Working Stockdog

[Amy C]

Charlie, did you stop taking your hormones? Could be what those hot flashes are all about...

GPS for dogs? Hell, I need them for SHEEP!
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Amy Coapman
State of Jefferson

[cgt]

Amy, Amy, Amy.

Let's see.... How to respond.

Hmmm....

A family oriented forum...

Hmmm....

Ah!

I got this one from Stormy:

"Amy: Go forth and multiply."

[Sarah Boudreau]

Charlie,

At your blind gather trial will the sheep, dogs and judge be blindfolded also? Sign me up! That would be so fair. No one would have an "advantage" and we'd all be in the dark.

You are a genius.

[cgt]

[Amy C]

I think Charlie's a genius too; how he manages to nail those midafternoon Friday draws at Soldier Hollow is way beyond my comprehension.


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Amy Coapman
State of Jefferson

[Lana Rowley]

I don't know about blind folds Charlie but how about duct tape for some handlers mouths? Ohh wait this a family forum i don't want to get into your personal life too much Lana

[cgt]

[Roger Culbreath]

How interesting about your coment on GPS for sheep Sarah.

I purchased a program (actually just a well designed spredsheet complete with all sorts of macros and formulas) sometime back from LInda DeJong in Washigton. I used it for the first time during the trial in Monte Vista, CO this past weekend. Really works nice and is very handy. Prints the USBCHA results sheets at the single touch of a button after the trial. I've found very few drawbacks with the program and they may not even exist if I really knew anything about spreadsheets.

Additionally, I had just purchased a very inexpensive GPS that works on my laptop. I had a blast with it on the way to Monte Vista and am astounded with the accuracy and detail it provides. It does everything! Hopefully, it even calls 911 when I have a wreck because of looking at the laptop while driving!

Anyway, during the break between the Open and the Open Ranch classes I got to thinking about how easy it would be to clip GPS sensors to both the sheep and the dog and track the course. The zoom capability of the GPS system is awsome and a judge (or anyone for that matter) could have a very accurate picture of exactly what was going on as far as lines, and movement around the course.

I suspect that it would even be possible for the judge to sit comfortably at home and judge a trial clear across the country. That would rate right up there with just having handlers mail in a video with a signed statement that it had not been edited (right!) to be judged. Thereby saving the expense and travel of actually going to trials.
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Roger Culbreath

[Sarah Boudreau]

That technology would certainly make the playing field more even and fair for all. It would also take the beauty away. At least for me.

[Bill Fosher]

This thread is very interesting, and I think the crux of it is just what Charlie said: if you don't trust the judge, get a new hobby.

Judges should have at their disposal whatever tools they need to put the dogs in the right order. I don't have a problem with the judge having a better view or using binoculars. If a judge is really letting the set out crew make calls for him or her, I can't imagine that they're going to be asked to judge too many more trials. The free market has a neat way of sorting these things out.

As to whether some handlers should be allowed to bring their own vertical assitance devices or vision enhancers, well, that's a slightly different matter. I can certainly imagine carrying binoculars or a spyglass out to work with me. But I don't think I'd lug a stepladder or a bale of hay up and down the hill. I would (and do) certainly use terrain and even the occasional tree limb to get a better view of things if needed. So if the booster seat is there for one, it should be there for all. I think the shrimps of the world (and I'm married to a 5 footer) think they have a greater disadvantage than they really do. Believe me, 10 inches or a foot change in elevation doesn't make that much of a difference in most cases.
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Bill Fosher
Edgefield Farm, Westmoreland, NH
Sheep Production Forum: http://www.edgefieldsheep.com/bb

[Pam Wolf]

Guess I'm of the camp that if the dog needs that much help, then either get another dog or go to another venue.

Pam

[Sarah Boudreau]

Anybody do a height check on the person that had the most USBCHA points this year? He sure didn't seem short when he won Meeker and a bunch of other trials.

[cballiu]

Boy, you really need thick skin to play this game. I've pretty much been told to shut up and go home by a large percentage of responders. Sorry, don't plan to, but I plan to keep asking what you may think are dumb questions or bring up things that have always been and shall always be.

My point about the point of view was to say that if the judge was seeing the run from my point of view, he might have had difficulty in judging parts of the outrun or lift since he wouldn't have been able to see them. So if you can't see it, you can't judge it, right? And the part about being able to see your dog so you can help it even if you lose some points on redirects, at least you can go on. For a lot of people, maybe not the ones on this list, some of these trial fields are the toughest they'll ever see and they'd be hard-pressed to duplicate them at home. So why shouldn't they have a better chance of having the dog successfully find the sheep in tall grass or down in a draw? That just gives the dog more confidence on strange territory.

So where does it say in the guidelines that I can't use binoculars or a step stool?

Cathy

[Sarah Boudreau]

Aren't there other herding opportunities available around the country with more user friendly guidelines? AHBA and AKC come to mind. Standardized course dimensions, not overly difficult for those that don't have the opportunity to train for tougher stuff?

Please don't ask the USBCHA to standardize. We have some of the dogs we have because their ancectors were asked to find sheep in tall grass or bring sheep through blind swales at USBCHA open trials. Not to mention the ranch or farm.

[Glenn Firchow]