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south east Indiana | A friend from central OH is getting into registered Dorper sheep. I called him a few weeks ago telling him I heard of a registered flock close to me that was for sale. He arranged to see them yesterday and if they looked good he asked if I wanted to ride along and help him load. In speaking with the guy on the phone that was selling the sheep I got the impression that the sheep enterprise had not been going well and he preferd his cattle over the sheep. After hearing it took the owner ALL DAY to sort the 40 sheep and wean lambs and get everyone wormed I got the feeling that Jake might need Lots of help loading so I told him I would ride along and we could bring BLU.
Blu works doing anything I ask, many times I dont have to ask, he knows. He is over 11, he was born, raised and worked on a ranch in CO for 5 yrs before I was fortunate enough to have him. He has been around the block a time or two, knows the deal before I say a word. He can read sheep faster than I can think, he is in the right spot and applying the right amount of pressure Every Time. My sheep know Blu and respect him. He has taught them well, they do not question or try to out run, out maneuver or run over the top of him or buffalo him. He is quiet and has more patience than I do, will not quit till the work is done and doesn't take any crap. He will allow lambs to come up and sniff him, he will even allow a ewe to sniff but when he say it is time to move - it is time to Move.
Sheep are funny creatures. Sheep know their dogs that work them, dogs know their sheep, they even know individual sheep. They all get into a bit of a routine even if it is not the same thing every day. Sheep that have not been worked by a dog are interesting when they do see a good confident dog. It seems their actions either go one of two ways - they try to outrun the dog or they try to scare the dog and sometimes they try both.
We looked at the ewes first who were in part of the barn blocked off in one section, then went out to look at two weedy lots for the ram lambs and ewe lambs. Blu knew when Jake pulled in with the trailer he was going to work, then getting out I put him on a leash and he was not happy. Rarely do I put a leash on him, even away from home but since we were at someone else's place he was going to have to deal with it. Jake wanted to put his hands on one of the ram lambs and asked if they could be run in a shed that was on one side of their lot, nope not an option. I said Blu will put them in a corner and hold them so you can catch the one you want. They owner said his young Aussie could do that. I said "OH, you want to get her?" "UH no, go ahead and use your dog, she does stop to good." So Blu put the lambs in a corner they grabbed the one they wanted and he kept the others close by. Done with that back on leash much to his dismay. Backed up the trailer to load the ewes out of the barn, blocked one side good and had the trailer gate swung into the pen so the ewes could just come out and load. RIGHT never that easy. I sent Blu in to get around behind the ewes and bring them out with 3 guys watching the gate and sides that were blocked, I stayed out of the way. I know how guys are when loading livestock and things don't go smoothly :)
Half the ewes loaded before a crazy one was trying to jump and climb up a wall, Blu encouraged her to head out with her friends but a ewe jumped into the trailer gate and swung it enough so she and 6 of her friends were now loose. The 4 other people standing around and the 2 guys helping load were now freaked out that sheep were loose. I said lets just load the few that are left and Blu will take care of those that got out. They looked at me like there is NO Way we would ever get those ewes back in. The barn only had that 1 pen, 2 sides were solid the front and back open, not even sure it had doors. Blu went out and around the sheep and headed them back to the hole they just came out of, they were not having any of that. They ran back and forth, around the trailer and tried to out run and out maneuver Blu. Each time he brought them back to that spot and waited for them to make the right choice. I said nothing, gave him no directions, no stops or flanks or walk ups; he was doing his job and I just watched in case he needed me. He knew they needed to get on the trailer and just how to get them there. At the last minute one ewe did this backward leap she got past him but he held the rest and we got everyone else loaded. One critter loose is Never good, they can be insane. This girl already proved she was not one to go calmly with the crowd. I said we will try her a couple times but if she gets worse we can try to get her in with the ewe lambs and load her with them. Shame on me, Blu had her figured out and she was all to happy to join her friends on the trailer once she realized she was the Only sheep out. It was Blu or the trailer and the trailer was looking good at that point.
The ewe lambs were just silly lambs and ran back and forth several times before Blu convinced them to go out the gate, once out the gate a bit of a nudge and they jumped right on. Now I say they were easy but it is because Blu was doing the work and applying the right pressure in the right spot to get them all out the gate together and then not let them get back into the lot.
Would have been a Whole different story if 3 guys and 2 kids would have been chasing ewes and lambs trying to load them. I gave up chasing sheep or rattling a bucket of corn many years ago.
BLU ROCKS!! I told him so, he just wanted to get back to work. It is so cool when you can take a dog to a new place with new sheep and he handles it all with such finesse.
As we loaded up Blu to leave they said " That was easy. You could leave him." Yeah no chance in H--L of that, made me again wonder what it was like the other day when they were sorting and worming that took them from 10am to 7 pm.
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Helping a friend and being helped by another
