Explosion Averted

Phew. Glad I dodged THAT bullet. Truthfully, I doubt I would have exploded, but I seriously a bit buggared up. So, now everything is okay again. Yes, we worked sheep.
We worked for a fairly long time, and at the end of it, Lucy was beat.

We worked a group where one ewe just wasn't interested in playing the game. Now, in all fairness, we did take a group of lambs out of that pasture, and the ewe who shall remain nameless, really wanted to be with them- and another group off to the side. Since a big majority of our work is not pulling off really strong draws, this was to be done today.

But, first, let me go back to the lambs- I LOVE lambs. Seriously fun to work. We got everyone gathered in the field, and then separated out the "to be worked" sheep. I then had to move the lambs into the other paddock, er, well, Lucy had to :)
So, when I first send her (they were against the gate to their friends), a couple ran up to Lucy to see what she was? I don't know, but it was sort of funny. Lucy took it in stride, and brought them to, and into the other paddock.

So, then we get the "to be worked" sheep out of the shed, no problems there. They then ran to their friends at the fence line. So, after all that was done we worked on outruns, and pulling off that fence. Here's the visual:

Top of field is a fence line. Lambs are on the other side. To the right top of the hill is a shed- with more sheep. The sheep we are fetching are either on the fence line, or at the shed. When you send away, the sheep move off the shed, and start trotting alongside the fence line. Lucy had some trouble a few times with one ewe who got her number, but after asking her on, she did so. We need more miles on this.
After a couple of tries she was properly heading them around, so she got them turned a bit faster. This is *really* good practice- the more the better, as far as I am concerned.

We then worked a bit on driving, and then we called it a day- wait, before then, we had to get those lambs back with their friends. So, I sent in Lucy, and she got behind them, and I was standing at the gate, expecting them to come through. Nope, they had no idea I wanted that. So, they made a quick attempt at exiting stage right real fast, and Lucy covered, and got them pushed through. That was a nice reward for her.

It was all in all a good working day for her (and me). We've lots to work on, but I think every time we work together, we get a little bit better as a team.

Anyway, here are some vids of her working. In the one walking up video, you can see one sheep that turns away from the others, and then, as they move off, she is on the left, and Lucy goes to cover her. Dogs seem to really know which ones to watch.







Okay, after a long day of working, I then decided I should reward Lucy by getting her new reindeer antlers on, so she could make her impression of "Max" the dog in the "Grinch that Stole Christmas"