I began Star's training on stock this week, and boy was he good! Better than I had hoped for even. He balanced, and flanked and even lay down at the appropriate times. He was so good, in fact, that after only 1 day in the round pen, I moved him out to the 3-acre field where he continued to shine.This week's lesson:
- Get sheep!
Here's an excerpt:
As long as I've had Star he has been very keen and brave towards sheep, so I put a long line on him to make sure he didn't hurt my freshly shorn, tender-skinned ewes. It wasn't necessary and I took it off almost immediately. I have never formally introduced him to stock, but he's had access to them through the fence all of his life, so while I left the other dogs kenneled, I took Star to the little field and let him have a look from outside the round pen with the sheep inside. He was absolutely enthralled and left no doubt that he was ready to start. As I led him into the pen, there was no hesitation on his part and he started going away-to-me to balance. That's when I removed the long line as it was apparent he was going to fetch sheep, not eat them. After that it was easy.
Now there are even more reasons to subscribe to The Real Time Canine. So that you can witness each step of Star's development, I will be reporting a daily training diary with each week's post. Please join us now for an in depth look at the genesis of a sheepdog and benefit the Mid-Atlantic Border Collie Rescue and the ASPCA with each 1 year and 6 month subscription. Do you know of someone who would enjoy this digest? The Real Time Canine makes a great gift!
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