Sheep thrills!
by Louise Watson, Vancouver , British
Columbia , Canada
I’ve been
involved in the purebred dog world for 40 years but have only had boxers in my
life for the last 15 years. In 2004, I
decided to approach Cheryl Jennings of JEMS Boxers about her litter by “Jam”
out of her beloved girl “Brier”. I
didn’t know Cheryl well, but we had mutual friends and I hoped that she would
find me worthy of one of her pups. Hands
trembling, I dialed her telephone number, cleared my throat, took a deep breath
and got ready to make my case as to why I would be worthy! I needn’t have worried. Those who know Cheryl know that she is a
gregarious and warm person and she soon put me at ease. And so a 12 week old flashy brindle boxer
puppy made the trip to my home in Vancouver ,
British Columbia . He was to be named “George”. The support and friendship of Cheryl Jennings
and Dianna Emmons (JEMS Boxers U.S.A.) throughout George’s “career” has been
tremendous. Dianna and Cheryl refer to
George simply as “Alphabet Boy” in recognition of the multitude of letters
after his name.
At the age
of 10 months George was first introduced to herding sheep. He was very enthusiastic. Actually, truth be told, he was a little
wild. Fast forward to the current day
and George continues to maintain his enthusiasm but has the necessary skills to
work livestock calmly and effectively – without scattering them like popcorn!
Although
not nearly as flamboyant as his namesake, Boy George (the lead singer of the
band “Culture Club”), George does things with great flair. George’s herding career has exceeded my
wildest expectations. George’s obedience
and rally titles were also earned with multiple high in class awards. But it’s in herding where he’s a bit of an
over achiever!
George’s
herding record to date:
·
#1 all breed Intermediate Canadian Kennel Club herding dog - 2010
·
8
High in Trial awards
·
4
Reserve High in Trial awards
·
12
High in Class awards
·
1
High Combined Score award (arena)
·
1
High Combined Score award (stock dog)
·
High
in Trial awards won on both cattle and sheep
·
High
in Class awards won on cattle, sheep and ducks
·
13
championship points earned to date (including his majors) – just 2 more to go!
·
7
Herding Excellent (HX) points earned to date – just 3 more to go!
·
Championship
points earned on all types of stock used in CKC trials (cattle, sheep, ducks)
·
1st
boxer to earn an Advanced herding title
·
Has
earned Advanced herding titles on both sheep and ducks
George is
trained and handled by Lynn Leach. She
is an AKC, CKC and AHBA (American Herding Breed Association) judge and is a
much sought after clinician and travels extensively worldwide judging and teaching
clinics. Lynn and her husband, Jim, own
Downriver Farm in the beautiful Fraser
Valley in British Columbia . www.downriver.org
George LOVES
Lynn and to
witness the teamwork between them is magical.
With Lynn at the helm, George has earned
two scores of 98/100 – the highest scores Lynn
has earned with a dog of ANY breed in her 20++ years of trialing. Lynn , thank you so much for making my Boy George shine!
Herding
competitors are supportive of each other and have been very accepting of George
who, as a boxer, is definitely the odd man out among all the Aussies, Cattle
Dogs, Border Collies, etc. I will always
remember a trial weekend when a group of fellow competitors said they adored
George and wanted to wear “I heart George” T-shirts. It was one of those weekends which makes you
smile until it hurts!
I've spent
umpteen hours in my role as a “hockey mum” chauffeuring George to lessons with Lynn and observing and
learning. All my time observing Lynn 's interaction with
George has definitely helped me in my current “journey” with the first dog I'm
working with myself in herding (my dog, Jet).
However, “seeing” and “doing” are two different things and I've
certainly stumbled along the way! But now,
after a few months, Jet and I are becoming more simpatico and the training
frustrations are becoming less and the celebrations becoming more
frequent. One day you'll be euphoric
about your beautiful run or training session and the next day your ego will be
squashed like a bug! This sport keeps
you humble that's for sure. But, it's
the days when you and your dog are working as a team or when you make a
training breakthrough that keep you coming back.
Unlike in conformation
and other performance sports, in herding there is the additional factor of the
livestock to consider. The livestock are
intelligent, thinking creatures. They
are affected by the weather, the time of day, the “draws” on the field, how
they were treated by a dog and handler the last time they were worked, their
perception of the dog, their confidence in the handler's ability to control the
dog and numerous other factors. Also, on
the last day of a trial weekend, the livestock may be cranky and be more likely
to challenge the dog. These are factors
which just don't come into play in any other dog sport!
In May 2012
Lynn Leach and I embarked on a 3 week herding road trip down the west coast of
the U.S. Lynn
was scheduled to teach a number of herding clinics enroute – including a
herding clinic for boxers! It was going
to be a real highlight of the trip and a breed first. I was soooo looking forward to it!
Sadly,
George was unable to participate in that boxer herding clinic due to the events
that transpired. A couple of days before
the boxer herding clinic, Lynn
and I discovered George having cluster seizures. George had never had seizures before. To make a long story short, George was
diagnosed in California
with a brain tumour by three different veterinarians (including a
neurologist). I was completely and
utterly devastated.
Upon my
return home to Vancouver ,
I took George to my own vet to discuss palliative care and the timing of
euthanasia. After examining George, my
vet excused himself from the exam room and returned holding a pharmacology book
opened to a particular page. Pointing at
the page, he said “read this”. I read
the indicated passage and things started clicking into place. George’s seizures, goose stepping and stiffness
were text book symptoms of Metronidazole (Flagyl) toxicity! Since being diagnosed the previous year with
Irritable Bowel Disease, George had been prescribed Flagyl and he was no longer
tolerating it. No brain tumour!
My vet has
always been a superstar in my eyes and he really came through for George this
time. Unfortunately, George had been
prescribed Phenobarbital by one of the vets in California .
The process then began to wean George from the Phenobarbital, a long
process which in itself can cause seizures.
During that time, George was to be kept quiet and his activity was to be
restricted to leash walks only. Nine
long weeks later, the weaning process was complete.
Lynn Leach
spent the summer of 2012 in Europe teaching
herding clinics and judging. She
returned back to British Columbia
in time to work with George for only 2 brief training sessions and then we
headed out on a road trip for a weekend of CKC trials. We really weren’t expecting much from George
that weekend because he’d been sidelined for so long. But, with CKC herding trials being so few and
far between, off we went!
George was
dubbed "The Comeback Kid" by fellow competitors that weekend! I was BEYOND thrilled to see George back
working and enjoying his favourite activity after his recent trials and
tribulations. After such a long hiatus
from training and activity, George’s stamina wasn’t great. But he tried hard - and came through in
spades. He won the coveted award of High
Combined Score! His combined score for
the weekend was a whopping 71.5 points ahead of the next highest scoring
dog. George also won a Reserve High in
Trial, earned another 7 points towards his Herding Championship and another 5
points towards his Herding Excellent title!
To say that he surpassed our expectations would be an
understatement! Good Boy George!
The 2012
CKC herding trial season is now over.
The next opportunity to enter CKC trials will be in May 2013 and George
will be 9 years old then. And, God
willing, George will be there!
It’s
wonderful to see more and more people giving herding a try with their
boxers. Boxers are “wicked smart” and truly
a versatile breed!
It may
appear to the uninitiated that herding folk are crazy. Why else would we don multiple layers of
clothing and smelly rain gear to traipse out into a mucky field? And to have our sometimes “overly
enthusiastic” dog push the sheep into us - and sometimes over us! To finish our training session with mud and
muck in unmentionable places. It’s not
because we’re fashionistas that’s for darn sure. It’s because herding is an addiction, that’s
why. Pure and simple. And, thankfully, it’s an addiction for which
there is no cure.
Photo #1:
“George” is also known as JEMS Culture Club CGN CD RA HA HAsd SDS Am. RA
RLFI‑s HTDI‑s HRDII‑s VB VBX
By MBIS/MBISS Am. Ch. JEMS Pearl Jam LOM ex MBIS/BISS Am. Can. Ch.
Stevenstars-N-JEMS Crown Royal DOM DOMC HIC
Bred by Cheryl Jennings (JEMS Canada), Dianna Emmons (JEMS U.S.A.),
Marcella Mushovic and Beth Ann Mushovic
Photo
#2:
May 2010, Laidlaw, British Columbia: 2 High in Trial awards (cattle and sheep), 1
Reserve High in Trial, High Combined Stockdog!
L to R - Judge Terry Kenney (California), Lynn Leach (Downriver Farm),
George, Judge Steve Waltenburg (California)
Photo
#3:
"The
Standoff"
George (60 pounds) faces off with a
North Country Cheviot ewe (180 pounds)
Score:
George-1, Ewe-0
Photo #4:
Celebrating
Boy George’s “Comeback Tour”!
September
2012
Our
happiness about George’s wins took a definite back seat to our joy about his
return to good health!
L to R -
Judge Nancy Ward (Washington), Louise Watson, George, Lynn Leach
(trainer/handler extraordinaire), Judge Ron Fischer (Washington)
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