Dutch Shepherd Forum

Lyric met some sheep today! She was not very impressive--not real interested in them at first. When she got interested, she went straight to pray/seperate/kill drive. I thought I'ld be packaging mutton tonight!
Glad to say the sheep survived, but we may be staying with the balls. Got a few photo's but they're not great.

Lyric, you naughty girl!!

Well it was entertaining----photo's aren't good, but here's what I got before she decided to try to kill them.
The lady said she may be able to herd at some point if we put lots of work into it but----2 hrs. drive (1 way), and I have surgery on Monday, and I wouldn't compete in that venue anyway, so I guess we'll stick to her balls. So---on to bigger and better things, as they say!

the sheep look scared in one shot - they knew a "beast" was among them

Nice pics, btw. Glad she didn't kill or hurt them.

Aww, thats too bad. I would think that would be a bit scary; for the sheep and you, and I'm not sure what a flock of sheep cost, but glad to hear everyone survived!

HAHA, you go girl! She probably saw dinner for a month!

I thought it was fun, and Lyric was on a long line, so she really got bounced back on her bottom when she hit the end of the line==sheep running everywhere, and a bit of wool in her teeth! Her bewildered expression when they wouldn't play the game her way===funny as hell. The lead sheep finally had enough and (lightly), head butted her! (No respect for a dog who doesn't know the rules, apparently.)
All in all--a fun day, no one got hurt, Lyric still has her balls, and the lady still has her sheep.

Any new experience has the potential to teach you something about your dog. Lyric is very dependent on me and still gets quite stressed in new situations, but she did much better than I expected, so I guess progress has been made. She's very good with people, but this is the first time someone else has actually taken her from me and tried to work her----she definitely did not like the idea. We'll have to work on it.

alspyce wrote:She's very good with people, but this is the first time someone else has actually taken her from me and tried to work her----she definitely did not like the idea. We'll have to work on it.

I don't think its something that you necessarily have to work on. If I could have been working my dog (or at least had my opinion respected), I could have avoided my herding fiasco. No one got killed, but 2 sheep got hurt and the person running the seminar is lucky it was only the animals that got bit. I'll find the link to Willow's herding story if anyone hasn't heard it.

Christie M wrote:

alspyce wrote:She's very good with people, but this is the first time someone else has actually taken her from me and tried to work her----she definitely did not like the idea. We'll have to work on it.

I don't think its something that you necessarily have to work on. If I could have been working my dog (or at least had my opinion respected), I could have avoided my herding fiasco. No one got killed, but 2 sheep got hurt and the person running the seminar is lucky it was only the animals that got bit. I'll find the link to Willow's herding story if anyone hasn't heard it.

What I meant about her not liking being handled by someone else, was not about biting. What I meant was that it showed her insecurity and dependence upon me, that is what I mean to work on---building up her confidence level.
I do agree tho, that if the sheep were mine to work with, I may have had a better shot at getting her to understand what was expected.

alspyce wrote: What I meant about her not liking being handled by someone else, was not about biting. What I meant was that it showed her insecurity and dependence upon me, that is what I mean to work on---building up her confidence level.

Just to play Devil's Advocate though, DS are a working breed that should bond well with their owners and typically be cautious of new people. Now some are social butterflies, but I don't think they are the majority. So is it a nerve issue when Lyric is suspicious of a new person who is trying to control her in a very stimulating situation? Or is it a natural for her not to be confident taking direction from a stranger.

Honestly, I know you know your dog. I just think its good conversation I try to proof my dogs OFF of listening to other people.

Food for thought!