Herding!

I got a text from Debbie H. asking if we wanted to go herding this weekend. YES YES YES! There hasn't been an opportunity to go since I got Zen, and I have been dying to see what he would do. I also wanted to get Rumor back out and work some more with her. Debbie's place is SO much closer than Linda's. Linda is about 3 hrs one way and Debbie is about 1.5 hrs one way.

Both dogs did well, I thought. Rumor seemed to be a little more confident this time than she has in the past. She still dives in and splits the sheep when she gets overly stressed, but Debbie said don't correct her. She isn't biting, or being aggressive, just stressed. We want to build some confidence in her, not shut her down. Let it be said that Debbie's pen is a lot larger than the one at Linda's. I do not know what "walk backwards in a straight line" means, and I also can't walk and carry a stick and encourage my dog all at once. This is going to take a while to come together.

Zen was funny. At first he barked. Ever since I have had him, if he isn't sure of a situation he raises his hackles. The first minute or so he had his hackles up and was barking and chasing the sheep. Then he realized, "Oh, I'm supposed to do this!" and was a little quieter and the hackles went down. The second time out there he knew what to do and went right to chasing them. I'm not too sure what to look for in a puppy, other than the instinct to chase. Debbie said she saw a lot of gather instinct in him. I did notice that he isn't afraid to go to the heads, or at least try to.

Here are the videos. I figure country music is appropriate for herding.


Rumor



Zen!