Baa!

Maxwell went to heaven today. And heaven is a trio of fluffy white sheep in a New Jersey pasture.

That's right, I took him to a herding lesson. One of the dogs in Sadie's class is a Bearded Collie, so he and Maxwell split an hour lesson. Each dog got about 15 minutes on the sheep and then switched, x2. It worked out perfectly, since my little man completely wears himself out when he gets to work stock.

Maxwell went first, since he was desperate to be working, and did very nicely for the instructor. Unlike when he took the herding instinct test, he never felt the need to quit. He would start to move off a bit towards the water trough, but would come back to the little flock when called. I think he's gained confidence, too. He was much less put off when worked by the instructor. I'm especially happy about that since at his lest lesson, over the winter in Wisconsin, he was smacked across the nose by the instructor for being over-eager. I was afraid he might be reluctant to work again, but I shouldn't have worried!

The Beardie was fun to watch. He was initially a little afraid of the sheep, and just seemed to want to play with his handler. Occasionally he'd break off to check on her mother, then sprint back when called. Once he realized that the sheep would move away from him, however, he grew bolder. By the end of the lesson he was doing some circling, and would chase individual sheep a short ways. Y'know, just for fun.

The Beardie was also much better than Maxwell in one aspect: balance. Where my pup just wants to run and split sheep away from the flock, just so he can bring them back again, the Beardie would stand still when he was opposite the sheep from his handler. No excess motion, no frantic lunging to make the sheep scatter. Balance.

Poor little Maxwell bit his tongue during his second round. He slipped while chasing a sheep, and fell. Man, do doggy tongues bleed. He was foaming red at the mouth and dripping all over the place. He didn't even miss a beat, though! He was on his feet at a full sprint before I even noticed he was injured. By the time the lesson was over, he looked like he'd just come from a knife fight. Needless to say, he bled all over the car on the way home. At least the giant soft crate was laying in the back, and took the brunt of the mess. By the time we got home the bleeding had stopped, and I gave him a rinse in the shower.

Hopefully I'll be able to take several more lessons over the summer. I'd love to keep letting my pup follow his instincts. And I really enjoy being outside working with him. I wish there were a farm closer. Driving an hour each way, plus paying $30 to split an hour lesson, gets pricey. Anyone know a positive trainer near Westchester?