Introducing something new in training is always fun and exciting. It's nice when you have the right tools to do the job properly, but I don't have enough sheep to easily teach Star to shed. I have begun that task anyway. This week's lessons:
- Shedding 101
- Oh yes you can
- All fun
Here's an excerpt:
This might be slow and painful. Little Star man has a strong (very strong) inclination to keep things together, and I don't have near enough sheep to do this properly. "This" being, teach him to shed. But here is what it looked like today. I backed up to the fence and put the sheep between Star and I. I have 1 high-headed, Suffolk-cross ewe that likes to lead the way, and I let her lead. I then stopped as many of the Dorper lambs as I could and tried to get Star to come into the tiny space resembling a hole. Nothing doing. He just laid there eyeing both groups determinedly before finally saying "to hell with it" and flanking around to put them back together. That's OK. I could tell he at least thought about it for about a mili-second, before flying off to do what in his mind was surely the right thing. And, make no mistake about it, it is the right thing to do 99.9% of the time. At this point, no matter what he does, I will absolutely NOT correct him, be upset with him in any way, or even show the slightest irritation. Right or wrong, whatever he does, he will get praise just for being ready.
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