Our first USBCHA trial

If you follow me on Facebook, you already know - Fleck & I participated in our first USBCHA "novice" trial this past weekend.  If you are unfamiliar with this venue, USBCHA stands for the United States Border Collie Handlers Association.  You can read more on their website at www.usbcha.com. The trial we participated in was put on by the LOLBCA (Land of Lincoln Border Collie Association).

Fleck and I have run in several other herding trials including AKC and AHBA but never the USBCHA. Thanks to my flower essence blends and essential oils, I actually wasn't nervous even though we were to do an outrun of about 600 feet (or 200 yards), bring the sheep through a center line panel, around the post and then pen.  For those who are familiar with the other venues, even at the "novice" level, which is what Fleck and I are at, the handler cannot leave the post until the sheep have come around it. So once you step up to the post and send your dog, your pup is on their own to figure out how to bring you the sheep and keep it all in control - all things Fleck did with style.

One of the concerns of a Novice handler is "will my dog find the sheep."  We arrived on Thursday afternoon and I took Fleck out near the field and just sat for a few minutes.  The sheep were grazing in the field and I wanted to see if he could "find" them.  After the wind shifted and his nose started twitching, he turned his head and spotted the sheep. He smelled them first then followed that K9 nose to find his sheepies :) Yay - I felt better...

The Novice runs were first thing on Friday and started at 7am.  Good thing as it was very hot an humid in central Illinois that day. We survived the two Novice runs and ended up with placing 3rd in when the two scores were combined.

Two things we'll be working on - picking up sheep off of a spotter and penning.  He is so used to sheep that see a dog coming and take off to the handler he was a little uncertain with sheep that weren't too impressed with a dog that didn't "respect" their space.  The spotters held the sheep nicely and he was uncertain how to maneuver around that and pick them up.  Cool to see him learn how to do this during his runs.

I don't have a pen at home so we really need to work on this.  We had them in the mouth of the pen several times, but without practical knowledge of how to get them in smoothly, we struggled with getting the two ewes and 1 little lamb in there.

Biggest thing I learned - trust my dog!  The first round of runs, we were the last dog in the class.  So I spent the time watching what other people were doing - which way they sent their dog, how did the sheep react - all those things. I determined that a "come bye" direction would be the best approach for us.  I entered the field and approached the post and Fleck quickly settled into the "Away to me" spot.  I flipped him around and set up on the "come bye" side but his head was still facing "away to me".  I hesitated but realized that he must be reading the pressure of the field differently than I was and I set him up on the "away to me" side.  He was right. They wanted to bolt up the field to the exhaust and if he went the direction I originally wanted to send him - he would have lost his sheep.  He did a great job covering the draw on the away to me side.  I am very glad I was observant of how he wanted to go :)

Overall, we survived our first USBCHA trial and have two more coming up.  I can see we have a lot to learn, but it was such an incredible bonding experience - hard to put into words how special it is to experience this with one of my best friends and the little red dog in the class. Good boy Mr. Fleck.

Sheep Ear injury - what do to?

One of my sheep had blood dripping from the ear the other day.  After looking closer, I saw that his ear-tag was cutting through the flap - ouch!  Here is what we did once we caught him.

Removed the ear tag (he does not need it for tracking) and washed his open wound with diluted Thieves cleaner and water.  The gash the tag created was about 2 inches long and was swollen - poor guy.  After removing all the dried blood and debris with the Thieves cleaner mixture, I put several drops of Purification on the site.  If you don't know this blend - it has more "purifying" power than iodine or hydrogen peroxide.  Then, I put several drops of Thieves.  This blend is highly anti-bacterial, anti-fungal (and anti just about everything) plus it has Clove.  This provided some topical pain relief.  It was still bleeding from all the scrubbing and removal of the tag, so I applied Idaho Tansy.  This is an awesome coagulant.  I then slathered on Animal Scents Ointment - an ointment that is infused with essential oils.  It has amazing healing powers but perhaps more importantly - it acts as an insect repellent.  No flies getting through that stuff.  Plus it seals in all the oils I had already applied.

It has only been a couple of days, but the site looks much, much better and he is certainly a happier guy. In case you're wondering - these products work the same way in people.

I'll update you on his progress - once I catch him again :)

If you are interested in ordering any of these amazing products, check out my website at: http://www.youngliving.org/tresalaferty

Looking inside yourself

Do you often have a feeling of loneliness even in a crowded room or busy life? So many of us feel like we are very, very alone in a world that just seems to pass us by without caring what we are experiencing.  Some may even think that "I'll be happy if I could just get (fill in the blank)."  But even if we got that thing or attained that status, we would be happy for a while then the feeling of loneliness would slowly creep back in to our life.

The only true fulfillment we can experience is when we connect to our source of Divine energy. It doesn't matter what you call this "source" it is the thing that shows us that we are all connected and that all things are intertwined.  Therefore, we need all the things in our life to make us whole.

So often we seek answers outside of ourselves. Constantly asking others what we should be doing and how we should be approaching things.  While it is a good, healthy activity to seek the advise of wise friends, we must realize that all the answers to all the questions are inside of ourselves.  We just need to quiet our minds and ask the questions.  When was the last time you asked yourself "what advise would I give myself if I were my own best friend?"  All too often we rush into the direction others point us, all the while our heart is pulling us towards a different path. Sometimes saying "this seems hard."  It's just our heart trying to straighten us out!

I do seek inspiration in others but I strive to "own" my messages.  I close my eyes and ask my spiritual guides to help me express my thoughts and feelings in a true, authentic fashion.  It is amazing what they tell me to do when I open and listen with my heart.  When a message aligns with your heart passion, you feel it lock in, you feel the truth align with your energy.  When this happens, nothing can keep it down!

I challenge you to spend a few minutes with yourself. Ask, "what would I tell ME if I were my own best friend?"  Then have the courage to take your own advice.

Affirmation from the Healing Fairies: "I have great beauty and light inside of me right now. I tap in to all of the knowledge of the Universe."