We walked the sheep across the bridge to Lulu’s Crossing and the back pasture,  Fate was tired this morning, and so was I, the lesson was sloppy and un-focused. Maria pointed out that I had said I wasn’t up for a lesson – the first time in months – but I didn’t listen to myself, I just plowed ahead, so it was a kind of mess.

Fate wasn’t listening to me, she obsessed on Red, the sheep chased her all over the place. I called it quits after ten minutes.

Still, it was a beautiful sight when I gave up on herding and Maria led her pony back to the main pasture, Red sat with me and we let Fate accompany the sheep back to the pole barn. I think Red felt quite paternal, he seemed to enjoy watching Fate run around in circles, but she got the job done.

I sometimes imagine Red offering some gentle critiques, Fate seems to have boundless confidence in  herself. The sheep were also grumpy this morning, Deb, Liam, Deb and Suzy all took turns charging at Fate and backing her up. I think they are teaching her to stay out a bit.

I forgot to do something I always do in my dog training, which is to get my head straight about it before I do the training. If I am not in a good mood, am not focused and clear, the dog will pick it up instantly, the training will go to pieces. One of the things I love about training a dog like Fate is that she is a brutal and ruthless mirror of me. When something goes wrong, I have learned to ask myself, “what is wrong with me?”
“What am I doing wrong?” It is almost always the human’s problem, the dog is a reflection of us. When I train, I make sure I am in a positive and focused mood, make sure that I have a clear goal or two, make sure I am projecting calm, enthusiasm, and patience.