Herding Lesson #3

Zen went herding for his third time yesterday. Linda says for his age and exposure level he's doing great. He's learning to get out around the sheep. He's getting pretty good. Since he is in a smaller pen he isn't splitting any off anymore. His down is almost non-existant in the presence of sheep. When we stop for me to get advice, or ask Linda a question he settles down and rests instead of constantly trying to get to the sheep. I think if I work just a little harder at getting downs from all angles and distances outside of herding that it will help. He is still trying to cut in a little, but Linda said she was pleased with his progress. We do really short sessions. We work one direction a little, then go the other way, then give him a break. If I ever buy another tripod, or if anyone ever goes with me maybe I can get more video.

Rumor did really really well. She got out around the sheep a few times and was actually beginning to bring them in to me. This is a big accomplishment and I can still see her giving stress signals when there is that much pressure on her. She kept at it though. Her speed picked up a little today, so that shows some more confidence. A couple of times when she was bringing the sheep to me she put too much pressure on them and one would split off. She took it upon herself to look at the larger group, then look back to the loner and turn and bring him back to the flock. Linda was super pleased with that. She said it shows that she's using her brain to say "Hey, this doesn't look right, how do I fix it." She wants me to train a solid stop on her so we can move to the next step. Rumor just doesn't down well under pressure. So if I can manage to get a stop that would be perfect. I thought she showed a little more eye yesterday as well. Overall her confidence is building.

Before herding we were at an agility trial. Zen was awesome! He played frisbee offleash around other dogs and stuff. He kept with the game and didn't get distracted and go visit. He played with Debbie Spence's new puppy, Braedan. Lots of people petted and played with him and he stayed quiet in his crate. People still think he's a horse, but I'm reassured that Chris Ann said he wasn't going to be huge, just large-boned.

Going to breakfast now.