A self indulgent boast post from me!

Ravenwood

Ravenwood

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I just had to share what Rosie got up to today :D I'm still buzzing :D

As you know Rosie is our first border collie, working bred, bought from a farm.

Up till now (she is 18 months old) all her training has been simple, everyday obedience - heel, recall (voice and whistle), down, not to chase sheep or ponies, wait, come in etc etc - ie no actual sheepdog training at all.

I did use her a few days ago when we tried to catch a maggoty lamb and was impressed with her focus on me but today we went off and rounded up 150 ewes and their lambs and brought them all down from the common to the yard - it seemed like miles and miles of scattered sheep!

But - OMG - she acted like an old pro :D I was so worried that such a "chuck her in at the deep end" day would blow her mind and I would lose control of her but I couldn't be more wrong :)

At all times she listened to me, she drove the sheep forward quietly and steadily. When a small number broke away she ran off right around them and brought them back in :)

Then another 20 odd ewes and lambs which had broken into a field they shouldn't be in - well, me and Rosie, we brought those in by ourselves :D

Then we had to go back with the Landrover to pick up a poor ewe who was almost off her legs and catch her very healthy lamb, Rosie and I very quietly drove them into a corner so that I could catch the lamb with the crook. All done with the least stress to them both.

I know its all bred into her and her natural instincts but given the fact that she has me as a complete novice sheppardess owner - I am thrilled to bits :D

What a fabulous little dog we've got and doesn't it just make your day when your dog does you proud :D

The only down side is... I am knackered and burnt to a cinder :o And I better put this wine away otherwise I will be useless at work tomorrow!! :eek:
 
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Oh, wow, what a clever girl.........the only thing im annoyed at is..........lack of pics, I was expecting a picci with that:rolleyes: we have not seen her for yonks:mad::p
 
Well done you and Rosie.

Friend of mine has 5 bcs and all work and trained by him, he said because its all bred in them you just need basic obedience and the dog does the rest. Its a sight to behold a working border collie and I just used to love one man and his dog.
 
Awww - thanks Cayla :) I actually said to Mark - "God, I wish I had brought my camera" but there was too much to concentrate on to take pictures!

She is now fast asleep on the sofa!
 
Dobiegirl said:
Well done you and Rosie.

Friend of mine has 5 bcs and all work and trained by him, he said because its all bred in them you just need basic obedience and the dog does the rest. Its a sight to behold a working border collie and I just used to love one man and his dog.
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I reckon if Rosie was owned by your friend, she would be amazing, she obviously has the brains for it :) Slowly but surely for us and a steep learning curve but I can't wait until we bring the hill flock in for shearing :D

I loved one man and his dog too - I could watch that for hours :)

There was an amazing man who lived up the lane, unfortunately deceased, and he won just about every trophy going in the sheep dog trials in this area. At his funeral someone told a very funny story about how he always kept just a few sheep in a field and used them for training young dogs but the sheep were so used to the routine that they would just about put themselves in the pens anyway :D
 
CaveCanem said:
Well done, she sounds like a pro, genetics are genetics but the handler helps too, what a good girl!
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Thanks CC -thats a really nice reply :D

I am reasonably knowledgable with the gun dog training obviously and I guess general manners and obedience goes a long way with any dog and sets them up for the future.

But actually, I remember you posting several times about keeping your dogs focus and you are so very right - as long as you can keep control in any situation you are onto a winner )
 
My first collie was obsessed with sheep;one day about ten white sheep broke into our field to our Welsh Mountain Black sheep. My dog spent the entire day out in the field amusing herself by cutting out the whites from the blacks..then blending them together again ,only to repeat the game.
Sadly for the owner of the white sheep it did`nt stop our black ram "Llewyllen" from getting most of them pregnant.
 
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