Long story short, John, the man coaching us, had a different tactic than Shelley Fritzke, the first person we took a herding session from. We actually went into the round pen with the dog on leash with the woolies behind us. Now John's tactic wasn't to just let the dog go and see what he did, but rather have the dog focus on you before allowing him/her to look or interact with the sheep. Daisy and Heather went first, and Daisy really really wanted those sheep, so they spent the first session getting Daisy to lie down repeatedly, until she was more focused on Heather.
Next went Kepler, the 5 1/2 month old. He didn't really have a lie down at a distance, but he was also a softer dog, so John let him chase the sheep a bit, as he was easier to make him back off.
Up next was the ol' pro. I had no idea what to expect from Beezer. Last time he showed instinct and did very well, but he also barked A LOT. And I honestly haven't been doing much obedience with him either, so I didn't know how he would react to me making him lie down and backing away, let alone with sheep nearby! Well, he never ceases to surprise me. No joke, he did fantastic!! Not only did he lie down, on command under distraction with distance, but he would also chase the sheep and stop at the appropriate moments and he only barked briefly!!! Shelley did say last time that the barking would diminish when his confidence increased, but I didn't expect to happen so fast! Needless to say I was beyond pleased. John said he did extremely well, especially for a young boy.
I'm so proud of the little man. He was also well behaved with John's intact dog Eddie, as well as taking everything else in stride. He sure has come a long way!
I hope to see Beezer on some more woolies in the near future!
He kinda looks like a stalking Border Collie from this angle...
A beautiful day for sheep herding!
Amigo came out for moral support:)
