The Shine

 There is a magic that happens in a sheepdog.  The time when the pups go from inquisitive to sheep, to something else.  There is a change in their demeanor, their fundamental energy.  They no longer just look keenly at the sheep, they lock on, tail tightly down, leaning forward.  You can see in their stance, that they now *know* that they are the boss.  They tell the sheep what to do.  If you are lucky enough, you might be able to see this happen.  I happened to be lucky enough to see it.  Brindi had been very interested in going to the sheep for a long time.  She would run up to the gate and want to get in, but it was not in a controlled thought way.  This day it was different. She went up to the gate, tightly tucked her tail, leaned forward and gave a hard eye to the sheep.  And this day, instead of ignoring her, as they had done so many times before, the sheep all left.  They headed out of the barn paddock to the hill field- out of sight of this pup. They felt her energy was different.  Serious.  A threat. She had the Shine.