Shanti's travel blog: Aussies, aussies, aussies...!

Next stop after our stay with Jean was Linda Bell's (kennel Winslide) in Gerogetown, TX. When I got there the weather was dramatically changing from warm summer to something more similar to what I left behind in Finland. It got dark, wet and cold and we only did a bit of work with Dracu. No herding yet - but Linda did explain to me about pressure and how to teach a dog to respond to pressure. She showed me different kinds of things I could train without the sheep, like applying pressure on her (like stepping on her leash close to her collar) and when she lied down I would step off the pressure. Dracu took a bit to get it and Linda had to really work to get Dracu to react to her pressure at first. But these are things we definitely need to work on because all the agility and obedience training has made Dracu not so sensitive to pressure from me.

The next day we did two sessions on sheep with Dracu on a long line and me helping her from behind. Linda would be with the sheep and apply pressure and I would just make sure Dracu could not get away with not reacting to the pressure. It slowed things down a lot and made it easier for me to understand what was going on and where the dog should be.

Dance aka Lagniappe's Winslide Dancer

Linda and Dance

Dracu started to really respond well at the end of the second session and I'm sure if we had had more time she would have progressed nicely indeed. But as it was, I was in a hurry to reach my next destination. We did talk a lot of dogs and training with Linda and she showed her dogs work. I was specially taken with her super friendly aussie boy Tripp (Dance's pup). What a cutie! I also got a chance to meet Linda's old legend Winslow and was very stricken to hear he passed away just a few days after my visit :(

Winslide's Trip to the Top "Trip"

That evening I drove to Terry Martin's place so we could finish watching the tv-series we had started, Moonlight! We had a nice, relaxing evening in front of the tv that was a rare treat for me. I don't seem to have any downtime to just hang and do nothing! Or if I do, I'll be reading. I just can't get enough of these books! I can't ever find anything to read back home but here (thanks mostly to suggestions made by Terry) I have found so many wonderful books and it's all I can do to pry myself away from them and sleep a few hours a night! My suitcase is sure getting heavy... When I get back home I'm going to learn how to use Amazon.com and start ordering books that you can't find here.

The next morning I was up (way too early considering how late we stayed up) and drove 3 hours North to Whitesboro, TX. I went to visit first the Westermans (kennel That'll Do) at their home/mansion. That was one big house and grounds! I met all their dogs and also this years Nationals winner Manfred and his dog Nellie were there. Manfred was actually from Germany and has lived quite an interesting life :O

I had a nice time with him as he showed me all the grounds, animals etc. that were owned by the Westermans. Unfortunate they were leaving the next day for 3 weeks to California for a vacation after the huge job of putting the Nationals together. I spent a night there and finally bought myself the Cowgirl Boots that I had been looking for. pretty expensive, but worth every penny! Before leaving the area, I made a quick trip down the road to meet Jamie Burns (kennel Cut'N Loose). Because I only had a few hours she just showed me her dogs (what a happy pack!) and we talked some dogs and I made plans to come see her later as I would spend the weekend at an ASCA agility trial in Rendon, TX and would drive past her house after it was over! The next time I visited Jamie showed me some herding with Rosa, Sweetie and Dodge!