Grace's first herding lesson

Today Grace had her first herding lesson.  It was short but she worked hard.  The snow in the pen was pretty deep and fairly loose, so she had to really jump versus run.  Kim worked her since she wanted to get a feel for how she thought, which was great.  Kim had her working both ways and learning to respect the shepherd and the flock- and the crook too.  Grace was really eager to go and chase, but she was starting to understand not to crowd and to give a bit of distance. Kim got her to stop a couple of times too.   Lots of thinking for a very excited girl. 

We were going to have a couple of other lessons this month, but Kim thinks we should wait for less snow, so she can work a bit easier. She was breathing pretty hard after a short session.  I am going to work with her and the rest of the dogs too to build up some endurance. Being city dogs, they dont get enough running time, so they all need more work. So that is my homework, as well as working on a stop.

Grace - Herding

How dare this ram leave the group. She will get him back where he belongs.

Grace is my most interested dog.  She was horrible waiting her turn. She whines, barks, leaps and makes a fool of herself in her eagerness.  She pulled her way into the ring and went to work.  I do think this is her calling. And I do think I need to find a way to make herding part of our training program.