Tam's Big Day

Photo credit, Jan Elliott

Tam got his first go on sheep today. I love to start the young ones. There's just something so innocent about their first efforts. It looked as though Tam couldn't believe his luck when we headed down to the practice pen. He took off toward the round pen as soon as I opened the gate, and I let him, because there's no substitute for the exuberance of youth.


Even though he was on a long line, he still got away from me inside the round pen. Chaos ensured, and the sheep clanged the gate open to escape. There was a break in the action while I retrieved Price to restore order and return my sheep to the pen. With a tighter grip on the long line, and the gate tied shut, Tam and I went for it again.

His preference was to pin sheep to the fence, then jump in and bite them when they made a break for it. No fear, no hesitation, no feel, no balance and no pace, but this wasn't my first pup to begin that way. Over the years I've learned to let them have their way. The good news is that he was very conscious of my presence even if he was perfectly happy to ignore it at first. I gave a growl for inappropriate behavior, which was pretty much constant, but there was no intention to it. I just wanted to introduce the concept of what makes me happy, and what doesn't.

That's when I found the lunge whip. Just about the time I was wishing I had one, I saw it lying against the fence. Now I had a way to keep speedy Tam off the sheep long enough to get between him and them to ease him around, instead of through. It worked, and just as most dogs do, he chose a side and it was left.

Running as fast as that small diameter allowed him, he circled the sheep, fearlessly squeezing between them and the fence. That just gave him an excuse to bite them, so instead of trepidation, I saw only elation. With my back to the fence to get him to fetch, Tam simply orbited between me and the sheep on a blindingly fast inside flank executing another wool-pull on the way by. OK, plan B.

He was determined to only travel come-bye despite my repeated efforts to change his direction. As I've done so often with dogs, I grabbed his collar, followed the sheep on the away-to-me side then sort of shoved him through in that direction. Tam realized immediately that between fence and sheep is between fence and sheep on both sides and you can bite them in both directions. After that, it was easy.

Now a test. Since I got him 3 months ago, we have been practicing a lie down, off sheep, in the yard. He's got it down pat out there. In fact for a while I had to quit practicing, because every time I looked at him, he laid down. But in here where things are so tremendously exciting, would he take it? And the answer is YES!

I got him slowed down and looking at me, then in my happiest voice said; "lie down." With this huge goofy grin on his face, tongue lolling and breathing hard, he said; "OK," and down he went. Well, of course, so did I. Right to his side to give him one of those huge, rubbing, patting, kissing, oh-so-happy-that-a-boy finishes that my dogs know and love. Good day. Good dog!