He thought the sheep were most awesome, and he did a terrific job. For such a little guy, he doesn't lack confidence. I believe the trainer referred to him as 'dynamite'. That he is, that he is.And Sam, Sam did this:
Which sorta looks a lot like standing around. He did some snacking too. This isn't to say that Sam didn't get a lot out of the trip. Even if he didn't find the sheep too entirely interesting, he sure as heck liked being there, and got to show off his gentlemanly ways and a beautiful right heel ;)
And Kit, well, she did this:
(The sheeps! The sheeps! They is gonna EEEEAT ME!!)
That's my big brave girl.
But not long after that, Kit did this:
Which was far closer to what we wanted, and it got better from there. She's got some skill. We're happy. Trainer seemed happy with her as well. She'll be continuing.
Herding was a ton of fun. There's something awesome in going out there and taking part in the activity that these dogs were bred to do. It's a whole different mentality. In flyball and agility we're training our dogs, and they're working for us... but ultimately it's still playing a game. Herding ... is different. We dropped our border collies and sheltie in there, and THEY did the WORK. And they knew how to. Kit certainly seemed to understand that this was a serious job. Obviously there is a ton of work and finessing to do with a stock dog, but our dogs proved to us just how much of that is THEM, not us. In fact (as i wasn't running a dog I can say this), I think it was the handlers that held the dogs back, not the dogs ability level. Sure, as handlers we have a role in the project, but our job is to influence the dog to influence the sheep. They just need to know when and where.
Proud, anyway.
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