Training

Summary of Cowdog Days ’09

Production Sale

The CowdogDays ’09 working ranch cowdog demonstrations began at 1:00 p.m. on Friday November 6, 2009. All cowdogs shown and offered for sale were out of Bert and Hawk. Each started cowdog (a two-year-old female, a one-year-old female and a one-year-old male) offered for sale was shown working by itself to gather a set of cows, yearlings or weanlings. The cattle were brought to a corral and sorted into various groups. A litter of seven 6-month old pups were demonstrated as a group. The pups were in a pickup bed and taken out one at a time. The pups were then taken to the corral and put though a series of groundwork drills to set gates, go through the alleys and into the chute. Once the gates were set, then the pups were taken to the gate that they were going to return to with the cattle. The pups were sent to “hunt ‘em up”. There were 30 six-weight heifers in the lot and not in sight when the pups were sent to gather the heifers. The pups went to find the cattle, gathered the heifers and proceeded back to the corral. About half way to the corral, I stopped the pups and let then work the back, sides and front end of the group of heifers. This exercise was to allow the people to watch the natural instinct of the pups to work side to side and pay attention when I asked them to get back or to move right or left. The pups were then asked to “bring ‘em on”, meaning to bring the heifers on into the corral. Once in the corral, the pups were used to sort the heifers. The heifers were then moved to a larger pen and the pups were worked to show their desire to head and heel. I then gave the pups the “that’ll do” command and called them to me. Once they stopped working, I told them to “get a drink” and they all went to the water tank and got a drink. When they were done drinking, I gave them the “load up” command and they all ran over and loaded up in the bed of the pickup.

The sale agenda was as follows:

• Sale began at 4:00 p.m.,
• Each cowdog had an individual bid sheet and buyers listed their buyer number on the cowdog bid sheets of the dogs they were interested in bidding on,
• A base/minimum bid was listed on each cowdog’s bid sheet,
• Buyers not able to attend the sale had provided their buyer interest prior to the sale day and their buyer numbers were also listed on each bid sheet,
• Buyers were given time to list their buyer numbers on the bid sheets,
• The sale order began with the cowdog with the most buyers listed,
• Phone bids were taken during the auction, and
• Cowdogs sold to the highest bidder.

Cowdog and Handler Schooling for Hangin’ Tree Cowdogs on Saturday and Sunday

November 7-8, 2009. Participants and their cowdogs were registered for the training on Saturday morning around 8:30 a.m. Individuals without cowdogs were also registered for the training.

The training sessions were conducted from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. The cost was $100 per dog per day and participants are encouraged to attend both days. Individuals attending and participating without bringing a cowdog paid a fee of $20 per person per day. Dogs must be current on vaccinations and dewormings 30 days prior to attending the events.

• The training agenda covered:
• A handout and informal presentation of the basics of training a working cowdog,
• Starting a pup,
• Teaching your pup/cowdog to retrieve cattle,
• The importance of ground work for schooling you and your cowdog,
• How to evaluate problems and ways to fix bad habits,
• Electronic collar use, and
• Basic skills for pasture and corral work.

The course covered basic principles of training including building a relationship with your pup/cowdog and a variety of commands. Following the basic schooling, I worked with each cowdog to assess its level of working skills. Participants and owners watched training tips and techniques. They were then able to apply the lessons with one-on-one training with their cowdog. Each cowdog and owner received several work sessions during both days. The class was limited to three cowdogs and handlers and the number of viewers or people wanting to audit the training sessions was not limited. Food and drinks were available on the premises.

The weekend was a fun experience. CowdogDays ’09 gave the participants an opportunity to meet new people, visit about ranching and farming, and enjoy some time away from home.

Liability Statement – Goldammer Ranch, Tammy’s Cowdogs and any family member of either entity will not be responsible for anyone or any of the property of anyone that may incur an injury or any type of damages while on the premises during CowdogDays ’09. All individuals will assume full responsibility for any accidents, injuries or damages that they may incur while on the premises of Goldammer Ranch or Tammy’s Cowdogs.