| Aug. 9th, 2009 @ 08:54 pm Some random thoughts from the Scot Glenn shedding clinic |
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I really like Scott Glenn; he is funny, easy going but also has tons of knowledge. I can highly recommend him and next time he is around I think I will try to take a private lesson with him. As always Fido’s where excellent hosts.
The clinic started with theory and dry erase board to explain some of the geometry around shedding. Very helpful.
First go we all just did a plain old “split the group in half” shed so that he could get an idea where we all were in our shedding knowledge. I am pretty happy I have played with it before the clinic and Merckx have at this point a pretty decent cut and hold.
Second round we were working on getting speed and placement in the cut and some exercises to proof that.
Third try we worked on a stop at the correct spot.
Forth exercise was how to get your dog to stop sheep that try to run off, but stopping your dog from re gathering the whole group by having them cut in front the running sheep. It was really cool when it worked.
After that we started to shed under Scotts watchful eyes. I was very happy with how Merckx was handling it all. He is one nice partner to work with.
Last day we all moved on to the international type shed and it s a lot trickier that it looks but so much fun. The idea is that you have 20ish sheep in a 40’ circle, 4 of them are marked. The goal is to move all of the unmarked out of the circle without letting the marked sheep leave. It is sort of a game of chess with all the pieces moving. I always got stuck with one or two unmarked that refused to leave, frustrating but addictive.
I was impressed with how much everyone in the group progressed over the weekend and I think that we all left with a lot of useful information, not just about shedding but also about stock and dog handling.
One of the coolest things was to watch Scott practice after the clinic in the evenings. The speed, power and precision when he and his dogs are working is overwhelming. Makes it clear how good you really have to be to make it all the way to the top.
Some Scott Glenn quotes.
“Better to have sheded and lost then to never have sheded at all”
“You shed with the dog you have, not the dog you wish you had”
“The proof is in the sand”
“Merckx is a darn nice dog”
7 Easy steps to a shed.
1 Settle the group in the ring
2 Find your draw
3 Come up with a plan
4 Visualize the cut
5 Face the sheep you want to hold
6 Make the cut
7 Hold the group |
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