A dog is not like a child, but it is true when you live with a growing thing every day, you can miss some subtle changes that might be visible to others. Training is tricky that way, sometimes  you have to stop and think to observe. Our training goes on pace, it goes very well, it is a pleasure to work with a dog like Fate. She is bred to shine in the pasture, she has all the right moves and instincts. She just needs to get a little bit older.

And she is. Today, I noticed that the sheep are beginning to accept her. When she runs around them in circles, they become anxious and defensive. When she moves slowly or lays down, they accept her. She is getting more and more at ease around them, they with her. The next phase, I think, is when  her eye strengthens (instinctively) and she learns to move them with it. That has to come naturally.

She is smart as a whip and we are beginning to communicate almost wordlessly. She is always aware of me, and also aware of Red. Generally, I put him in a lie down not far from the sheep, she leaves him and focuses on the sheep, she circles them and we are working on “walk up” (slowly) to the sheep. She is getting it.

After ten or fifteen minutes, I put Red in the house, and Fate comes into her own, following the sheep, circling them, watching them while they graze. I think they are beginning to understand her as a dog, not a rabid raccoon or skunk. Our training sessions are short, ten to fifteen minutes. It was warm today and I don’t want to push the sheep. Fate has almost boundless reserves of energy, but after a few minutes in the sun on a hot day, she gets a bit unresponsive. When I see the long tongue, I call it off and she goes and jumps in her water tub.

Red is nine years old now, he runs as fast as ever, but he rests afterwards, he is more easily tired. They are a strong combination, they work well with one another, and they work off of each other. Fate is a fun dog, she always has a good time, she loves to work with me and Red. How lucky I am to have this in my life.

I’m glad I started her early, she has a lot of poise and confidence now, and I get to see the ways in which she has grown up.