Monday, April 09, 2012

Easter Morning Sheep!

Because I have been away the past few weekends, and have one more weekend away next weekend it has been a struggle to find the time for herding. Which makes me sad because I love it. So we squeezed in a lesson Sunday morning. And it was awesome.


Brit worked the sheep/lambs in the lambing pasture! There are lots of them. I don't even know how many (you could count them in the photos if you want. lol). Brit has only ever worked at most four sheep at one time. Working a flock like this was very different- but she handled it like a pro!



Even when she couldn't see me she was still taking flanks. We practiced moving them from one side of the pasture to the other, but instead of always fetching them we did a bit of driving- but with lots of help from me. Working side by side with her was pretty amazing. I love this dog. Totally made my day...



After a little break we got our own sheep out of the pen, and took them over to the arena. Brit was still a little worried about the barn- left over from our lesson last week I am sure. She worked through it fast though and we got them out after only a few tries. We also managed to get the sheep out of the trees, and into the arena with no bobbles. Brit is just such an honest little dog- she always tries to get her job done, sometimes despite me. lol.


In the arena we worked on some test stuff. Putting things together like we did a few weeks ago. Gather the sheep, settle the sheep, fetch the sheep, around the post, and through the L. Easy. Sorta. This time the settle was difficult. I need to remember to "be the wall" and work with my dog. Brit did a great job but I just kept letting the sheep go past me. Finally I managed to get my shit together and stop them. lol.

The L chute went well- back to a confident Brit so that part wasn't too difficult. I do need to remember to keep moving. I tend to stop moving when I give my dog a flank- I guess so I can look at her. lol. Just as in agility I need to remember not to watch my pretty dog....

A great morning- perfect weather, cute little lambs, a great teacher, and a good dog. Just what I needed!



Thanks to Jenny for the lesson, and the photos!!!

2 comments:

K-Koira said...

Looks like it was a lot of fun. I don't know anything about the specifics for herding, but it does sound like you guys are both learning a lot.

onecollie said...

what a great day you had! so glad Brit got over her fear of getting sheep from the barn, great shots!