I have acquired a ram here at BorderSmith kennels to cover my Dorper ewes. He is 1/4 Dorper, 3/4 Cheviot, and very handsome. Star made the proper introductions this week, and got his bluff in early. Working in the big field this week, we had help in the form of a good friend come to work her own dogs. She held sheep for Star who had a test on the lessons of the past few weeks. This week's lessons:
- Show me what you learned
- Pass with flying colors
- Kick back and chill out
Here's an excerpt:
Making every attempt to tighten him up on his outrun, I set him up to my right, as if I were going to send away-to-me. Then I gave him a walk up and a shush, before blowing a come-bye whistle after about 20 yards, followed by a shush. Where previously he would have squared off and headed for the hills, this time on the come-bye whistle, he bent out looking uphill for the sheep running freely on a nice path. The field is terraced, and as he neared the top of the first one, he pulled in a bit when he lost sight of the sheep. I was happy to see it because at this point I will take too tight over too wide, and he wasn't too tight anyway, but was just pulling in from loss of visual contact. I blew a come-bye re-direct, and again he did not square off, but simply bent out on a nice path to his sheep. Once he regained sight of the sheep, he kicked himself out further, and I blew another soft come-bye whistle to support that decision. He finished nicely on balance at the top and passed the test with an A+.
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