Day 16: Soldier Hollow Heber City Utah

Today is the big day. The Soldier Hollow Classic- a premier sheepdog invitational trial in the hills of Utah. Winnie has been invited to participate in the duck herding demonstration. It is our second year doing this. It's not necessarily because hse has great skills, but that everybody loves to see a sheltie. ;) I personally love to come and participate and rub elbows with the best handlers in the nation.


Well, it turns out to be a very hard day for Winnie. First, we find out there was a miscommunication with the set-up crew and three sides of the duck arena are unfenced!! Well, ducks are terribly difficult to herd and for a young dog like Winnie, without a fence, is a disaster waiting to happen. The woman in charge has a frank conversation with me about whether Winnie should even be allowed to participate. This is a demo at an international trial - we can't have ducks escaping and getting lost or injured. I know I have a stop on Winnie and I promise to call her off if things start getting out of control.
Ducks are so difficult that there aren't many dogs that have volunteered. We have an Open Class border Collie, two talented Kelpies and two WTCH Australian Sheepdogs. These are very advanced dogs- then there's poor Winnie. But, for better or for worse, we are game.
Our runs are very short because Winnie loses he ducks back to the pen (because there is no fence and our skills are lacking). I'm pretty frustrated. But, from my sports background, I know to focus on the positive. I tell myself she is good because she didn't bite any ducks (Winnie has been known to work ducks with feathers in her mouth) and she did stay off of the ducks pretty well. The low growling "hey" command I learned from Larry was working.
Back for our second demo, my fellow handlers tell me how much Winnie has improved from last year. That makes me feel better.
Then, things start to go bad. After the demo runs, one of the kelpies nips Winnie on the nose. It is just a small thing but, like humans, noses bleed profusely and Winnie and I are quickly covered with blood and she is yelping and pretty shaken up. After holding her and cleaning her up, I put her in her crate to relax. It is a collapsible crate. The wind has come up and it blows the crate- with Winnie in it - tumbling over and over. Her water spills and she is soaked as well as shaken up.
Winnie can't get in the car to go home fast enough. (Even though I call her out and make her wait for permission, like she knows she's supposed to). Driving back to my mom's place, Winnie gets stung by a bee in her mouth. She jumps on my lap when I'm driving and almost jumps out the window. I get to my mom's and Winnie hides in a corner, is shaking and her eyes are closing. I'm afraid she is having an allergic reaction and going into respiratory distress (i.e her throat will swell and she can't breathe). Luckily we find an after-hours vet close by who will see her. I don't know the area well. I've got my mom and her fiance on the phone giving me directions and I keep getting lost. Finally, I find it and the vet gives her some pain medicine and an antihistamine. I don't think she'll die now. But even after she is home, Winnie is still shaking for almost 45 minutes and wants to lie the couch touching me (Usually, Winnie likes more space). The vet tells me Winnie can work ducks tomorrow. We are both exhausted and traumatized. Of course, I let Winnie sleep with me that night.