Buffy Herds!! - Part 2

Diana

Forums Enthusiast
For Buffy's second birthday she got her first herding lesson! She had the herding instinct test last year for her first birthday. Click here for the video!

http://purplereaction.blogspot.com/search/label/dog

The first 2 minutes and 50 seconds are pretty boring because Buffy was torn between prancing around for her adoring fans (my mom and my husband's parents came along for the drive to Wisconsin), eating sheep poop, and generally acting a bit nervous. So the instructor had me throw a "sheep party" and she clicked right in. Buffy had run over to me to say hi shortly beforehand.

Unfortunately the tape on the camera ran out right when she started chasing the sheep, so we lost a few minutes in the middle while my husband changed the tape. But he did get the end!

Here's her tape from last year... the first time she met sheep. You can't tell from the videos, but she did herd for a lot longer this time.

http://purplereaction.blogspot.com/2010/06/buffys-really-is-sheep-dog.html
 
How very cute and definitely an amazing birthday gift!! Must have been a lot of fun :) Might I add that Buffy is EXTREMELY cute?? Though yes, she seemed distracted at first, she was definitely getting the hang of it hahahaha If you ever go back for more herding lessons, hopefully you can give us another update! Thanks for sharing!
 
That was so cool to watch! She was awesome!

Were you surprised that Buffy took to it so quickly? I'd like to test my dogs but really don't know what to look for to see if it's worth trying out.
 
Wow, I would love to test Asta and Ally - I think Asta has real possibilities. We play a game where my husband, (AKA the BAD sheep) suddenly will run away while we're on our off leash walks, and Asta just goes tearing off after him and corrals him, body blocking and barking. I think she does have the instinct.

Buffy is adorable and looks like she just had a blast! What a great way to celebrate a Sheltie birthday.

Sharon
 
That is so cool and Buffy is absolutely adorable!

I want to test Bailey's instinct. I've been meaning to email a sheltie club to find out when they're going to do it.
 
herding

My Beau definitely has the herding instinct, he will body block and try to push me back when he thinks we are going somewhere he thinks is to dangerous
 
Thanks so much for all your comments!

Ashley - I'm sure that Lexi at least has herding instinct. Charging off toward agility obstacles kind of plays on it. :wink2: The funny thing is that I feel like it's not that far off agility - it's just another way for your dog to work with you.

After we finished someone asked the instructor why she had me come in. She said Buffy didn't want to work with her and didn't owe her anything. But Buffy does know how to work with me. (Too bad I have no clue what to do with sheep.... but Buffy definitely knows what to do with them!) Anyway, I do feel like it builds on what I have done with her in three rounds of obedience class plus agility and CGC. It's just more high-speed this time!

I suspected Buffy had herding instinct even before she was tested. She does all those herding behaviors, despite her training - she nips at my heels, she nudges my legs, she attacks my shoes, she barks at me (and others) and is a bit "bossy," she LOVES to play chase, she boldly charges up, over, and through any agility obstacle, and she chases and herds any moving object, including small children and cats. Abigail never did any of that stuff.... she thought she was a person and/or a princess. :biggrin2:

If she was ever put in a pen with sheep, Abby would have either run away or given me sad puppy eyes and acted like I was torturing her. For Buffy, on the other hand, it's the best toy in the world. It's just a personality thing. I'm kind of glad the two of them are so different... it means that Buffy doesn't remind me of Abby all the time.
 
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