Last March a member of our Aussie meetup organized a “barkday” party for her dog at a sheep farm. Around a dozen of us attended and loved it.
Several weeks ago I noticed a post on a friend’s facebook
page announcing a “Herding Fun Day” at a farm in Virginia. What could be more fun? Another outing with Aussies and sheep!
I quickly organized an Aussie meetup around it. Soon, nearly a dozen Aussie owners from the
DC area were making the 1.5 hour trek to Goldvein, Virginia and Dawgwood
Farm's Herding Fun Day.
It was a sparkling Saturday – perfect for a day in the country,
or herding sheep. Wink Mason and Judy
Moran were our hosts at Dawgwood Farm.
Judy was thinking ahead when she organized the “play area”
for our hyped up dogs. An enormous fenced
in field greeted them upon arrival – it’s where they could run and play while
the sheep were readied.
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| Pre-herding playtime |
At this outing, Boomer was the only herding veteran in the
group and the moment he saw the sheep – he was ready!
Wink took each owner and dog into the ring with three “volunteer”
sheep. Dawgwood Farms only raises wool
sheep, but these guys looked like they give themselves up to the highest bidder
in a second!
The instruction was as much for the owner as it was for the
dog. Wink shared that the goal was to
have the dog watch the sheep, but “keep an ear” to the owner’s voice. He also gave instruction on how to utilize
the tether – short firm (but gentle) tugs to let the dog know not to charge the
sheep.
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| Wink provides instruction, Kirk listens, Boomer waits |
Boomer, our veteran herder, received plenty of tugs – he was
eager to make contact with the sheep, and seemed to genuinely enjoy the
activity. Wink said Boomer had good eye
contact and his herding style was gathering – who knew?!
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Mosbey and Tucker wait their turn
|
On this outing we had a number of young dogs – those under a
year. And once again, our Aussies proved
to be naturals! They were evaluated on
their style - driving or gathering; eye
contact – loose, medium or strong; temperament – readily adjusts to distracted
and nervous; interest – sustained and keen to some or none; and power –
sufficient, forceful, excessive or a lack of power. At the end of each evaluation Wink provided
comments about the dog. On Boomer’s he
wrote, Very nice dog. J Owners luckily were not evaluated, although,
I am sure that Wink would comment that all owners were very nice and showed
promise!
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| Sinbad was a natural |
There is something very satisfying to watch your dog perform
the task he was bred to do. Our dogs are
incredible athletes and VERY smart! And
while the majority of their activity takes place in urban areas, their
instincts take over the moment they are placed in their “natural” environment.
Kelly’s Ford was the site of a major civil war battle. Today its home to the Inn at Kelly's Ford and
the Kelly’s Ford Equestrian Center.
It was a wonderful day in the Virginia countryside. Driving home, I am sure that at least one of
our dogs fell asleep counting sheep.
Thanks to Wink and Judy for a wonderful outing, we are ready for the next one!
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