Seek had her first herding session on Sunday May 24th. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I just knew that I had my fingers crossed in hopes Seek would be an excellent herder. Of course I'm sure everyone goes into their first session thinking that their dog will immediately go into expert herder mode, maybe some do...
NOT SEEK!
She had 3 rounds with 7 minute breaks in between.
The first round I brought Seek into the round pen (not sure if that's what it's called... I am a beginner). She had no confidence whatsoever. She pretty much walked around eating the poop off the ground. I was a little worried, but wasn't about to give up on her. I see the way she looks at sheep and cattle when we drive by them.
We took a break to give her some time to think about what happened.
Round two. A little bit of improvement... she started to eye the sheep a bit. Again I wondered if she had any herding instinct in her. Still not so much confidence going on. She almost looked as if she were in trouble for being near them. During this round I ran after the sheep while calling Seek to come with me and praising her for running with me. Of course she just wanted to be near me. At one point we actually picked Seek up and put her on top of the sheep to get her aware and let her touch them and know it was okay.
Time for another break. My instructor explained how sometimes it just takes 3 sessions and by the third they are working.
WOW! Was she right or what. Round three, we get inside and Seek immediately goes to work. Thanks to all the praise we gave her in the first two rounds she built some confidence. She looked as if she had been doing it for years! I was so excited, I had been waiting for this moment for a long time coming.
Here is a video from the third round. You can laugh at me for being afraid of the sheep.
And some pictures.
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