This morning I tried to get a good photo of Redford confronting Will, but failed miserably. That’s great news… I couldn’t get the photo because every time Will walked within twenty feet of Redford, the ram turned and walked away. I did take a few photos, but my battery died so I can’t upload them for you. I’ll send some before the end of the week, of Will and sheep, and hopefully, of Snickers new lambs, if she ever, finally, gives birth. (We are calling her Explodo-Ewe at the moment.)
Truffle’s little white lamb is filling out like a champ. He’s got all the milk to himself and is growing like crazy. He has started what I call “popcorn” play, which is pretty much like it sounds. First there is a lamb standing still, then there’s a lamb leaping straight up into the air. Except in this case, the lambs twist their bodies a bit, land, run a few feet and do it again. It’s lucky the weather is warm (in the 20’s!) because it’s hard for me to leave the barn, he’s so much fun to watch.
I wanted to write more about Will, the ram and “power” in a herding dog, because it was herding dogs that taught me about ‘body blocks’ and ‘space management’ in dog training. (See Other End of the Leash or Family Dog Training.) There is no question that different dogs have a different effect on the same sheep: some dogs seem to take charge from a long way away while others have to get much closer to get the same effect. If a dog has what handlers call ‘power,’ the sheep will look at the dog, turn their heads looking for the best route away from the dog and leave, even if the dog is a good distance away. Other dogs have to get much closer to get the same effect, or can even cause the same sheep to stand their ground or charge forward. When I first got into herding I thought the difference in the dog was in it’s posture… the more extreme the stalking posture, the more intense the effect? But it soon became clear that wasn’t it.
The biggest difference that is obvious to us is vector of the dog’s energy. Is the dog standing still but leaning forward, standing square over its 4 feet or leaning backwards, even an eighth of an inch or so? Biologists call movements and postures that always preceed an action “intention movements” and there’s no doubt in my mind that sheep can read where a dog is ready to go next: forward, to “take the space,” or backwards, to protect itself and get away. I show a video in many of my seminars that show 3 different dogs working the same group of cattle, and the difference in the reaction of the cattle is amazing. One, clearly fearful dog (tongue flicks, looks back to handler often, ears back, body leaning backward.. ready to run away) ends up with the cattle walking right up to him and sniffing his nose. The most confident dog walks forward with what can only be described as presence, and the cattle take one look at him and turn away. Dogs are brilliant at sensing these movements too, which is why we all need to be thoughtful about how we move around our dogs. You can use them to your advantage (teaching stay for example) or get into trouble by leaning forward toward a dog who is nervous around strangers.
Intention movements going forward or backward are just one factor in the interaction between sheep and dog. Some dogs are so strong that they worry sheep and can’t be used in small areas. Other dogs seem to take charge easily without scaring the sheep. Ideally, a dog is calm and confident, neither overly reactive but ready to win a confrontation if necessary. Some dogs seem to love confrontations, it makes other nervous. All of these things seem to be read by sheep, which makes a lot of sense if you think about it. Many prey animals in the wild behave comfortably around predators who are not hunting, but then immediately go on alert when the predators, lions for example, decide it’s time to stop lazing around and go hunting.
Willie clearly is nervous about direct confrontations. He tongue flicked a couple of times and ran back into the barn as soon as I said “that’ll do,” even though Redford never turned to challenge him.
Okay, he’s not the bravest dog in the world, but the fact that he tries as hard as he can and tries to work through his fears makes me love him even more. Besides, Redford apparently decided that he’s not worth challenging, at least not this morning, so I am pleased and proud that things are going in Will’s direction…
Now, if Snickers would just, PLEASE, have her lambs tonight!
Sorry no photos, battery is charging as I write!
TheRedQueen says
I love your blog, and devour everything you write. 🙂 I haven’t written in the comments yet, but this post made me remember my dearly departed basset hound. She was so great on sheep, it was funny. She used to be the mascot when I was taking my oldest Aussie out for herding lessons. My basset would wander around and “be a basset” while the Aussie was working…sniffing, eating sheep poop, peeing on stuff. Then one day the instructor said, “Do you want to try her out…no charge? I just wanna see what she’d do”. Sure…why not! In she went with the sheep, confident as always. The sheep moved away from her, and she followed along, intrigued. They kept moving, and she was moving back and forth behind them, keeping them going forward at a walk. One broke away, she darted off and brought it back. All very natural and confident. The Aussie had good days and bad…but the basset always had a good day, as she was much more “in-tune” with herself and showed it outwardly.
Thanks for the post today, it brought back great memories!
Erin and The Red Dogs
Carolyn says
Trisha, please keep us updated on Willie’s progress. He can do it!
Amy says
A while back I had the opportunity to attend an Introduction to Herding seminar for first time handlers and dogs. It was fascinating. There were 13 dogs at the clinic, all various herding breeds, and it was so interesting to witness each dog in the ring with sheep for the first time.
I was surprised that out of the 13 dogs, only about 6 took to the sheep and tried to ‘control their movement’ – I won’t go so far as to say they were herding the sheep, but they had a natural instinct. Some of the other dogs simply were not interested in the sheep what so ever, and then there were a few dogs who were frightened and did just about everything they could to leave the ring. As you mentioned, depending on each dog’s presence, the sheep would respond accordingly. Could this be a metaphor of some sort for human life and the work place? Anyway.
A couple of other observations from my herding clinic experience, I was absolutely amazed to see the ‘herding instinct’ kick in. Of the six dogs who had it, most of them began in the ring rather nonchalant toward the sheep, then sheep started to move, and like a light switch was turned on the dogs began to herd – only not really, because it was their first time, but they were on the right track. The instructor also warned us, that herding is very mentally tiring on the dogs, and to watch for our first time dogs to hit a wall of exhustion while they were in the ring – she was right, they did.
Not only was it a great opportunity to be able to experience the clinic from a personal standpoint, but it was also great to observe so many different dogs in the same situation and watch the various reactions. I bored my husband the whole car ride home with observations, now I’m doing the same to you….
Sabine says
First off: I hope the first wave of contractions have set in by now and Snickers is well on her way into delivering her offspring. Good luck with that !
Herding instinct is a wondrous thing. Tessa was confronted with her first flock of sheep when she was about nine months old. Without ever having met a sheep before, she knew what to do. I was just flabbergasted ! I would have loved to continue sheepherding with her because she had so much fun doing it, but in our area it’s just too expensive to take lessons and it’s an almost two hour drive. Now she’s herding my two dachsies and I find that very helpful too. 🙂
You go, Will, and don’t let that ram fool you ! I’m looking forward to those pictures.
Greetings from VA,
Sabine
Kelly Ladouceur says
Way to go Willie! Good dog!
Kaiser Soze says
Phew, a few days out of town and I find 4 new posts! So much to read, so little time!
I was wondering about the ram that charged against Willie. Was it the “leader” of the sheep pack? Does this pack behavior manifest in sheep as well?
Bill at Shepherd's Meadow says
Power in a herding dog is easier seen than defined. It’s like accidentally slipping your left foot into your right shoe – – you know it right away.
One thing is for sure: down at its core, something very subtle is going on out there, barely perceptible to the human eye or ear; something that’s part work, part play and part wonder.
Trisha says
“Part work, part play, and part wonder?” Lovely Bill, truly lovely. And so very very true. And I love the analogy of slipping your foot into the wrong shoe. I wish everyone could experience the rush of ‘clicking’ with a good dog while herding, who is ‘clicking’ with the sheep. When all 3 species are all moving together almost as one, it’s an amazing experience, isn’t it? It’s one of those a flow experiences that we all seek, but are so hard to find…