Diary of a Sheepdog… First day out.
Sky is my 7 month old collie puppy. This was the first working sheep day sky has been on. We went along with a local farmer to help round up 150 sheep in groups of roughly 20-50, in several locations.
She has not learned any sheep herding commands as yet, but I have taken her to them on two occasions before to let her run after them to keep an interest.
I kept her behind the sheep yesterday, and encouraged flanking from side to side, staying with me, mainly working on the ‘leave it’ and ‘back’ commands, encouraging her to give the sheep space. I wanted to keep her close, and working as part of a team with 7 people rather than let her run riot. She produced a lovely away stop, completely accidental as the term ‘away’ means little to her just now, never the less the timing was perfect!
She was keen and fast despite only being young and small, she was keen and was not deterred by strong sheep. Very pleased with the day, and we are both exhausted now.
