NvShadowBCs-Noggin' Doggin'

 Tic Aka - in progress - Saint Ticholas, Tic dou lou reux, or  Tici tici tembo no chari rembo sory chari rouchi tic tari tembo (smile)         Tic is an open dog from Canadian lines.  I got him from Morgen Magnussun.  Morgen and Tic came out to the ranch and trained with us through the summer when they could.  He is a powerful dog full of try and style.  I may be a little over my head with him at this point in my learning curve, but I do really like his enthusiasm.  He already knows his whistles, and is trying to understand my version of squeaky squirrel-latin.              Tic is VERY intense.  He has definitely made me step up my game.  I like it in a way, but some days it is a little nerve wracking.   We have only been working together about 5 mos.  In that time, we really have come a long way.       Driving is his game.  Eye is not a problem, unless there is such thing as too much.  We are working on freeing him up a little.  He needs to

                                  Ben Aka (Good Ben) Benny Benny Good Boy!!! (dork)          (Bad Ben)  Bin ladin (rare-anymore)      Ben did take the scenic way home.  I am so lucky to have been at the right place at the right time.  I am not sure entirely of his background. His story was 'return to sender'.  He came to me a very cranky confused dude.  Immediately he hated my yellow labrador Luca. They are good buddies now.  Ben is very space sensitive.  His personal bubble is very important to him.  He is also very sensitive to pressure(s) in general.      Genetically he comes with the whole package.  His litter mates are doing really well on the farm/ranch and also on the trial fields.   Ben is just  a great dog.  "Everybody Loves Raymond".   Nope, it is "Everybody Loves Ben".  Ben just has a charisma about him.  With the sheep, he has a gentle and kind way.  He has great feel and naturally square flanks with an am

Val Aka - Valbazen  (Dirtiest dog on the planet-in all ways)      I like Val an awful awful lot!!!  She is the anti-Lily though.  She is really pretty much all about Val.  With the help of more experienced trainers I have identified in her a bit of a passive-aggressive personality.  She really just wants her own way.  In her training evolution, she is starting to realize that the only way she can have what she wants is through me.  She is a special mix of power and pout.  When reprimanded, the look that she gives me is not necessarily one of being sorry, more that she is sorry I feel that way.      I did acquire her when she was 5-6 mos old.  I really like her breeding.  In her training she goes through spurts of growth.  In general she has been fairly slow in her maturing.  As a really inexperienced handler, I have been a little too impatient for her being so young.  It just takes time, and with these guys you just have to be patient and

Lily Aka - "Wheezie-eye-poker" or "the Wheeze"            This is everyone's infamous first dog.  She's really not my first dog, but rather my first herding dog. Lily was and is spoiled beyond reason.  She is definitely one of the most amazing dogs I have ever met.  She can do a plethora of useless tricks and truly thinks she is a real human.  She is loyal beyond sanity.  Lily had this incredible drive and exuberance in all that she did as a young dog.  This little package held some sort of magic,  I had to try to unwind her and see what exactly she was about.  Herding: Ducks. Cows. Sheep. Cats.  Airborne: Friz. Ball. Stick.  Fetching:  Everything!!!  By specific name!  Squeaky ball.  Tennis Ball.  Friz.  Baby.  Hide and Seek.  Hand signals.  "The SNEAK game."         So one day a friend invited me to an open field trial in Northern California that her family hosts every year, to watch and help with concessions.

Sheepdog Blog Introducing Lily Lily (and a short lived rescue named Zip) are responsible for me entering into the realm of sheepdogging.  Lily is from an open field background from Northern California bred by a nice guy named David Lee Johnson.  She is now almost 10yrs old and works occasionally.  Lily is my cow dog.  Weighing in at 28 pounds dripping wet.  She was "eager" and driven from 6 weeks of age.  I was intrigued to see what this little dog was all about.  As a team, we invented our own language to get ranch work done.   Introducing Val Long story short, after taking Lily to a Novice-Novice clinic with Patrick and Dianne, I found 5.5 mos old Val at Don Helsley's.  Lily brought me, but Dianne decided that if I was investing in sheep, I should start dancing with Val.  Val is a Dusty(Ken Johnson) X Cap (Don Helsley). Introducing Ben Putting in an enormous amount of time and effort into learning the art of sheepdogging, I ran across