Chapter One

"Herding it's a way of Life"

Chapter One

This was one of those days that people wait for. A surprise in the mail, the E-mail that is. It read “Thanks, See you on the 5^th of April”. I had sent in a form for letting Dixie, my Border Collie, take her Sheep Herding Instinct Test. She well be 2 years old next week and has been taking Obedience train for a while. I been waiting for six months for an open at the herding test. I read it may be just what we needs. I have no idea about sheep, but they say Dixie well. She dose quit well in Obedience classes, but due to fear aggression issues she not ready, or may never be ready to go in the obedience show ring. I will always remember at the end of her Novice I class test the Judge, who did pass her, told me she was surprised that I had not had her put down by now. Not wanting to just throw her in the backyard and call her a pet we have been looking for a job for her to do, she like it best when she has one. We have been through too much together and are best friends for that. There's two many battles we gone through and hill we’ve over come. She’s what they call a Rescue dog and was dieing from Parvo, with little hope from the Vet’s when I became her human. Now I’m just trying to find something for her to do and enjoy her life and maybe build more self confidents so she can be ok with strangers and other dogs.

I don’t know why, I guess because I’ve been reading about how herding can help a aggressive dog learn to clam down that I decided to try this for her. I’m a city boy and have been for 63 years. When I was young my family did have farms, they were in the poultry and egg business. I remember when I was about 9 years old my grandfather on his farm had a lot of sheep. I seen old 8mm movies of me and the sheep at shearing time, But that’s a long time back and I don’t know a thing about any of this we’ve headed in to. to.

We just got back from taking her first Instinct test, and they were right she did know more or less what was happening. She sure didn’t need me to get her going or show her anything. It was fun to watch as she tried to figure out what to do. The Judge, who is also a Trainer was very good. I Think Dixie really like it, we’ll be going back to see more sheep. O yes she did pass the test. She made me proud to day, but them she dose a lot.

Today we got an E-mail saying that now having passing her Instinct test that she is on go to start herding school and they had three openings to start 3 weeks from now. So I’m going to get our enrollment forms in today so we can go in the morning classes because it the time of the year when it going to be getting hot. I have found when she doing something Dixie likes it out side no matter how hot or cold it is. I have no way of knowing if Dixie or me could be good enough to be in a sheep herding trial, but I guess time well tell.

The E-mail we got to day says we got into classes, but the mornings are full, so it will be in the afternoons. They say there is plenty of water to drink, but that I should teach her to lay down in a children baby pool, which they will have around the pens, so she can cool down in between her times with the sheep.

This has been a disappointing day today, it the first day of classes and it wasn’t the heat, but the rain and lighting that make them cancel for the day. They train in the rain but not the lighting. An open field is not a good place to be on a day like today. Oklahoma is known for its thunder storms and Tornados.

I been reading all the books I found at the library trying to lean not so much how to train as much as what the Trainer will be trying to teach me and show Dixie. I’m hoping it will help me understand as the training goes along and I won’t feel so out of place.

The books were:
       1.      Herding dogs progressive training
       2.      Training and working dogs (For quiet confident control of stock
       3.      Sheepdog training an all-breed approach
       4.      Training the sheep Dog
       5.      A way of life (Sheepdog training, Handling and Trialing)

I also watch some Video’s that show a little about Sheep herding as part of the story.

1. Babe
2. OwD Bob

And I have two more on order

3. The Sundowners
4. Thunder in the Valley (Bob, Son of Battle)

Our big day got here today, the first day of herding school. I wish I could say the skies were blue and weather great, but no believe it or not a week later and it’s still raining. With no Storms or lighting the class went on and there was plenty of mud and pools of water everywhere. You feet stuck to the ground as you tried to walk and not slip, you walk backwards a lot I found out. Dixie loved it she likes to slide on the mud and splash in the water at a hard run. What a mess me and her have become.

Today we did some basics in the small round pen, like having Dixie circle around the sheep to learn pressure. She had to circle clock wise and counter clock wise and she did just on her own. Every now and then she would try to run in and grab at one of the sheep, but not too much. We just moved the sheep from one side of the pen to the other and back. Every now and then they had me stop and have her lay down and just watch the sheep before moving on. I was suspired she would do that because of her wanting to keep the sheep moving all the time. As she circled they had me and the sheep stop as she pass to our back I guess this is to show her to keep the pressure on the sheep between me and her and to move back and forth and not circle all the way around.

The other thing we learn today was to have Dixie to lay down and stay as we entered the sheep pen and only come in when I called her and then lay down beside me again when she came though the gate. The first time or two she didn’t want to wait, but she got better as the day went on.

I don’t need to tell you how muddy we were on the way home, everywhere me and her sat in the Van will have to be clean off. The first thing we did when we got home was go straight to the bathroom and had a shower. Dixie first and them me. My wife will love the laundry this week.

At our second week of lessons it was more of the same, only this time Dixie didn’t seam to keep up her interest in what we were doing. I was told this had to do with she was feeling more comfortable in being in the pen and no so much the need to keep on the move. The instructor say she was doing fine and she was back to working better by the time the lesson was over. I was also told that leaning sheep herding was not a training that goes up hill like other things week after week, that it up and down all the time. This was a down week for us I guess.

Week Three and it more of the same, only today we moved to a larger Square sheep pen and one more sheep. The hot weather I had worried about has gotten here, it around 96*, but it has not slow the dogs down, but I was looking for shade between times in the pen. There was some dog who laid in small children swimming pools and were having fun. They had me put a drag line on Dixie today, a small rope about 15’ long and what we were leaning was to keep her further away from the sheep as we did the same work as before. She worked better today than last week, I hope that means we are making progress, although small. I did enjoy watching some of the other dog that were there today. There were dogs at various stagiest in their training who were there. Some who could follow behind the sheep and keep them moving behind the handler with out putting too much pressure on the sheep as they move about the pen and other that could be sent out a bring the sheep back to the handlers from a crossed the far side of the pen. This was done in a lot bigger pens than we have been in so far. I don’t know how long it will take for Dixie and me to get to were we can do any of those things, but we are looking forward to what must be a satisfying moment in ones training.

This week, week 4 in class we leaned more basics. We work on walk ins and walk outs and downs. This was the first week for me and Dixie to be alone in the pen. What they had us do was to enter the pen gate with her in a down stay and a down stay once inside. Them from a down stay we would do the walk in slowly toward the sheep on the other side of the pen getting as close as we could before they started to move. Once they started moving we were to stop and down stay.

Then we did the walk out by turning away from the sheep and walking to the other side of the pen turn to face the sheep and down stay again.

We repeated this over several time. After awhile they had us walk in and down stay then walk in closer. Dixie did a lot better than I thought she would with only about 3 or 4 times trying to break in to a run for the sheep. She acts like she understand we’re doing something she just not sure when to do it.

Next week they will add another step to this lesson by going out around the sheep I think. It’s my guess this is all about learning to put pressure on the sheep to move, but not run by stopping with the down stay. Learning to control her feelings of just running after the sheep.

Controlling her feelings is what brought us here in the first place. To let her see she can control things around her with out being aggressive, which is the nightmare we have been going though for the last two years. It looks like this could really help, we’ll see.

This week, week 5 it was more of the same basics, walk ins and walk outs. Then we add the flanking to the right (“Away from me” witch is counter clockwise to the sheep) and to the left (“Go bye” witch is clock wise to the sheep). Dixie did a lot better today, I think a lot of it had to do with I did a lot better today.

We also so spent some time herding duck, not with Dixie but just me, they want me to get a feel for herding anything so it would help me know what it is Dixie and I are trying to learn. They had me herd them though a trail like route. I had to laugh thinking if I had Dixie in there with me, she been doing good with the sheep but I just know she would have had duck for dinner.

Week 6 classes have been moved to 5:00pm due to temps being from 97 to 100 degrees out today. Today we did the same as last week, walk-ins, walk-outs and flanking. Dixie didn’t do as good on the walk-ins as last week, she keep wanting to run on in to the sheep when we were stopping to down. She did better latter in the session and she did better this week on the flanking. I can see she want to go to the left (“Go bye”) more than she dose the right (“Way to me”) I felt I did a lot better or maybe I just feel more comfortable in the pen now. It’s looks like the better I do the better Dixie dose, so we are growing together in our skills. There will be no lesson next week the trainer is go to Florida to be a judge at a sheep trial. I wish there was away to practice at home, but that the problem with living in the city. Once a week is fun, but just not enough to get it all together good.

It’s good there not lessons this week it raining out side and we been there in rain before, fun but what a mess that can be.

Well it rain again this week but the sun out for week 7 classes and the ground has dried out good. Today it was back into the bigger pen with four sheep. We did more of the basics, walk ins and walk outs with a few flanking to the left (way to me) and right (go by). If I could get Dixie to stop and drop faster on the flanking I would feel better. This round of classes are about over and we can see we’re along way from really herding sheep. I can tell the basic we’re doing are getting better and if one had those down good you would be a long ways down the road. I been told the next round of lesson start the week after labor day it will still be hot out but should get better every week. I do plan on continuing with lessons Dixie look forward to going each week and I do to. I think it would be a great feeling to see Dixie at her best, moving sheep in a control manner.

       Again this next week there will be no classes, they are moving the sheep to a new location and the following week we will train there.

       This week was our last day in our sheep herding classes this go round. It sure did go by fast. I was just getting in to being comfortable with being there and the new surroundings. I can tell Dixie really like being there, and today I can see she has come along way, she can’t herd, but she is trying hard to learn and having fun doing it. We worked more on the basics of walk in and out. She did seam to do better today on her flanking, I think it was me who needs to get better in giving her directions on what I want her to do. Although she still wants to run after the sheep, she has become more controllable in the pen at a distance and can down and be calm and watch the sheep, but not all the time. I have really enjoy my time here and I can till Dixie has to. It been fun watching her go from going in circles and running around, to trying to bring the sheep to me and some time stopping when I tell her. I can see in her it would be just a mater of time and she could herd sheep right. Now if I work on me, maybe she could have a partner to work with.

        The next round of herding classes won’t start till about two months from now, it getting way to hot out being July and August. I hope Dixie will not forget too much by then. They did give me some ideas on how to practice, what they called dry work to help her to keep the basic skills in her mind. Like walking up with downs toward a favorite toy before you let her get it or make her go out around an object to get it. We will be looking forward to the new classes starting.

This week end we went to a meeting of Herding people who were and did start a new herding club here in Oklahoma. They called 4Cornersherdingclub and we meet some people who I think will be very helpful for me and Dixie as we get started in herding.