Things didn't go quite to plan

Well, I had to move the sheep again. The paddock they were in doesn't have enough grass to hold them much longer, and as it always takes a long time to come back, I didn't want the sheep grazing it down to bare earth.

To get them into the paddock that I needed them in would require taking them through the gate, closing the gate behind them, opening the next gate, walking them through, closing that and then walking them down the driveway to the last paddock (where the barn and dam are). Because of the way its set up, I have to close each gate once they are through, which is tricky at times as many of them try to rush back through.

With Jocks help, we managed to move all of the sheep out of the first paddock. He did do naughty things like dart across in front of them, and head them way too close, but after a few minutes I got him under control and we sent the sheep out of the paddock. We had to go back for Yak, who was, as usual hiding from us. Jock got a lesson in driving then, because without him, Yak would have just buried her feet and stayed put.

When they were all through, the sheep made a run for the far gate, which is a tiny laneway that is about 30 feet long and 8 feet wide. They'd jammed up in there and weren't coming out. This is where Jock came in. He quietly went down beside them and started pushing them out. Unfortunately enthusiasm got the better of him and he decided to cut them off when they started to run. Some quick commands and a minor telling off later and we had the sheep in the paddock ready to go to the barn paddock. The sheep had spread out a bit and some where panting quite heavily, so, as they are all heavily in lamb, I decided to leave them where they were for the night to recover. Jock wasn't impressed with finishing work so abruptly, but he took it in his stride.

He did well, but it was a much messier operation than it should have been, and his lack of training, and my inexperience caused many issues. All in all, he did well, but there is plenty of room for improvement.

Unfortunately, yesterday was the day that I really needed a trained dog, however, only having Jock at my disposal means that he was pressed into service more than he should have been.

In the very near future, I am hoping to get some young, dry ewes to train on. Until then, we'll make do!