ALL good sheep

I worked the whole flock shedding a few off, a few more off, and a few more off this morning. All 3 dogs were coming in quietly except a few times Yo likes to zip quickly behind me and grab an ass of the closest sheep. Just puppy stuff. She is way quieter with her sheds than she was 3 mos. ago.

I also worked on herding two sheep at a time away from the flock in a small pasture. I had ALL good sheep this morning. The sheep would try to break back, but none confronted any of my dogs. Kilt sorted 3 different sets of two sheep to work. I love this exercise, because the two sheep want to go back to the flock. The dog "feels" that pressure. Every once in awhile if the dog gets a bit close, one of the sheep will try to cut back. It keeps the dog on their toes.

The third exercise was to pack the flock up to the fence and let the dog just stand there quietly. This is a hard exercise for Yoko. She wants to get in some hits. We are really working on "Steady, that a girl." Then, I ask her to push her way through the flock to split them. My older dogs, Jet and Kilt, are masters at this. Jet pushes the sheep out of his way with his body.

I wish I could take 5 years off of Jet and start open all over again. He is so fluid and so beautiful to watch at 10 yrs. of age. He always uses just the right amount of pressure. There's something to be said for wisdom and maturity. He has that quiet authority about his work.