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4 Weeks before trialling, are we ready!!!

2/27/2013

It has been a long hot dry start to the year, Spring Plains has had very little rain but more than some. Our paddocks are covered and dams have water so we have no reason to complain. Many in Queensland are either flooded or extremely dry so lets hope mother nature settles in the coming weeks.
The Kaden Kennels don't pull up for 43 degree days although I am wishing I did. Our training moved to very early morning and we managed to get a fair bit done. My beautiful Ace pup, Kaden's Karma is going fast and I have formed a lovely bond to her. Together with her play mates, Getitdun Soulja and Miss Bling they have kept me amused with their antics. The 3 of them line up as I let out the older dogs and pounce on each one as they leave. Poor old Gleeson really copes it as he is a little slow and they move in on him barking and nipping, the old dog scrambles to get clear but never harms them. Their other favourite game is tug and I have gone through numerous tug toys as the 3 attack each game with zest. Being so hot they learnt to swim very young and love the water. Time passes quick and it want be long before they will be having their first look at sheep.
I have recieved some wonderful feedback this year from previous litters with good results coming from The Bonnie Lass and Barcoo Ernie litter. I have had requesst to repeat this mating and if Angel continues to shine in the paddock I will be tempted. Old Jack has produce a wonderful batch of pups to an outside bitch which has seen them showing great style at 6 months. I have one of these pups myself and am surprised how strong this little fellow is, one to watch is our Charlie. He looks like he will end up a nice cattle dog. Ace and Bonnie's litters have all had wonderful feedback at this early stage with this being the nicest looking litter I have seen. They have very good bone and temperaments. Ace and Georgie Girl will be joined this year and am keen to mate Angel with either a Allan Munns or Graiglea dog. Both very good handlers with very good dogs.
Training took on a more enjoyable note when a few of us got together in Longreach to test out our dogs. It was a great chance to catch up with lovely friends and see what new dogs they have this year. There were some impressive pups on the way and much improvement in the older dogs work. For my crew it was the first time Ace, Faith and Georgie had a trip away from home. I was very happy with what I saw, Ace's casts were perfect and his work not too bad. I have a bit to do but am happy to give him a run at Tara. Faith has tested me as a trainer and I can finally see the light with many positive comments coming her way. I want be trialling Faith this year as I have seen far too many good dogs shutdown by rushing them into trialling. Georgie was her usual dependable self, she is a quiet achiever and I think this young girl may even make one of the later trials. Both Georgie and Faith will be helping on our next muster for the first time so I am excited about what they will do. My Angel had a few runs on the day and she was excellent, her cast was good, her lift nice and her control beautiful. As a trainer I felt proud of my dogs and how far I have come, although I have so much more to learn I seen today the result of my efforts. Now for the last 4 weeks a bit of revision and then we are off to have some fun.
In the coming 4 weeks we have a fair bit of cattle and sheep work which will see the new recruits tested. With any hope we may get rained off and all that will be left to do is watch the grass grow.Until next month Take care, enjoy your dogs!

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Santa has been and Gone 2012 nearly done!

12/28/2012

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Santa visited Spring Plains in his usual way, presents for all, ham on the bone for lunch, swim in the dam and a few refreshments. All in all a good day. 2012 has been a shocking year for us, I lost my only 2 sisters 8 weeks apart from cancer. I miss them very much. Steve got ill at the start of the year which meant our fencing work went into the hotter months. I guess we all have these year and as you enter the next you just know it will be better. Steve and I have made some plans for next year and we look forward to a few trips away and family time. We are going on a cruise with the kids and their families plus we are also hoping to sneak away to the coast for a much needed rest.
On the dog front I have a new (well very old actually) camper to go trialling. The old rig (my troopy) hit a cow and the cow won! Kaden's Dark Angel will be making her debut at Tara and I may give Ace a run as well. Bonnie will be there as well as good old Jack who Kate will work. We are looking forward to the trialling year but still will be only do a handful. The pups Georgie Girl and Faith are progressing really well. Training is a up and down thing which always amazes me. One day you take a pup out and you can't wipe the smile from you face when you finish the next run you are overcome with disappointment. I have learnt not to judge too quickly when training. A pup can go through many stages before finally giving you a finished article.
Ohutu Ace has continued to win my heart and now with Bonnie's help I have pups by him. He is such a great dog. I was very hesident when his training started. Taking on an untrained dog at his age was a risk but he has gone from strength to strength. His cast is wide and deep, his work is controlled and calm, his hold is good and his mind is strong. We had to learn everything from paddock work to riding on a quad, now in just a few short months he is a part of the mustering team and pulling his weight. Just keep watching for his daughter to start, I feel she could be something special!!
2013 will see 4 new additions to Kaden's Collies as well as Ace and Bonnie's daughter. I will have my hands full once again training and am really looking forward to it. Ace will be joined to Georgie Girl at the end of the year which is another litter I am excited about. We don't breed many litters per year but the ones we do we hope are quality litters.
Kate is home for Christmas and apart from a bit of dog training she has been enjoying her motorbike and swimming in the dam, she loves mud fights and tells me it is good for your skin as she pelts them at you. Her dog Gleeson is getting old and hopfully she will find another one out of this new lot of pups coming.
I am looking forward to 2013, I think it will be a good year! Hope it is for all of you

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I SAY GOODBYE

10/10/2012

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On the 11th September I lost my best friend and sister Lyn. For 6 years she has fought a fight we both knew she couldn't win but no-one could have fought harder. Lyn was a beautiful person, loyal to her family and generous to all. She never lived her illness and very rarely let it get to her. She was strong right to the end. I miss her more with every passing day, our endless phone calls, sitting all night watching CI on the tV, the way she laughed as she called me a dag.
I miss you and will always love you.

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Kaden welcomes a new arrival and the kids come to visit!

7/28/2012

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Well life never gets boring at Kaden's. I was surprised this month by a visit from my daughter Becky, her husband John and my granddaughters Karli and Bree. Karli took to the task of dog training with zest and it wasn't long before she added her own style of stick waving. Jack in his usual manner just went with the flow, nothing worries that old boy. It was great to have a little offsider and I am sure it will be a family affair at the trials one day.
We also had a Canine visitor as well when I brought home Taupiri Hemp. He was bred by Trever Matheson and used as a main sire. He has the same lines as Jack and gosh they look so much a like. He is a big strong looking dog, their manner was also similar. Both dogs had that calm gentle nature but all work when it was on. We all fell in love with Hemp and it was sad to see him go. It was decided we will be using him in the future.
BIG NEWS, we do have an addition to the crew and I would say the most important. After realising how hard it was to find suitable sires and then get to them we embarked on a hunt to find one. Can I just say we seen some pretty amazing dogs and some awful ones. A call was made to Jinni Gailey in NZ in hope she may have something. Jinni bred Ohutu Faith and we were so happy with her. She promised to have a think about it and ofcourse the travelling costs for a grown dog were a worry. When we were just about to give up I got an email from Jinni, she had 2 brothers and would sell me one. A 2year old with very similar lines as Faith. He had Aled Owens Bob and Roy, his world champions as well as Dolwen Chips the 94/96 driving champ. The transport came in just over a pup so we jumped at it. Ohutu Ace arrived, this big, beautiful, Tri border collie. He is amazing, a strong minded dog that demands attention all the time. He has all the raw material we wanted and much more. Now to the task of putting the finishing touches which means Kaden now has a ISDS sire that will go nicely with some of the best Australian Bloodlines. Ace has won me, he is a wonderful dog in play and exciting dog in work. Will keep you posted on our progress.
Lambing is going really well with over 100 percent average so far, plenty of twins this year. The pups are all growing and with Ace and Angel there is a fair work load for training but I am enjoying it. We have added a video page with just a few simple videos of the dogs training. We hope to add more detailed training with instructions later on. Keep looking you never know what is coming with Kaden's.

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The Dry Season is Here and We Get Win Number 2

6/16/2012

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The dry season has finally come and my daughter Nicole decides it is safe to make the 140klm journey on the dirt to visit. She didn't factor in a flat tyre or that it took 15klm before she knew it was flat. It was wonderful to spend the day with her and the grand kids but it may be a while before I get the pleasure again.
Our trialling is just about done for the year and we managed another win at Barcaldine and a few places at Longreach. All up we had a fantastic run and were very pleased with how the dogs went. Old Gleeson did a fantastic job for Kate and took her to a improver final and nearly won the encourage at Longreach.
Angel is really becoming a star in the camp. She is very easy to train and is so switched on to her stock. We are now able to add a bit of yard work into our training as we now have yards, yes!. Jay has put on his L plates and has joined the cattle mustering camp full time. He was so tired after his first day, he slept all the way home and then collasped when he finally got to his kennels. Good effort for the long day and it want be long before he can trade in those L plates. Our 4 new puppies are all growing quickly, Kismet and Faith will have a small amount of training over the next two months so we are very excited to see what they will produce. The baby of the 4, Trix, has had her first look at the sheep and she had a ball. She was more playing at this stage but she showed no fear so it is all good for the future. Georgie Girl was impressive on her second look. She showed a lot of eye and a good amount of strenght. She is a real cudddle pie that one and knows how to give the puppy eyes out.
Bonnie is due on heat and with most pups already booked I am really looking forward to this litter. The pups from her last litter, now 10.5 months old, by all reports are going fantastic. One pup completed a trans tasman course for a score of 70.
We invested in our campervan, bought over the net and it was a bit of a shock when it arrived. Thanks to my husdand who always comes to my rescue it has a new coat of paint, wheel trims and a few extras to make it look it Kate's words smexy!! She wants to add a peace sign and a few flowers but I am thinking hard on that one! Well the dog world is full of interesting people and lucky for me most are wonderful. I am very grateful for all the help I get and hopefully at Kaden's we give back a little so every one can experience what it is like to own one of these incrediable working dogs, The Border Collie..

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YES WE DID IT!!!

4/28/2012

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What a couple of months we have had at Kaden Collies. It started with the long awaited arrival of our new female pups. The first was a white and black bitch bred by Mick Rigby from his young dog Morgan's Jock. Jock was a dog I was very impressed with the minute I saw him work. He was so calm and controlled. Mick took him trialling and he won the Novice at Towoomba, just his second run. We named this pup Kismet and her mother was Barcoo Kate another one of Mick's that impressed me. Kate is fantastic in the paddock which is what we are all looking for. Then came our first imported pup. Ohutu Faith is her name. She is a very active tri colour bitch that was breed by 2 Scottish dogs. Astra Bob is the son of Roy, Aled Owen's world champion and Astra Jill who has many champions in her line. At 10 weeks this little girl already knew what it was all about. We were very keen to add some imported lines into the already strong Australian lines Kaden has got. We are now awaiting the arrival of 2 more female pups that will make up our future breeding stock.
We have also started trialling for the year. Kate and I only do a few trials but are very keen. The local ones all seem to be around the same time. Our first was at Tara. It is a wonderful trial filled with great people. They have a concert one night and everyone has a go at singing. I even got roped into doing a skit as a old lady with her husband welcoming the guests. It was fun. The boys that dressed up as ABBA stole the show and I think Gary Hurtz singing surprised us all, he was great. And yes we finally had a win. Kaden's Bonnie Lass won the encourage and is now a novice dog. There was about 20+ dogs and the sheep were a bit on the difficult side. Only 3 made it through to the final. I went out with Bonnie and she just held them beautifully, I was impressed with her work. Bonnie has come such a long way and I can't wait to breed again from her in July. You would have thought I had won the Australian Open but that first win is always so good! Kate won the cast lift and draw in the Novice with Jack so it was a good day all round. We are investing in a campervan for next year so it looks like we may have caught the trialling bug.
Our dorpers are going well with 2 batches of weaners now gone to the butchers. Our females look good and we have to invest in a new ram to cover the numbers. Bonnie's pup, Kaden Dark Angel is now in training and I am very happy with her. The breeding program is working and she may even be better than her mum. We will keep that from Bonnie as she likes to be top female. Well time to walk the gang!

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The Heat Goes On!

2/10/2012

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We are now past January and the hot weather continues. Luckily rain has come and the pastures are beautiful. Our cattle are doing well and so are the sheep. I have put the male weaners out to get fat and kept around 40 females in for training. Our Ram is locked up and due out next week. Steve and I have been busy moving cattle and branding up the calves. As grass fatteners we very rarely have calves but this year there is quite a few. The kids love this part of cattle work so there is always help around. Kate is away at school but we get her home as much as possible.
Exciting things are happening at Kaden's kennels. We have made a few changes and have 4 new arrivals due this year. I have been looking into bloodlines that could enhance my program and have found just what I wanted. I did a trip to have a look at a few dogs and was very impressed with what I saw. We have also toiled with the idea of getting a little bit more imported bloodlines through and we have finally done that. In my next post I will have a lot more information about the new arrivals.
Jack and Bonnie stepped up a gear last week and had some pretty tasty cows to handle, I was impressed by Bonnie as she is still very new to cattle. She is never in the road and always thinking it out. Every run Jack did she went with him without being asked. She just backed up beautifully. Jay has had a look at cattle but it was too tricky out there to give him a run in this muster, He will be used next week with different cattle. My little Angel is far from an angel but she can work. She is holding her sheep and like Bonnie she is never in the wrong spot. I don't use any command at her age and I don't push them off the sheep either. I just let her go and she will learn how much pressure to apply naturally.
Kate is using Jack in the trials this year as she is short of dogs. We want be trialling much as we have not got enough dogs up to that standard and I don't believe in rushing their training. What we do we will enjoy and there is always next year.
Our sheep yards are all done and working well, thanks Steve. Now we have been roped into helping him with some boundary fence so I better slap on the sunscreen and do my bit.

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Another year over!!

12/28/2011

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2011 is just about done and dusted. It has been filled with highs and lows like most years, lucky we just think about the highs. Christmas was lovely and the dogs all enjoyed their swim and treats that Santa left them. I am now busy putting together the programme for Kaden Collies for next year. New pups, special matings, a few trials and of course plenty of work. sounds like a good year to me. Keep watching for more details as they come.
Kate has really stepped up to the task of training, with 5am starts and 40 degree days it is not easy. Kate is trying to train her first group of dogs and is finding it a lot harder than she thought. I am very proud of her progress.
As for my dogs Bonnie is going good and teamed with her father there is very little I can't do. Jay is still a handful but we have bonded nicely and I just love working him. Angel is great and I have a feeling about this one and it is good. She is magic to watch.
Steve has done a wonderful job on our sheep yards with very little expense. He is very talented in making something out of nothing like most bush people. I love what he has done and look forward to using them. My doopers are lambing yet again, how wonderful are they. I am busy weaning and they are dropping more.
My son Shane is due for a visit with his daughter Emily. We are all looking forward to seeing them. Shane is very handy and Steve has lined up the odd job or 2.
I hope you all have a wonderful New Year, share it woth friends and family and make 2012 even better, I know we will.

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Christmas is near!!!!!

12/4/2011

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Santa Clause is just about to load up and the dogs are looking forward to their Christmas break and the main part their special christmas lunch. Kaden dogs join in our celebration as they are such a big part of our life and the operations of Spring Plains.
We have just had some pretty good falls of rain and Kate and I took the chance to practise a bit of cricket before the family arrive for our annual match. I must say a lot more practise is needed.
I have been doing a fair bit of training up until now and am happy with how it is all going. Bonnie is casting blind now and very rarely misses, Jay is testing the boundaries but getting better all the time. The old man Jack never stiops amazing me, he just nailed the course the other day. My little Angel, boy I have high hopes for her.
Kate talked me in to changing the design of the web page and hope you like what she has done. I hear she is even thinking of writing a post, that could be interesting.
Well I would like to end by wishing all my friends and customers a wonderful christmas and a fantastic 2012.

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The heat is ON !

10/26/2011

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(Before I start on dogs the big news, Kate has nearly finished her first year away at high school with a fantastic result. Academic award for high level of A's across all subjects. Congratulations girl, we are proud of you!!!)
Summer is here and has it hit with a bang, 38 most days means 5am starts to get the training done. We have started a 4 days on and 3 off with the dogs and it seems to be working. Jay has had his first look at paddock mustering and boy there was some fun to start with. He is so keen to work. Little Angel finally switched on and did she get going. Kate has a new addition in Gem, and all reports are good. She is home again for another weekend of training and I was very impressed with both the dog and of course her master. Bonnie is enjoying life without the pups and I am trying to just take her training that one step further.
Afternoons have been spent in the cool reading some interesting training books I borrowed. They are written by overseas trainers and I learnt a fair bit. Like us they have had their fair share of problems, puppy factories, trialling problems etc. There is much to learn when you make the decision to breed or buy a working dog and mistakes are easily made. I can't tell you how many different plans Kate and I have put in place and training methods we have changed. I beleive it is good to look at yourself as well as your dog when things are just not working. There is always room for improvement in us all.

Steve will be home soon and I dare say more cattle will be arriving. It is amazing how skinny some of the cows he is buying considering the year we have just had. Jack just loves the site of those roadtrains coming in! Our main news is my new sheep yards will finally be built, can't wait as it is so hard to work without them. My doopers are great and hopefully will expand on them next year.

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Forward>>

4 Weeks before trialling, are we ready!!!

Santa has been and Gone 2012 nearly done!

I SAY GOODBYE

Kaden welcomes a new arrival and the kids come to visit!

The Dry Season is Here and We Get Win Number 2

YES WE DID IT!!!

The Heat Goes On!

Another year over!!

Christmas is near!!!!!

The heat is ON !

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