Herding Clinics Are So Inspiring!

Reese and I are back from our 3rd herding clinic in 4 months. They are fun and a great opportunity to learn and always full of an incredible amount of information. My brain is always on information overload from the first day on...but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Reese is continuing to make great progress. She is flanking better and continuing to give the sheep space and not diving in on them even if they are standing at the fence, she will just take them off and continue working. At this point we have started working on her finding balance and getting more comfortable there. That is her most uncomfortable place and makes her nervous. She can only handle it for very short spurts before she has to be flanked out.

She made some great progress with balance and held it for the longest time yet the first day she worked.  She got to work 7 times. I am so glad I had the opportunity to have her work that many times. She makes leaps and bounds of progress with Kathy and I will take every chance I can get to have her work with Reese and I. It is going to be a slow process to get Reese comfortable at balance but hopefully once we do that she will be over a large hump of what is holding us back. For now this is where she is at and what we will work on until she is comfortable there.

I started working Reese again at this clinic and it was so fun to be back working with her. I haven't worked her since July before we went to our first clinic and the re-training began. Kathy stepped in when needed of course. My friend Loretta worked her 3 times as she understands a bit more what Kathy is looking for in the small changes we need to see in Reese to keep progressing. I worked her 4 times and I am learning to relax more, not raise my voice as that puts Reese over the top, and that if I slow down and get out of the sheep everything else will slow down and Reese relaxes even more.

Those that hadn't seen Reese since the first clinic were pretty amazed at how far she has come, and how well she is doing. Between watching her work and listening to people gasp "oh my!" but in a good way, (thanks Jeannie) at the sight of what she was now able to do, brought me to a bit of an emotional - but happy meltdown.  Yes, I cried, happy tears of course.  The progress Reese has made might seem small to some people but to those who saw what a mess she was just a few short months ago know how much change has taken place.

It just makes me so happy to see my dog actually working and really thinking when she is on stock now. She is trying so hard and that is all I can ask. As Kathy always says it is about the smallest change and the slightest try. It really applies to a dog like Reese and what we are looking for.

She didn't totally flip out when I went in the round pen to work her either. It felt like it got better each time I worked her. On one of the first runs it felt like she was starting to revert back to one of her old habits of circling and not thinking and then I started to get nervous and tense which of course just made Reese more amped. So Kathy stepped in and helped get things back in line that run. By our last run of the weekend I had much more confidence working her.
I also got the chance to take some photos.  Here are a few of them, and you can see the rest at my Flickr Photostream on the right. I only got a couple of Reese and they are a bit blurry as she still moves pretty fast in the round pen and of course you can't take pictures when you are working your own dog.

What a difference a Week Makes!

It was just a week ago that we went to our herding lesson and the weather was a balmy, I don't know what but it looked like this....

Today when we got to our lesson it looked like this...

Tonight's menu included: Squash soup - which was awesome, first time making it and boy was it the charm! Garlic roasted potatoes, pork loin with teriyaki and ginger sesame marinade and a french banquette. Oh, and homemade chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I am so stuffed!  Lots of leftovers.

To Agility and Beyond....

Okay, it just seemed like catchy title to this post.

It's been a busy weekend for Reese. Yesterday it was a Skijoring lesson where we started to learn things like "line out", "pull", and directions.  It was fun to see Reese with the other dogs and completely being a good girl keeping herself together while we watched some other dogs act up with over excitement and stimulation.  Yes, I remember those days - but I am so glad we are past them. 

Reese did great with a number of other dogs around in a strange environment and lots of weirdness going on. First there was the harness, then the rubber mats and tires that dogs were pulling around. Lots of new dogs from huskies, which for some reason she has never cared for, a lab, a golden, a couple Aussie mixes, a border collie mix, some standard poodles, GSD, and to round it all out a mastiff.

Today we had our agility lesson.  We ran the Grand Prix quarterfinals course from USDAA. It was fun, fun, fun. We are getting faster and really working as a team.  Reese is really starting to understand my body language and I am figuring out slowly but surely the little changes that I can make that will help her understand what I am asking for.

Then....it was on to herding. Once again Reese did a great job.  She is really trying hard and working really well, staying off the sheep at a good distance and giving them space on her flanks. Not running tight up into their backsides and not diving in to bust them up.  Here is a short video of her working today with my trainer. She separates one at one point but then gets them back together again and keeps on working.

Reese is a Rock Star - Part 2!

Being that our next herding clinic is only a few short weeks away I wanted to spend a little time working on Reese's manners around sheep.  For those that know Reese you know that she is a gung ho girl. She doesn't do anything half a$$ if she is going to do it she will give it her all.  Insert "impulse control work" here. Reese has learned so much impulse control with agility and other dogs running etc. in the last year.  The 180 degree shift in how she is now compared to where she was is quite amazing.

But she is still very gung ho to work sheep and while she should be, she still needs to have self control. Because she sometimes forgets her sheep manners the plan was to walk Reese through the pasture on leash and work on her walking nicely in the presence of sheep and calling her off from where she was back to me while on leash etc.

Well the next thing I hear is my trainer tell Reese, "If you want to work sheep you have to listen to me..."
Um, huh??  I thought we were just going to take a walk in the pasture. 

To my surprise our trainer decided to give it a go and see how Reese would do working.

She was giving it her all and really trying.  Such a good girl.  We moved some of the sheep to the round pen to really let her work and work she did. She was amazing! She remembered all that she learned from the clinics we attended this summer. It has been awhile since she has worked stock so I wasn't sure how many steps back we would need to take, but she is back where we left off.

She did just wonderful.  She was thinking...and listening... and understanding what was being asked of her. She called off the sheep, she downed when asked.  I was so proud of her. She is such a good girlie. She tries so hard and that hard work is paying off. She is really getting it and understanding what working is. 

The new Reese....chasing = balls,   working = sheep!

Flanks for Stockwork

Yes, I am getting excited to go to our herding clinic in November.  It is only about a month away and I know the time is going to go very fast.

I really liked this post about Flanks and "natural" vs "mechanical" flanks.  I think there were a lot of good points in this post.  Check it out if you like...

http://abcollie.wordpress.com/2010/10/15/flanking-again/

Also, we got a sub 10 minute mile in this morning with the Stunt Puppy!  Fun to be out there moving again.  I hope to get some pictures that I can post with us using it later today.  And just to confuse the poor girl we may get to a dry land skijoring practice tomorrow where, yes if in a harness she will be told to pull.  Don't know if they will have harnesses there to try on or not...so will have to see when I get more info on it.  I'm not worried I have a very smart girl and she will figure it out, in collar run next to person, in harness pull!

Clinic I and Clinic II

Reese and I are back home from another herding clinic, our second one in two weekends. The first was a Kathy Knox clinic, and this past weekend it was a double clinic with both Jack and Kathy. Both weekends were incredible I guess for their own reasons and some of the same.  

The first weekend which I touched on in the last post was incredible as it had large pastures to work in, really large, not quite sure about the size but long outruns were in order for the field dogs. Seeing the dogs run in the larger field was just awe inspiring, you can read about sheepdogs and watch DVD's and see it on T.V.  but nothing beats seeing a good trained stockdog work.

Over the hill the dog goes, out of sight of the handler into a larger pen to gather the sheep and bring them out a small gate, with whistle commands from the handler all the while she can't see the dog. Over the hill comes the rush of fleece followed by a black and white dog keeping them in line all the way down to the handler - incredible! There are no words to describe it really it is just amazing, and one of those things you have to see. 

The connection between the handler and the dog and the trust between the two, and seeing a dog do what it was bred to do is the best thing ever. Talk about happy content dogs.

Reese worked in the round pen at the first clinic. We are going back to correct some bad habits she has developed, starting with respecting the sheep and recognizing that there is a handler in the ring that is there to help her and that it is someone she can trust. The first weekend, she had some big breakthroughs in that by the end she was giving to the handler and was starting to call off her sheep. A simple thing that should have been the first step in her training but wasn't. So we are going back to square one and basically starting over but also trying to keep a few things that are there, and get rid of some history that we wish wasn't there. Reese made some big changes in just one weekend. I couldn't have been more happy with how she did.

At the second clinic I learned a ton as well.  Probably more than the first about the training aspect just because there were more beginner dogs, working in a smaller field, working flanks, short outruns and some driving. It was amazing the smallest change in something the handler did made significant changes in some of the dogs.

There were dogs that were in the round pen and of course Reese was one of them. It was interesting in that most of the dogs could have gone back to the round pen to work on something, but most people want to get out of the round pen as soon as possible and not look back. In reality the round pen is a tool that could be used to help many of the things you are trying to train.

Reese had huge changes this weekend. She started to be calm watching other dogs work. She continued to not drag me to the pen and instead walked up the gate at the round pen and waited to go in. She gave to the handler, she called off each time she was asked and I wanted to cry. The last three or four times she worked she looked up at the handler as she came off with a happy look on her face clearly enjoying this new found understanding that if she comes off the sheep, then she gets her sheep back. In fact today's runs she was actively seeking Kathy out to take her in to work the sheep. 

The run this morning she had a bit of chase in her with the sheep, but our goal for the weekend was to get her calling off the sheep and respecting the sheep and the handler and we weren't so concerned with the work in the middle at this point.  Reeese called off the sheep very well which is what we wanted. During her afternoon run she worked really well, gave to the handler on both her flanks and was starting to read the sheep. And she came off the sheep each time she was asked. Huge, huge changes! So proud of my girl.

These clinicians were both great and I learned an incredible amount not just about working stockdogs, but dogs in general. These people really get it, and they both have a way with the dogs that is amazing to watch.  So glad I had the opportunity to attend both weekends.

Working Sheep....

makes for a tired, content dog!

Reese wiped out. 

Last weekend Reese and I attended a Kathy Knox herding clinic. It was a long drive but we had a great time with the friends we went with. Reese and Spot a dog that we roomed with are now pretty good buddies. The second morning at 5:30am they decided it was time to play... um no, I don't think now is an appropriate time...k  thx.

Reese worked in a round pen and the sheep we used were really nice and perfect for her. They moved off the fence real easily and that is one thing she needs. 

Reese is lacking in confidence when she gets too close to the sheep, she will ignore corrections and will not give to pressure from either the handler or the stock. 

The method used last weekend is to correct the wrong and leave the right alone.  The dog chooses his/her actions and they will get the consequences.  Either she will get her sheep back to work or she won't. I love this way of working the dogs. It is a very natural way of training.

The first time Reese worked she was mess, wouldn't acknowledge the trainer, wouldn't take a correction, and couldn't feel any pressure from the stock or the trainer.

But....by the end of the weekend, she was trying so hard to do what was right. She took a correction, she gave to the trainer and stopped trying to beat her and she started to feel the pressure from the trainer. She was by far the most hard headed little thing at the clinic. She is very smart, won't back down and will work every angle to get what she wants - the sheep.

Reese gives the slightest indication of when the pressure should be released off of her. A flick of the ear or tail, a very slight head tilt etc. She also does not like raised voices or yelling, when that happens she immediately shuts you out, and starts working alone and only for herself.

Reese needs to learn to trust the handler that the hander is there to help not there to make it harder for her. It is a partnership this stockwork, the dog can't do it without the handler and the handler needs the dog.

The changes from the first day of the clinic to the last were huge. Watching her work that last run I had tears in my eyes, and I was beaming. She did it!

This weekend we were lucky enough to get into another clinic. This one is with both Kathy and Jack Knox. Reese is right on the cusp of really starting to see the light and get some bad habits and things that were trained into her that shouldn't have been fixed. Hopefully, with the opportunity this weekend presents, she will be well on her way to being a different stock dog by Sunday night. Well on her way to being the stock dog I know she can be!

Gotta Brag about my ReeCee!

First up herding.  Last week at our lesson Reese kind of went back to her old ways and didn't quite have her head in the game.  Or, as I like to say she got a hair up her behind and couldn't quite shake it loose.

I am happy to say that at this weeks lesson she was back to her good working self.  Yes, she needed a couple of reminders at first but then things fell back into line and she was working nicely.  She is still uncomfortable on her Away flank but she is comfortable with her Go Bye.  You can really see her start to tense up and then she looks at the sheep and then she's cutting in on her Away.  As soon as she looks at the sheep she can't relax and she stops thinking and then she can't stay out.  On her Go Bye flank she stays out wide and will casually look at the sheep to see where they are and then she will look away and bend out more and stay off the sheep as wide as the ring lets her.  She is just more relaxed and it shows.  She is also walking up calmly to the sheep feeling their pressure and stopping to give them plenty of room when they are at the fence and she feels they can't go anywhere.  She can now comfortably stop and not feel that she has to charge in and bust them up. 

On to Agility.....
We had our lesson tonight and Reese did awesome.  Our last obstacle to really master was our running A-frame.  She missed the first one tonight and then nailed the rest of them, both the A-frame alone and when it was part of a larger sequence.  And......she worked all night with the sheep in the pasture and yes, she knew they were there!  She had one moment of disengagement but then she got a big Aha! moment from our trainer and that was all that was needed.  So proud of my girlie.  We haven't had a lesson in a few weeks due to my work schedule and stormy weather so it was really fun to see her work so well.  Now she is out cold from all her hard work tonight - also good to see! 

Look what I have!

Yes, I finally did it. I decided on a camera and I bought it.  No more waffling, time was a wasting - time to take some pictures.  Now I just have to figure out how to use it.  So hopefully you will see some better action shots of Reese soon. 

Reese and I went to out herding lesson last night and I worked Reese for a bit after the instructor.  It was really good to start working her again. We are using a different technique now then we have in the past and it is really helping Reese to build her confidence and think about actually working not just getting amped and circling.  She is working her flanks better and much farther away from the stock. She is bending and giving when asked.  She has developed a very nice "go bye" and that is still her preferred side, while she still gets a bit nervous when she is on her "away" side, it is coming along nicely. It is just a change for me with the new methods we are using so I have a bit of work to do but a few more times working her and I think it will start to come. The instructor gives really good explanations of why and what we are doing so that helps a lot.

Hopefully the rain will quit one of these days so I can get outside for some pictures.

My first wildlife photo.

Working Dogs

This past weekend was absolutely gorgeous. I finished up the fall yardwork on Saturday. Reese and I went for a long hike and played and played and played some more - all outside of course!

Sunday was just as nice, a little bit cooler but only by a few degrees. It was a great day for working dogs and Reese and I had a great day. Reese worked the goats and did a fabulous job. She looked great, she worked close but not too close, it was all controlled and she kept her balance point very nicely. She took corrections for her flanks easily and it just felt great.

We really felt like a team out there. I feel like things are really starting to come together for us and we are starting to click as a team. We are working on some non-stockwork things to improve our teamwork and it is really starting to come together and it shows.

It wasn't just evident to those watching us but when that working relationship clicks you can feel it, and I did. I know Reese was very pleased with herself and it took a lot out of her, she was concentrating and working very hard to keep things in control and she was rewarded by it working. I know she worked hard because she was completely wiped out all night after we got home. It was nice to see a very contented pupper after a good days work.

Dogs Working Stock

Haven't gotten any video of dogs working lately, but here are some still photos.

Ash working the goats.

Sara N. working Zephyr on the sheep...this lil'dude is fast so he is hard to photo.

Sorry I don't have any of Reese as I am always taking the photos.  I hope to get some of her this weekend and will post them then.

Stock Doggin' Saturday and Oppositional Reflexes

Reese and I went herding yesterday. It was a beautiful day. We did some farmwork first. Helped trim sheep hooves and vaccinate. Then a great lunch of enchilladas and pork sandwiches.

Everyone did well with their respective charges. Zephyr continues to do well as does the other young pups now at about 5-6 months of age. A lot of which is due to the handlers having increased their knowledge and being more experienced after a summer of herding.

Reese and I started out like others to work on not having her be so excited that she runs to the stock and scatters the sheep instead of just peeling them from the fence and then working them.

We were trying not to engage her oppositional reflex. When a dog is pulled by their collar they have a natural reflex to pull in the opposite direction. This is why so many dogs have problems walking nicely on a lead. The dog starts to pull and the owner pulls them back with the leash and so the dog pulls harder. It works the other way too. Have you ever tried to get a dog to go somewhere it doesn't want to. Pull them towards something often they will put the brakes on and pull backwards.

So we walked out towards the stock and I had her lie down when she started to pull towards the stock. I talked to her calmly and let her calm down, then we moved a little closer and then did it again. When we were close enough to the stock I layed her down and talked to her calmly and unclipped her line and softly sent her.

When things started to go haywire I had to pick Reese up again. So I told her to lie down and she did, I picked her up and we started again, walking towards the sheep etc. However, this time I didn't use her lead I hung onto her collar, sent her but it didn't go so well. Did it again, and again, the same thing was happening.

I was told to put her line on and leave it on. This confused me a bit because each time I had told her to lie down she did and I could collect her without problem. But I did it because my trainer told me to. I was having a hard time getting her to work the sheep off the fence, because for one when I held onto her collar I had to bend over. It was explained that the sheep didn't think I was strong enough in that position and so they weren't going to move from the fence for me or my dog. Well, that made sense so we worked some more with the line on. But because we had done it a number of times, I was getting tired and frustrated and so was Reese but she was also losing confidence in herself - not a good thing.

She has pulled stock off fences before so I knew she could do it. However, I know it is an area where we sometimes have trouble so I tend to tense up when it starts to happen. I realized I was doing this and told myself to take a breath and just work it. I could tell that helped Reese also as she was reading my nerves and when I relaxed she did too.

We pursued the fence bound sheep and were able to get them off. My trainer would not let us fail by stopping. She made us keep at it until we had success. After we were successful then we stopped. Reese was very happy about her success and so was I.

Thinking over the day last night I also realized that when I led Reese by her coller to position her behind the sheep at the fence I was employing her oppositional reflex again, something we had been trying to avoid. So that, coupled with my bending over did not work - lesson learned.

What else went well. Reese stopped working and followed all of my lie down commands when I gave them. Whoo hoo, this is something we have been working on away from stock but with other distractions and it has carried over. Also, Reese was quiet while others were working -another great stride for her. Good girl!

A good trainer once told me that your dog will do what you expect them to do. If you expect them to have a problem with a recall, or a contact in agility or in our case taking stock off the fence they will. If on the other hand you expect them to do it - providing they know how of course they will. I expected Reese to lie down when I told her and I wasn't going to accept anything less. She layed down. Next week when the sheep are on the fence I will expect her to take them off. I won't accept anything less. Tune in next week to see if it works.

Here a few pictures of dogs working yesterday.

Hello Goat. I think you should get a move on...

I said,"Move It''

That's better.

Look at the concentration and focus.

These last two are my favorites.

Testing our Power and Control and Almost Happy Feet!

We went herding again today. I wasn't sure if Reese's feet were ready for pounding the pasture just yet, but they have healed over the past couple of weeks enough that we have been back to playing fetch in the yard, walking our 3 milers and a even got a couple of runs mixed in. I am still waiting for the Mushers Wax so hopefully it will arrive tomorrow and we can start building some toughness into those little toes. We thought we'd take a chance and see what would happen and headed to the pasture. I worked her once and she did tear one toe again, but the others are all intact. So back to the soaking her toes in the tub she goes. At least I know what to do this time. I checked her toes as soon as we were done and Jackie the vet med expert was there to take a look at it.

Reese did a great job, her flanks are really coming along nicely I couldn't have been more pleased with how she did. Of course since she did so well we have no pictures or video for viewing pleasure, but you'll have to trust me and when I do get some pics and new video I think you will be surprised.

The pasture we are practicing in is rectangular in shape. The sheep were against the fence but about a 1/4 of the way across the field on the left so they were not backed into a corner. The plan (and it worked) was to walk Reese down the middle of the field and a little to the left which is the side the sheep were on as we got closer the sheep started to move and I let Reese go, she went towards them and went wide and got behind them and moved them away from the fence and we started working flanks around them as we moved out to the middle of the pasture.

As she worked her flanks she was testing her power and her ability to control and move the sheep. She started out a fair ways from the sheep, keeping plenty of distance between herself and the sheep. As she worked them she started moving in closer and closer. As that happened the sheep were not moving too much and then on the next direction change she widened out and the sheep started to move again. She adjusted a bit each time around to see where she could be and what was working the best.

This dog has so much power from her father and her mother is phenomenal at reading the stock. Reese is starting to figure out what power she has and how best to use it. Each time we are out there she shows me something else. It will be interesting to see what her ability to read the stock turns out to be, and based on what her mother does it should be quite good!

We also celebrated a graduation and a birthday and as always enjoyed good food, good conversation with good friends.

Reese's Sire Imp Roy 250932

Here are some pictures from the past week of Reese being silly playing with her ball.




A snooze-a-day....

Working Stock Can Be Hazardous To Your Toes!

At least that is what Reese thinks. She told me after we were curled up on the couch for a little snugglin' on Saturday night that herding is like running. You don't feel the pain until later after the thrill is gone. Yes, she managed to rip up the pads on her toes on both front paws. Not all the toes but a good chunk on one and two of the pads on the other foot. I wouldn't say she was limping but she was stepping gingerly.

She did manage to bang them up enough to have them bleed all over when she was upset about a squirrel dude boppin' across the street. So that was a minor setback, but otherwise I was able to keep her quiet for a few days and that helped a lot.

In the process of soaking them in water she managed to tip the bowl over on the kitchen floor, which is carpeted so that provided some humidity in the house for awhile! The next time we used a different approach for soaking the toes. I thought it was a good opportunity to teach her another husbandry behavior. So I taught her to put her own feet in the water and swish them around and stand there for a few minutes at a time. How did I do this, by simply shaping the behavior with a clicker, it took literally minutes. I love clicker training, the applications you can use it for are endless.

Reese is doing better already so it won't be long and she will be back to long walks and working stock. I ordered some Musher's Secret Wax so we will try that once she gets a little thicker layer of skin over her toes.

She is getting tired of playing hide and seek games with her toys and would like to go for a walk or a hike. It has been nice cool weather this week so it is kind of a bummer that it happened, but now we know we need to toughin' up those dainty little feet.

I started running again, I wanted to get a little base under me before I start taking Reese. So in a way it has been good that she has been laid up. This way I know she can't go, so I don't feel so quilty about not taking her. She'll be running laps around me soon enough.

Herding

Last Sunday Reese and I returned to the pasture to see what we could do with the sheep without Derek to show us the way. I must say we did great. I was so proud of my little girlie. Once again I thought we would be starting in the round pen and we headed out straight to the large pasture to the sheep. These sheep were very frisky and had a bit of a mind of their own I am told. Since I am not that good with sheep yet I couldn't tell that they were different than any other sheep. They obviously were not Shetlands I knew that. Shetlands is what we had used a year or so ago. Shetlands are very light and quick on their feet. Of course at that time I thought that is how sheep were too. So I guess that means that I am learning about the sheep and herding which is my goal.

I do have to give credit to the other handler that was in the pasture with Reese and I. I first met Wayne when I was at my lesson with Derek. Wayne watched our lesson and attended the clinic that Derek gave and took some lessons. So Wayne has Dereks techniques down pretty good and that was very helpful for Reese and I. When I was losing it in the field Wayne just stepped in and took control and worked Reese and got her back on track to where I could pick her up again.

Our education continues on Saturday and I will try to get some picutres of Reese working stock. Also, I am going to try and bring the sheep down into the pasture for us to use so that I can start to learn how to move the sheep myself without the help of a faithful collie dog. If I learn to the move the sheep than it will be much easier for me to, be more comfortable around them which will help Reese understand that I am in control of the situation and that she is my assistant and it will make it easier for me to tell Reese what I want her to do.

There Once Was a Sheepdog Puppy Named Reese....

She dreamed ....

of rolling hills with green meadows full of...


When she grew up and was about 6 months old, her human took her to see if she really understood what sheep were...


Yep, she did...so we went back to Mamma Style's house..

to herd sheep. Reese is still learning and this is what she looked like about a year ago.



Last week we had a lesson with Derek Scrimgeour who won the English National Sheepdog trial in 2008. I was told he had a wonderful way of communicating with the dogs without needing to use hard corrections. He is able to communicate with his body language what he wants the dogs to understand, even those just starting out. I don't have any pictures of our lesson, but it went very well. I was expecting a round pen and instead there was a very large field with about 9 or 10 sheep in it, with 2-3 small lambs. Derek took Reese into the field and I stayed next to Derek as he unclipped her leash and sent her to the sheep. At this point I was not to sure how things were going to go, especially with lambs in there.

Reese did a great job she ran up to the top of the field peeled the sheep off the fence and Derek had her flanking around the sheep. After a few times he started putting the command with the direction he was giving Reese with his body language. A flank is when the dog runs around the sheep on one side or the other. If you think of a clock and the handler is at 6:00 the sheep are in the center of the clock and you send the dog so she is at 12:00. Sending the dog clockwise around the sheep is "Come Bye" and sending her counter clockwise is "Away to Me".

Reese was able to work a long time for Derek as she was working for him in a very controled manner, you could really see her thinking about what she was doing and adjusting herself naturally when needed. He was also able to get her to walk up behind the sheep and stop and lie down. It was wonderful to see my girlie doing what she was meant to do.

After Reese had a break and some water I took her in the field myself. It started a bit badly as Reese ran to the top of the field a few of the sheep including one little lamb ran down to the other end of the field. Reese didn't split them which is not good unless you ask for it, the sheep just did it and the sheep were far enough away by the time Reese caught up with the non-conforming woolies and so we just worked with those sheep on that end of the field. The sheep were sticking to the fence, but I was able to get Reese to back away and give the sheep a little room so they could get about 5-10 feet from the fence. Reese was then able to get behind the sheep and pull them off the fence. I was working on her flanks and we were doing pretty well. By this time Derek had made his way into the pasture to help.

My biggest problem was that I wasn't staying with my sheep enough. That is one of the most important rules. The sheep feel safe with you the human and it is also easier to let the dog know what you want her to do to help with the sheep.

Derek thought that Reese had a lot of potential and could be quite good. She had natural even round flanks and didn't split the sheep, was not nasty to them and didn't grip. She controled herself and stopped when we told her to. She also recalled when I ask, my, my, my what a little darlin' I have. (Usually when dogs are first on sheep they forget all the commands they once knew).

We will be herding again on Sunday so I will write and update on how we do when Derek is not present. It may be a completely different story but I am hopeful that we will take some of what we learned last week out to the flock with us again.

When not dreaming of the real sheepies Reese has Lambie to play with. Actually it is Lambie II
This was Lambie I
which is, ahem, why we now have Lambie II.