 10, 2010

HGH TRIAL at KERGLOFF FARM

Saturday, October 9, 2010

HGH Trial for HGH Club Northeast – Judged by SV Judge Herr Wilfried Scheld

Saturday, 9 October 2010, the HGH Club Northeast (2nd Club to be formed in the US) had their 1st HGH Trial.  It was a perfect day, even a bit warm for October; nevertheless it was a beautiful day with rich blue skies, scattered clouds, and a cool breeze.    The sheep looked very well conditioned and were ready to start the course.

The morning started out with the Mayor of the town in NJ welcoming everyone to the area and thanking the club for inviting him to kick off their first HGH event.   The Mayor was actually the highlight of the morning as he was explaining that Knowlton has NJ’s largest black bear population.  No sooner did he mentioned black bear and out of the woods a black bear appeared for all of us to see.  It was so ironic to be mentioning the black bears of New Jersey and then to have one actually show up at the event!  PRICELESS!  I must say I was glad the bear never showed up again that day.  I later joked with the Mayor about him secretly bringing the bear and letting him loose.  The Mayor joked back and said the bear was a trained pet!  It really started off the morning with a chuckle.  Thank you Mayor!

Cheyenne (Carol Wiegand’s Rescue Dog – What a nice handler and dog team – great job).

Photo by Megan Rabon

The morning started out with the handler’s meeting and competitors walking the course, with questions asked along the way, and finally drawing numbers for the running order.  All female dogs were also checked to see if any were in heat.  Before each dog ran the course, microchips/tatoos were checked, collars inspected, and each dog was readied to begin their run.

Up first was Geary Loff with his beauceron Breizh, For Title Only.  He is the owner and caretaker of the flock and it is customary for that handler to perform the first run of the day.  Breizh and Geary both did a beautiful job!  The first run of the day is always the most difficult,  as it really sets the tone for the flock and the runs for the rest of the competitors.   Breizh is a full-time working dog on the farm and an exceptional worker; his obedience is exemplary!  Great JOB!

Geary Loff & Breizh (Beauceron)

I would like to point out that Geary Loff competed for the first time with his dog Breizh (Beauceron).   Geary and his dog Breizh did a top-notch job of conditioning this flock to be used for this trial.  He did an excellent job of introducing some new sheep into the flock prior to the trial so that they would work well for the competition.  Great Job!   Furthermore, I would like to say that the set up, location and condition of the grounds were absolutely beautiful, well kept and maintained.  The pastures looked super with lovely green forage for the sheep and it was arranged nicely to have the dogs illustrate all the trial obstacles.

Geary has put so much time and hard work into the land and the sheep.  Many of the club members too have been a great help for setting up the trial and made it run smoothly.  I am sure it couldn’t have gone as well without having the help of everyone in the club.  It really takes a good group of people who work together well to put on a good trial.  I would also add that  it was nice that the course was arranged to include an area on the hill in the middle of the course to allow for spectators to view the dogs working from all sides of the course.

I won’t go into detail about each run and how obstacles were executed, as it would be to lengthy, so I am just posting the final results.  I think some of the dogs did a really nice job while others needed more experience and training.   I give great credit to all those handlers who went out there with their dogs and trialed.  Nice job everyone!

Kristin & Lara

It takes so much time and dedication to train for this type of event.  Only when you have trained your dog for this type of work, can you truly appreciate the time and effort that it takes to go into a trial and finish the course.  It is one thing to show a dog at an event that is completely orchestrated, predictable, and trained by constant repetition, but to trial a dog with a flock of sheep is a different story.   Sheep, who are unpredictable and present many variables that one cannot control, is a real challenge for a dog and handler.  Every run is different and every situation that comes up can be different; knowing how to best handle each situation requires experience and some sense of strategy in knowing sheep,  their behaviors and how to place or direct your dog.  Goodness knows, when you add lambs into the equation, that can be even more challenging.   I applaud each and everyone one of the handlers – super job!  What a great group of competitors!

Click on diagram to enlarge.

The COURSE:  The course started out at the pen with a flock of over 200 head of sheep.  The dog was called to jump in the pen and then the sheep were called from the pen onto a road and led to a large graze where the dog had to exhibit boundary work, diligence, and also a placement.  After the large graze, the sheep were gathered and taken down a path to the narrow graze where the dog had to work the sheep on both sides while the sheep slowly grazed through a smaller, narrow pasture.  From there, the sheep were once again led out of the graze to go around a very narrow corner where the dog was placed as  “Post” so the sheep would go around the dog and then across a bridge.  After moving over the bridge the dogs did a long stretch of road work, moving the sheep in a long line,  displaying their ability to work along a road side while a car/truck would pass the flock. The dog works between the sheep and the vehicle to keep the sheep out of the road while the vehicle can pass.  This was a very long stretch of traffic work and very nice to see.  Lastly, the sheep were placed back in their holding pen.  Following each run, a schutzhund helper would come out and agitate the dog for the protection phase of the run.  Upon completion of all phases of the HGH test, SV Judge Herr Scheld critiqued and scored each dog and handler.

Debra & Marco

As usual at trials, things don’t always go as planned.  Whether it is the sheep being difficult, the weather being inclement,  a problematic course layout or illogical instructions from the judge, that is just part of trialing.  Sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don’t, but they are all learning experiences.    You can’t always take trial results to heart and you shouldn’t always except trial scores on their face value unless you were there to see the event yourself, then you can be the JUDGE!

RESULTS: Grade Scores are: 90-100 Excellent (V), 80-89 Very Good (SG), 70-79 Satisfactory (B), 50-59 Deficient and less than 50 Unsatisfactory.  In addition to the grade scores, each dog was given a protection phase score of either “pronounced”(“a”) or “present” (v).

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Geary Loff with Breizh (Beauceron – Male) - For Title Only, 92 Points (Excellent) – 1st run of the day – Pronounced in Protection

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Kristin Siarkowicz with Lara vom Dolderbrunnen, HGH (German Shepherd – Female) – 1st Place, 94 Points (Excellent) = Pronounced in Protection

Kathy DiStaso with Elexa vom Quasliner Moor, HGH, SchHII (German Shepherd – Female) - 2nd Place, 90 Points (Excellent) – Present in Protection

Carol Wiegand with Cheyenne (German Shepherd – Female) – 3rd Place, 86 Points (Very Good) Present in Protection

Kathy DiStaso with Ike vom Dolderbrunnen, HGH, SchHIII (German Shepherd  – Male) – 4th Place, 84 Points (Very Good) Pronounced in Protection

Debra Feliziani with Eddie Haskel (German Shepherd – Male) – 5th Place, 80 (Very Good) Present in Protection

Jean DeNapoli with Meika Sitz von der Hose (German Shepherd – Female) – 6th Place, 69 (Satisfactory) Present in Protection

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Following the final run, certificates and medals were awarded to all handlers!  It was a great way to spend a day – good company, good food, and our faithful furry friends!  It was a great turnout to have so many dogs, experienced and first time runners.  Hoping to have even more dogs ready for next year’s competition.

Because I have my own farm and I know how much time and effort I put into my own flock with grazing, feeding and caring for these animals, I would like to say thank you so much Geary for putting on this trial!  I know you spend countless hours caring for the sheep, training your dogs and students!  Keep up the good work!

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