Willow is my do everything dog. She is as serious as a heart attack and as persistent as a wart with a sprinkle of “I’m just a baby”. Willow is indifferent to strangers and dogs. She is always on the job whether that’s something I’m asking her to do or something that only her and the lord know about. She is a bull in a china shop type of bitch who has no fear and gives everything 1000%.

Willow and I’s first herding started trial at Keepstone Farm

Willow getting her block chopped at our first nationals

Small pen work on cattle at the Larry Painter clinic

In a nutshell…

Herding: Willow showed a lot of natural balance and cover on her initial stock exposure. She is a very heady dog. She had an early tendancy to get sucked into the heads and creep straight in. Willow is an exciteable dog and requires a firm hand when working stock otherwise she will take advantage of the situation to work “her way”. She prefers to create movement. She can be pushy and is a bit of a dirty biter. She prefers working close. When broken of her desire to walk into the heads she is very natural to flank wide. When she is confronted head to head with stock her natural reaction has been to hold her ground and walk straight to the head (as per usual). If that doesn’t work she tends to dive in for a strong bite. She is a dog that you can correct for biting on light stock and not been deterred from using her bite when asked or when challenged on more combative stock. She is also a dog that contextualizes well, so being taught to refrain biting sheep will not effect cattle work, that will need trained separately. We are currently trialing at an intermediate level on sheep and hope to begin trialing started on cattle in 2025 with a little more exposure to cattle work.

General performance: she is a very confident dog that has a strong innate desire to please her master and to work whatever that may be. Extremely food and toy/play motivated. She is resilient in new environments and situations. She is aloof with strangers and treats her interactions with them as transactional. Willow drills well, catches on quick, and retains her lessons well even with long gaps in training. She is extremely enthusiastic in all she does. She is frankly the ideal temperment for performance of any kind for me.

UPDATE: ACDCA nationals was tough but at least we walked away with our started arena cattle title at the ASCA trial over at the wonderful flying bucket! I’m really happy with our progress! I’m noticing some uncertainty on cattle so we cant wait to get to our annual cattle clinic to sharpen things up. May need to buy a few in the meantime!

  • Stranger Danger: Aloof to strangers. Does not enjoy interacting with strangers unless being handled for stock work or food is involved.
    Dog Friendliness: Indifferent to strange dogs. Does not tolerate pushy dogs. Generally indifferent to housemates.
    Environmental Sensitivity
    : Low
    Engagement
    : Very High
    Biddability
    : High
    Impulsivity
    : High
    Intelligence: High
    Pressure sensitivity: Moderately hard
    Persistence: Very High
    Energy Level: High with a good off-switch

  • Pros: Goes naturally to the heads and heels when necessary. Stands ground well when challenged head on. Responsive to the handler. Natural sense of balance. When she understands the ask she is efficient and quick to execute. Learns quickly. Displays a fair amount of eye when working close. Easily flanks either direction.

    Cons: a “straight on dog”. Is pushy and anticipates handler’s instruction. Really enjoys the bite, and is a bit of a dirty biter so needs kept up on. Easily sucked into the heads. Creeps, creeps and then creeps some more (training issue 😅). She could use better rate and requires a very firm calm consistent hand or she will take advantage.

  • OFA HIPS Excellent
    Pennhip LDI .36 RDI .44
    OFA ELBOWS Normal

    Genetics (via Gensol)

    PRCD B
    PRCD4/PLL A
    DM A
    NCL5 & NCL12 A
    Long Hair Carrier (Sh/Lh)
    Melanistic Mask Carrier (E/Em)

    BAER Normal
    CERF Eyes Normal (24 months)
    Spine Spondy and DISH free (44 months)
    OFA Patella Normal
    Dentition MISSING 106 206 306 406

    Link to OFA

Pedigree

KCEE'S HOT DIGGITY DAWG
Kcee's Hot Diggity Dawg
   
HD: Good, ED: Normal, Bite: Scissor bite, BAER: + / +
KCEE'S DUCK DUCK
Kcee's Duck Duck
   
HD: Fair, ED: FCP/DJDI, Bite: Scissor bite, BAER: + / +
AMAUST CH TURRELLA BLUE CHIEFSCOUT
Aust/Am CH Turrella Blue Chiefscout
   
CH BRYN MAWR'S SHEEZA DINKA
CH Bryn Mawr's Sheeza Dinka
   
HD: Good, ED: Normal, Bite: Scissor bite, BAER: + / +
DRYWOOD'S TEQUILA EYE-KANDY AT KCEES
Drywood's Tequila Eye-Kandy at Kcees
   
HD: Fair, ED: Normal, Bite: Scissor bite, BAER: + / +
DRYWOODS IRISH WHISKEY
Drywoods Irish Whiskey
   
HD: Good, ED: Normal, Bite: Scissor bite, BAER: + / +
DRYWOODS BLUE HAZEL
Drywoods Blue Hazel
   
HD: Good, ED: Normal, Bite: Scissor bite, BAER: + / +
AE'S DOUBLEMINT YUM AT KCEES
AE's Doublemint Yum at Kcees
   
HD: Good, ED: Normal, Bite: Scissor bite, BAER: + / +
GCH HEARTLAND'S BLUE APACHE BOY
GCH Heartland's Blue Apache Boy
   
HD: Good, Bite: Scissor bite, BAER: + / +
CH HILLHAVEN PC'S POGORAMA
CH Hillhaven PC's Pogorama
   
VAN HALEY'S LIL' MISS TILLIE
Van Haley's Lil' Miss Tillie
   
AE'S PLAYING THE ODDS CDX PCDX BN GN RE HT CGC TKN QW
AE's Playing The Odds CDX PCDX BN GN RE HT CGC TKN QW
   
HD: Fair, ED: Normal, Bite: Scissor bite, BAER: + / +
CH HILL ST.'S ELI'S COMING CD HSAS
CH Hill St.'s Eli's Coming CD HSAS
   
HD: Good, ED: Normal, Bite: Scissor bite, BAER: + / +
CH AE'S MIDNIGHT STAR GAZER CD PCD BN RE HT CGC VQW TDI
CH AE's Midnight Star Gazer CD PCD BN RE HT CGC VQW TDI
   
HD: Fair, ED: DJDII, Bite: Scissor bite, BAER: + / +

Stock Work

Willow's 9th round pen session

Willow and Zoe first time on cattle without a clinician/instructor (stock rental).