Where We Work Dogs and finally..Brice!

Every chance we get, we try to take the dogs out to the open desert to work on our outwork. Our sheep live in Calico Basin, which is just in front of the beautiful Red Rock Conservation area.

These are some examples of my view as I'm setting out sheep for Mike & Brice.

There are alot of hazards the dogs have to overcome during their work. The rocks are brutal, and the cactus and thorns are everywhere.

I tried to get Jet to pose next to one of the hazards.... but made the mistake of saying "See Sheep?" to get her ears forward. Here is what happens when you use those magic words during a Border Collie portrait:

So... I had to find some examples of the dreaded thorns our dogs routinely have to negotiate without the aid of a sheepdog.

That picture is bad enough- but by far the worst enemies of doggie paws and sometimes underbellies are these dreaded Jumpin' Jacks. They do exactly that- anything gets within striking distance and they will latch on. A few months ago, Brice was outrunning and suddenly jumped straight up into the air and then refused to move. We ran up there, thinking maybe he had gotten snake bit. But instead, a cluster of Jumpin' Jacks were stuck between his leg and armpit. Needless to say, part of our working kit includes a pair of tweezers.

We had another beautiful cool day, with dark clouds over the mountains. The sheep even got a chance to pose against the backdrop.

And I finally got some pictures of Brice. Problem is, the little dude moves pretty dang fast. So did not get as close up as I'd like. This picture would have been pretty good except I was a second too slow to get a clear head shot.

Brice is a good driver, although if you underestimate his sneakiness, he might slip to the head. But for the most part, if he's steady enough, he'll hold a line real nice.

Brice doesn't have alot of eye and he has a nice way with his sheep, although he can get a bit tight at times and likes to be about two notches too fast. He is young and enthusiastic, and incredibly willing.

We had one little visitor to our working day... actually these fat little lizards were all over the place today, must have liked the weather too! Luckily, we don't have rattlesnakes in this area- they would have found the rocks ideal for sunbathing.

After her good work today, Jet was finally tired enough to pose for me by this pretty cactus.