Saturday, January 17, 2009. We had an awesome time!
What is so neat about Herding-4-Ewe in Vacaville is that they accept
all breeds. (Some herding facilities only accep Border Collies.)
Ripley was joined by a Schnauzer, a Bearded Collie, a
Rough-Coated Collie, a Canaan Dog, a Belgian Malanois, two Australian
Shepherds, two Swiss Mountain Dogs, two Border Collies, and four
German Shepherds. In all, there were seventeen dogs there for testing
Saturday morning.
For a fee of $35, the day's activities included registration, a group
instructional session with the dogs, a group class on herding breeds
in the indoor arena without the dogs, a demonstration by one of
instructor's dogs, and then a private session with the sheep and
trainer and written evaluation of your dog. It was the best $35 I
have ever spent! I would have paid more. Ripley and I were there
the entire day and we had a blast!
What was so fun was watching the different breeds work the sheep.
Each breed has a different style. As Debbie Pollard, founder of
Herding-4-Ewe, explained, German Shepherds have an aggressive style.
This proved true for Ripley. He used his body, teeth, and bark to
move the sheep. I was taken aback by his boldness. Deb explained
that Ripley wasn't being indiscriminate in his actions. He used each
behavior judiciously keeping the sheep together and then moving them
out as instructed.
To an untrained eye, it looked like Ripley was just having fun. But
Deb knows what she's looking for. She assured me Ripley was showing
her his potential. She said he took direction well and with training
he could be fantastic. In the comments section of his evaluation she
wrote that Ripley was a wonderful ambassador for his breed and that
he had HUGE herding potential! Cool, huh?
It struck me how natural the dogs were with sheep. Most of these dogs
had no prior experience—Ripley included. I thought some of the dogs
might be afraid. The sheep weigh between 150-300 lbs. But they
weren't. With encouragement and guidance from Deb, all the dogs took
to the sheep like ducks to water. It was incredible!
I can't say enough about how wonderful Debbie is or how much fun we
had. If you ever get the chance, have your Shiloh tested by Debbie
Pollard at Herding-4-Ewe. You won't regret it. It is an experience
you'll remember forever.
Joy & Ripley
Joy and Ripley show off the Herding Instinct Certificate
Ripley runs down a woolie!
Ripley gathers them up!
