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south east Indiana | This past weekend I had the herding weekend at my place. I had a handful of people come. It was cloudy and down right chilly on Saturday with some light rain early. We just opted to wait out the rain and watched a video then went outside. The dogs and sheep loved the cool weather and we humans just added a layer of clothes. Sunday arrived with sun and clear skies, actually it was a bit warm to work the dogs and sheep long. We all enjoyed it knowing that near 80 will quickly be a thing of the past.
One of the dogs that came had not seen sheep since last fall but he works cattle helping move steers through rotationally grazed pastures. I actually trained him so it does not take Marco long to fit right in and remember things. His owner does not really use the directional commands and mostly pushes cattle with both him and Marco behind the cattle but it takes just a few minutes and he is working sheep well and gathering like a pro.
The other dog was a rescue border collie who saw sheep two days this spring at the Jack Knox clinic. She is about 4 and it is interesting to see the those working instincts come out in her even with an unknown background. She made quite a bit of progress in 2 days. I doubt she would ever be as intent as a dog bred to work
I put my young girls thought their paces and even had a novice handler take them out and work them. It is always good for the dogs to work with different people, it expands their horizons a bit. Hopefully they appreciate me more when they are done :) It is nice to stand and watch them work with someone else, it just gives me a different perspective of how they are doing. I am really pleased with both of them. It also gave me a chance to try working them from the 4 wheeler and have someone video for me. Will not be long and they will be moving the whole flock.
Here are the videos of Ivy and Zeva working sheep with me on the 4 wheeler, they enjoyed everything moving faster that is for sure.
https://youtu.be/EQEZ0J6b6nI ivy
https://youtu.be/n7_KCvc0-LY zeva
if you watch both you can see the two girls work a bit differently, it is just the difference in the dogs but I find those interesting. I am looking forward to seeing them both on a much larger group. The only commands I am giving are a down and recall, the rest is simply instinct keeping the stock with me as I move. This was Zevas first time working with the 4 wheeler and Ivy's 3rd.
Hopefully some AGTalkers can join us for a herding weekend next time. You all are always welcome - the dogs will take any excuse to work so command performances as always welcome | |
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Herding Weekend
