Fate is a young dog, she has been trying to handle a small flock of sheep who have been butting her, challenging her, defying her for months. This is natural, I had a herding trainer come and watch her with me to make sure she wasn’t getting intimidated by the sheep or frightened by them, we both saw that she wasn’t, she has so much instinct and drive, she kept coming and coming, she never came close to quitting.

Today, for the first time, when Zelda put her head down and lunged at her, Fate came forward, and held her ground. She showed Zelda her teeth, the act of a predator who intimidates the sheep into backing up and going where she tells them to go. Border collies are a breed that has had the final steps of prey drive – grab and kill – bred out of them, well bred and trained border collies will correct and challenge a sheep by biting them on the nose, or threatening to.

Fate, like Red, is appropriate with the sheep, she has never tried to bite them or grab wool, but today, for the first time, she threatened to do just that if Zelda didn’t back off an Zelda, our toughest sheep, did back off. It was special moment for us, not because Fate bared her teeth, but because it was a beautiful culmination of her very hard work every single day, her patience and responsiveness with me, and my own patience and determination to work well with her.

Dr. Karen Thompson gave me a great and precious gift when she permitted Fate (and Red) to come live with us, I will not squander it or dishonor it by doing anything less than giving this dog the life she was meant to live.  Like Red, some wonderful breeder in Wales – he came from Northern Ireland – did their work and well, as did Karen.

Working with her has been a joy, and it will only get better. Fate is coming of age, a turning point in the life of the working dog. She is seven months old and the trainer who came to see her was full of praise for her and the work we are doing. His advice to work with Fate in enclosed spaces – like the Pole Barn so she could strengthen her eye – was valuable and has been paying off.  I admire and respect this dog, and love her as well, handful that she is.