One of the challenges for me when it comes to teaching Fate how to herd sheep is not have a small training space in which to pen the sheep. With a training pen, it’s easy for even a small dog to get around the flock and herd them, rather than chase them. The trainer can be on the opposite side and move back and forth, marking the behavior – come by, away to me, lie down. I don’t have a training pen, and can’t build one now, so I have to improvise.

If the dog can’t get around the sheep and turn them, the exercise can become what the trainers call a “rodeo,” a chase rather than a herding exercise. The sheep will split, and the dog will simply give chase. It is mayhem, not the controlled exercise that herding lessons need to be.  This is not a good way to train a working dog with stock.

But thanks to this dog, iit is going well. I walk Fate up on a lede until the sheep are on the far side of the pasture, then I release her, asking her to lie down – to train her and also keep things calm. She gets the “walk up” command and lies down every time as long as I am  relatively close. I will keep widening the distances. She is also becoming more aware of where i am. Herding is a ballet, a dance, between the human, the sheep and the dog.

They all move in relationship to the human.

Fate is a fast dog, and a strong dog, and she is able to get around the sheep and turn them, as in the photo above. She got around the sheep, then turned them. That’s what I want to see.

As she makes the turn, I mark the outrun – “come bye,” in this case. I had a good talk with Karen Thompson yesterday, she gave me some additional pointers, which were helpful. She said she always looks to see where the dog’s tail is when she brings them to sheep.

If the tail is up, the dog is often aroused and there may be a chase rather than a lesson. Fate’s tail, like Red’s, is always down when she gets near the sheep. As Fate grows bigger and stronger she will be easily able to get around the sheep and turn them. Her “come bye” is already strong, her “away to me” weaker, I will have to do more moving to get that in balance. The lessons are going very well, I am loving teaching her, she is a great partner and student.