A Herding We Will Go

Lowri - I got to go herd the ducks today.  A man came and brought his Pembroke Corgi.  He wanted to teach Harpo to herd.  TM set it up where the man got to try to herd sheep first.  She put a wily ewe with two lambs in the duck arena and asked him to put them in the small pen.  She said it didn't matter if he accomplished the task as the goal was to think about how his presence impacted the process.  He was impressed with how small movements changed things.  He also noticed how getting closer to the ewe increased both his and the ewe's stress.  TM was very pleased with that part of the lesson.

Then TM brought out some ducks and asked him to move the ducks around.  They talked about the predators that would hunt the ducks and how movement in the air (moving an arm) would cause the ducks to react.  He moved them around a bit and noticed how that was different from moving the sheep.

Finally, I got to come out and move the ducks.  Harpo also got to come out to watch.  He thought the "smart pills" left by the sheep were very interesting, but as I moved the ducks closer to him, he got really interested.  He got to move the ducks with his man.  TM mainly used me to control how far the ducks went.  It was fun.

When we were all done, I got to put the ducks away.  I also got to help TM put the chickens away.  I really helped!  TM was impressed.  AND I did it in the field with the yearling lambs and the heifer.  I was AWESOME!

Kevin - I got to herd the ducks.  TM took me out into the arena.  I moved ducks all over.  I was a very good dog!  I did get distracted by the "smart pills", but I mainly moved the ducks.  I want to be a herding dog when I grow up!