The most rewarding part of working with Fate, our new border collie puppy, isn’t what I am teaching her, but what she is teaching herself. She is learning to “stay out,” that is keep back from the sheep. She doesn’t need to be close to control them. She is learning to “come bye,” move clockwise around the sheep. She is learning to be calm around them. She is learning to be confident and appropriate around them. Now, we are working on wider outruns.

As a part of every lesson, I stand back and let Fate approach the sheep in her own way and learn about them as best she can. She is a good student, curious, alert and focused. It is a gift to see what she can learn by herself.