I Don't Think So...

We have started putting Gracie into the big pasture, in preparation for driving the sheep. The difference between herding and driving is that the human (me) is in one place, not walking in front of the herd. You are calling instructions to the dog to move the sheep to a specific area. Gracie will be ready to do this, once she stops diving into the herd at the entrance. This is my biggest problem right now. Once she is in and she has gathered the sheep together, she is a terrific littler herder. Really.

So because of that diving problem, she had split the herd of 6 head on Sunday. 3 were in the middle pasture, 3 in the big pasture. We had tried, for the first time, to have her gather and drive the herd from the middle pasture, through the gate, to the bigger pasture with me manning the gate. Leah, our coach, had Jake on leash watching. Leah and I tried to get Gracie to leave the sheep and come back and get the remaining 3 head. No, that wasn't going to happen. She was going to guard her herd, and we all could just stand there and talk all we wanted.

Leah, having far more experience than I, said okay, we'll use Jake on leash to drive these 3 towards the gate. I would open the gate when she got them close. There was one little problem with this. When Leah started walking with Jake towards the 3 sheep, Jake took a long look, looked at me, and went behind Leah. His face was saying, "I want my mommy!" He did NOT, under any circumstances, want anything to do with the wooly beings in front of him.

The boy loves to lay at the fence while Gracie is herding, watching intently the entire time. Sarge, my Sheltie who died last year, wouldn't even look at the sheep. He sat with his back to the activity. But now I realize that Jake is not so much watching the sheep, but watching me. I guess he wants to make sure I am not leaving through another gate, that I will come back out to get him. My little rescue guy.

Ya gotta love it.
Linda