The Joy of Herding

I'm still recovering from a nasty case of the flu.  Today I'll return to work but I still need to go slowly.  Hubby returned yesterday and is definately getting back to normal.  It's been great to rehash the weekend's events over and over in my mind, as it was an entirely pleasant weekend, darned near perfect even.    Trials in any venue very rarely have this good of a conclusion so I'm going to milk it for all it's worth.  I haven't done any herding trials since 2005 and I'd forgotten how wonderful it can be.  It's darned near as addicting - in a different way - as Obedience.  While Obedience is a showcase of what you've taught your dog, herding is in a way the complete opposite - it's what your dog has taught YOU.   When you enter the herding arena all bets are off and you need to trust your dog to do what it's been bred to do.  For me the control freak it's always been a real struggle.  However when we have good results in herding it's because I've let go of my agenda, made decisions on the fly, and let my dog be in control of the situation with me adding some guidence regarding where we should be on the course.
Moto with his new obedience training agenda (working for his meals) and my letting him control the sheep has let him blossom.  That PT run, with absolutely no training with panels and penning, was just beautiful.  We went around that course in three minutes and received lots of compliments about what a nice dog he was.  One person said they even thought he should be a B course dog!  (B course is a smaller version of what a course is at Border Collie trials - no arena, just wide open area.)  I'm excited an anxious to get him in to the Started class next year.
Pinch lacks the innate talent of rating stock but what he lacks in instinct he more than makes up with in confidence and "want to".  He's learning to listen to me (that "steady" command has been our saving grace with flighty stock) and I was impressed with that he did this weekend, too.  We had a ewe that escaped once and I told him to leave it and we'd herd the remaining four.  Pinch kept looking back and finally took off and rounded her up and brought her back.  When she tried to break again with no word from me he quickly went over and with a quick nip encouraged her to stay with her flock.
So for both of the boys we had one of those great herding moments where we are working quietly together and the stock is moving in a calm and orderly fashion.  It was so neat to see each of them exercise their completely different talents yet both achieve great results. 
The best part?  When I called them to come to me, their sweet brown eyes shining with pride, knowing it was a Job Well Done.
To quote from the movie "Babe":  That'll do, Pig.  That'll do.