Now I just need a farm & sheep, lol. (photos)

[Fodder]

Well, its confirmed, I have two herders on my hands

Today both of my dogs got the chance to work some sheep. It was more or less an instinct test for both, but since I plan to pursue with Tilden, we focused on him a bit more and she let him have a couple more works than usual.



Round 1 (Tilden)

He was VERY eager to get in the pen, the trainer and myself were very excited by this... that is until he ran to the sheep, sniffed them for a half sec, then decided that her Border Collies in the next pen were more exciting and went over to greet them. She continued trying to get him interested in the sheep but he wanted to check out the scenery, "wave" to Gia and I , admire the trees and "Oh, you mean I'm supposed to chase those things???"

The trainer said that he seemed very young and distracted which may change in time. Which brings us to...

Round 2 (Gia)

She's much more focused and driven than Tilden in general, and after sitting in the sidelines nearly gave her an anxiety attack, we figured maybe she'd get Tilden more amp'd. (it worked). Gia charged the sheep as soon as she got in... barking, nipping, circling, etc. The trainer described her style as "confident and aggressive. she prefers to just get in there and get the sheep moving immediately, then figure out exactly where and how to move them where she wants them to go" You'd never know she was 9, or that she had HD. I was very pleased.

Round 3 (Tilden)

This time he couldnt wait to get back in, but he actually went for the sheep instead of the dogs, trees, birds, etc. He worked alot from the outside, very different from Gia who got right in the middle. Based on his second performance the trainer said that he looked very promising and that she'd love to train and watch him grow. "I love how quiet and polite he is, almost as if he's asking the sheep to move please. This is unusual for a GSD. He's also a Thinker, thats a must" He'd also benefit learning along side a trained dog.

Needless to say, we had a ball and I was ready to buy a farm and sheep after leaving there.

I snapped a couple photos. nothing great because the lighting was horrible and my camera wasnt on the correct setting for action shots...

Tilden, running along the creek before our lesson.



Gia, glued to the sheep.



Lamb chops for dinner!!!



Gia, slowing down once she got the ladies where she wanted.



I love this shot of Tilden!



Tilden, walking the old girls home



Will they sleep well after this? heck no, they're running around the backyard with my cousins dog right now. Where oh where does the energy come from?

[luvmygirl]

How fun! Sounds like they both did great. And what a beautiful training facility you have there - the lovely creek, orange trees, nice! We are over an hour away from the nearest herding facility and it's nothing like yours. Unfortunately, the drive is too far (and now expensive) for us, otherwise I'd definitely be training our boy Eli. He's been intstinct tested and would love it, but... Keep us posted on how your training goes, we'll live vicariously through you guys! :-)

[Kayla's Dad]

Gads. Nice pics. That looks like a blast and Gia and Tilden seem to really enjoy it. How far do you get to travel for your herding?

Like that pic along the creek.

[Cassidy's Mom]

How fun! I really want to try herding. And that pic of Tilden by the creek is just gorgeous!

[Fodder]

i was very impressed with the facility. i mean, it wasnt "state of the art" but large, quiet, shaded (big bonus), and pretty. everything was separated a good deal to avoid distractions. there is also an agility course there which i plan to visit after our next lesson.

its about 45 minutes from my house, but its an easy drive and i was also able to snag a tank of gas which was 20 cents cheaper in that area.

the creek was a nice bonus as well, but it was filled with large rocks which made it difficult for the dogs to maneuver. i was probably more worried then they were tho, they had a blast. gia practically pulled me down the hill and in the water she wanted to play so bad.

i'm going to wait a couple of months before arranging set lessons. tilden is having his first set of hip x rays next month and i'd like to have some piece of mind as far as thats concerned. i also prefer to get thru the hot summer months.

thanks for checking out the photos and leaving comments.
it was a very good experience!

[Amaruq]

It looks like they had a blast!

I come home every night from work to see certain chunks of real estate saved on my computer that were not there when I left. There are all of these little numbers noted by each picture. Apparently KC and the rest of the gang are calculating how many sheep will fit on how many acres.

All of my Sheps have been on sheep except Chimo, and they all love it. I am hoping to get Chimo on them sometime this summer and getting some AHBA HCT's on the rest of the Sheppy Paq and (if possible) getting a JH on KC.

[Lin]

Hey!!! I didn't even know you joined here haha. Awesome pics!

[Fodder]

lol, and i just e mailed them to you nerd



(we should be asleep. esp you!)

[Lin]

Yea I saw the email haha. I WAS sleeping and then woke up for a few hours, and then went back to bed.

[valleydog]

Did you ever go back? I trained there with Molly for awhile.