Photo's of our new sheep, and some classic Jock shots too!

So much has been happening here the last few days that I've gotten behind in my Blog updates, but all of that is about to change.

In the last week we managed to find, and purchase our first purebred Black Headed Dorper Ewes, plus a registered, purebred ram.

We've had Dorpers before, but not the black headed ones, and found them a little surprising. They seem to be less fussy when it comes to what they eat, and they also do a much better job grazing than my other sheep have been doing. They are slightly smaller than my other ewes, but seem less flighty, more inclined to take things in their stride.

When they finally arrived, they had spent almost 8 hours in the trailer, but careful handling and driving by the gentleman who delivered meant that when they finally did get here, they looked like they'd only been travelling for about 10 minutes!

Below are some photo's of these girls, and the ram who I have nicknamed Barney (from the Flintstones!).

I also managed to get some more photo's of Jock whilst he was playing. As you can see, the stick is more enticing than the watering can right now.

Enjoy!

Some of the Black Headed Dorper girls that we bought recently

More Dorper girls

A lovely panoramic view of the sheep (new and old) and the Willow Tree just starting to grow leaves again for Springtime!

Jock with the latest toy. This stick provides him with hours of fun and multiple bruises for me as he rushes past and hits me on the back of the legs with it!

Jock is 'full-pounce' mode!

He's run off his feet!!!

Well, Jock has certainly earned his food this last week.

My sheep refuse to stay where they are put, so today I decided that enough was enough!

With Jocks help, we managed to move the sheep out of the paddock they were in, through another paddock (that I might add has heaps of obstacles), and into the last paddock where they will stay until I can get the rest of the fencing sorted out.

Jock is progressing surprisingly fast. He is now reading the sheep much better and is able to anticipate their next moves. He's also responding very well to voice commands, and I'm hoping to change him over to whistle commands in the coming months.

Today we did a lot of work on slowing him down. If he got closer than 15 feet from the sheep, I'd put a stop on him, wait for the sheep to move off a little more and then tell him to 'walk up'. He still hasn't entirely grasped the concept of 'walk up' but he is getting the idea. With him walking and stopping and then walking again, I was able to stop the sheep heading for the gate they came out of and down to the new paddock gate. At one stage I needed Jock to come around to the flank to stop them making a run for it, which he did, and then went back to following them again.

When they made a run for the gate into the new paddock, I knew that Jock would want to head them and bring them back, so I called him off, which he did almost willingly (I say 'almost' because had I been less firm with my command, he would have happily circled the sheep again and brought that back to me) and came and sat on my foot. Not, at my foot, but actually sat ON it. That way he knows where I am without looking! Smart pup, but a hazard if I have to walk off!

So, with my ewes only about 3 weeks off lambing, Jock is now out of work. If I can figure out how to do it, I'll separate the ewe lambs off for working and leave the others in peace. If I can't, then he gets a break until I can find some more sheep to work him on.

I'm not sure what level he is supposed to be at in his training or at his age, but to give you an idea of where he is up to, I'll list them below:

1. He stops when I give the 'Stand' command (98% of the time).
2. He casts round to the left on 'come-bye'.
3. He casts round to the right on 'way'.
4. He walks up on the sheep when commanded (50%).
5. He will come off the sheep when called (99% of the time).
6. He stays by my leg when walking around or through the sheep without trying (too hard) to round them up (85% of the time)
7. He gathers them all up in a tight bunch when I cast him and brings them to me (95% of the time)
8. He goes back for strays on the "look back" command (80% of the time with prompting).
9. He stops and blocks gateways when required so that I can get the gate closed properly.

So, he can't run the fenceline and gather all of the sheep without going too quick, and he pushes them up on me really fast if I don't 'check' him, but other than that, I think for a pup who is yet to hit the 9 month old milestone (16th August), he is doing exceptionally well, don't you think?

I'm proud of my Jock, and proud of myself for having helped him to get to where he is (and where we are) today!

He did a fantastic job! (with pic!)

Today, Jock was required to help me with the sheep.

He's only eight and a half months old and has had lots of broken training. Intense and then nothing, then intense again!

Well, today he did a beautiful job for me. I wanted to have a look at a couple of my ewes but I no longer have any yards set up (moving them to a more suitable area) so I have to rely on Jock bringing the sheep to me in the paddock and holding them in place. It probably would have been easier for both of us if I'd picked a corner to work in, but the middle of the paddock seemed to work out well.

After checking over the sheep, I decided to put Jock through his paces. Below is a diagram (albeit rough) of where I got Jock to put the sheep, and he did it every time!

Andy Nickless posted this:

The Definition of a Sheepdog.
My definition of when the dog you're training becomes a sheepdog.

Imagine your sheep had escaped ("surely not," I hear you cry - "our sheep NEVER escape")and are roaming your neighbour's fields. Your only dog is the youngster you have at home, just in the early stages of his training. Would you take that dog to help get the sheep back in, or would you call a friend and ask him to bring his dog - leaving the trainee secure in the kennel where he can do no harm? If you'd take the trainee - because you're reasonably confident that between you, you can get the sheep back into your field, then (in my opinion) he's a sheepdog.

I mention that because every one of those "rescues" became a sheepdog that I would take with me to get the sheep back in.

Some were certainly a lot better than others, but I'd have taken any of them to get my sheep in if I had no other dog. Having said that though, some of the ten dogs had big problems (not of their own making) which I had to overcome. If you start off with a young dog which is from good working stock, you're likely to find training a lot easier.   on his website.

Today, I agree that my pup is very quickly becoming a sheepdog!

I am proud of my dog, and proud of myself as well!

PS. If you want to hear more from Andy Nickless, check out his site at:

http://www.herding-dog-training-border-collie-sheepdog-dvd.com/herding_sheepdog_stock_dog_training.htm

for some fantastic tips, tricks and insights!