All was quiet in this household, with the kids thoroughly enjoying themselves, and us taking pleasure in watching them play around with their prezzies.
Jock took a break from training for a few months and he seems to have really benefited from it.
We no longer have my favourite woolly sheep any more as they had to go off to market. We didn't have enough grass to feed everyone, especially with the addition of 20 black headed Dorpers mid August of last year. The weather had been kind to us, but over the last month, the grass has burnt off to the extent that we are pulling fencelines down and doubling our paddock size.
These 20 Dorpers consisted of 19 maiden ewes and 1 mature ram. Sadly, we lost one ewe to rectal prolapse, bringing the number of girls down to 18.
In late November of last year, they started lambing, and we were blessed with 11 healthy lambs from 10 ewes. (Yes, one girl had twins, and she was a maiden!).
Out of the 11 lambs, we now have 6 ewe lambs, 4 wethers and we've kept one as a ram, now known as Bam Bam. I named the ram that we bought with the girls. It was a toss up between Fred and Barney, from the Flinstones. He became Barney, which means I just had to name his son Bam Bam.
These Dorper sheep do NOT work the same as other sheep we have worked. Unlike the 'whites', these guys do not run. As Jock circles them, they turn to watch his progress. Even the lambs will stay put and watch the show.
For the last 6 months or so I have been trying to teach Jock to give the sheep some room. He was just getting the hang of it when I realised that if he was more than 6 feet behind the sheep, they wont move!
Yesterday he successfully gathered up the sheep, and after about 15 minutes of him pushing from behind and each side, we got them into the yard. We weren't putting them in the yard for any reason other than as an exercise for Jock, so no gates were shut.
Tonight he did an even better job of it. I carry a horse lunging whip which I will crack if Jock is not listening. Sometimes when he is well out behind the sheep he doesn't pay attention when I give a command. A quick crack of the whip and he's looking at me, waiting for direction.
Don't be mistaken, he is NEVER hit with the whip, I never crack it near him and he is NOT afraid of it. He is respectful of it when we are around the sheep, but when there isn't a sheep in sight, he loves to chase the end of it. Just another game of his.
So, he's just turned 14 months old and can successfully gather all of the sheep up together in the paddock, push them quietly through the gateway and guide them into the yards.
Not bad, given I've never trained a working dog before!
Below is Jock cooling off the best way he knows how! (wonder what the sheep think of him sitting in their water?!)
