Herding in the Rain.

I chose to take Party herding today as Beth has a drop in group every Sunday morning. It was raining but rain never hurts. It was quite an interesting experience as Party has never been herding with a group of dogs, only Beth's dog Pogo. When we got there, there was an Aussie herding with her owner; the owner was very quite as was the dog. I brought Party in and lied her down about 10 feet from the ring where she watched intently. Which was my purpose for having her next to the sheep pen.
It was now our turn to go work the sheep. She really did a wonderful job. What I noticed though was she was very aware of the gentleman watching us. A few times she looked worriedly as if to say "why are you here?" When two more people came she again looked worried looking over at them. She never stopped working but she was very leery of them at the fence watching.
It continues to amaze me how talented she is with livestock. She was walking up and moving the sheep beautifully. She also lies down in puddles, mud or whatever, which I noticed was an issue for some other dogs.
After our turn was done we went and laid about 15 feet from the fence, so Party could watch. The next dog to work was a young Catahoula that was very boisterous. When the dog came through the gate Party went nuts barking I was stepping on her leash so she remained in a down position after a moment she quieted down and simply watched. While this dog worked sheep on line Party was fine. However when the dog was allowed to drag his leash circling with the owner yelling and swinging her arms; Party became very upset looking away from the team, yawning and so on. Upon seeing this I took Party another 10 feet back. She was more comfortable at this distance however preferred to lay in a position behind me. I was trying not to look straight at Party but rather keep her in my peripheral vision. I noticed she was still very interested in the sheep.
I am hoping that her confidence level increases with more exposure.
I will keep updating on our progress.

Masters Foreeever!

I am very happy that Party is now in Masters for all classes. I can't say that it was our prettiest run but we got the job done.
The weekend of June 6-7 was Riverside's USDAA trial in Nashua. During this trial Party was very freaky regarding the tent that the computers and PA were under. Freaky to the point of fight or flight reaction. I got her to work through her anxiety by leaving the area and asking for simple hand touches. Since this trial we had a AKC trial in which she was also freaky. At this time I am going to do much more herding and lots less agility. I will have Party in a few that I work for and train her through her anxieties. I hope.
My hope is that by going back to herding she can gain more confidence in the real world. Which should help in agility also.