Sheep are scary (and maybe fun)

Abby was put on sheep today! I can see how people get addicted to sheep herding. Even though Abby is in no way, shape, or form a Border Collie, I'm tempted to go back and try again, so I can only imagine how much fun I'd have with a real herder!

We put Mia on the sheep first, so that Abby could watch her and maybe get an idea of what to do. Mia was definitely less intense and crouchy than she is with her ball, frisbee, dishwasher, or buster cube...The trainer said that a lot of young border collies are goofy around the sheep at first, though, and that Mia has some instinct and could definitely be worked. Her tail stayed up the whole time, and she was pretty bouncy, but she was moving the sheep and wasn't too scared of them.

As soon as the sheep started moving, Abby started barking. I kept having to back up further and further, so she didn't really get a chance to watch Mia in action. Once the barking started, I was pretty worried about letting Abby in there with the sheep, but the trainer seemed to have tons of experience, so I trusted her. She had me come in with Abby, who was still on the leash, and walk her up to the sheep. Abby was barking and lunging and trying to sound as vicious as possible to scare those big scary beasts away. The trainer said "let's see how tough she really is - let her off the leash". I let Abby off, and as soon as she realized she wasn't attached, she definitely lost a lot of courage. The trainer and I walked over to the sheep (they'd been across from us previously) and I called Abby to me. I was then told to pick her up and place her on the sheep's backs! I sat her up there and calmed her down, then let her sniff their butts, then put her back on the ground. When she started up the barking, I called her again and put her up on the sheep. After the 2nd time she'd calmed down quite a bit, and started to actually circle around the sheep and bring in any that strayed away. I was very pleased with her! She kept her head enough to listen to me when I called her and when I told her "that'll do" and we left the pen. What a good puppy!

I might bring her to meet the sheep again on Friday. The trainer said that building a dog's confidence around the sheep can really help with their confidence in general. After the sheep experience, Abby was either in shock, or was feeling pretty pleased with herself. She really had this new glint in her eye - it was so nice to see. I think she was probably in awe of the fact that I was encouraging her to chase something, rather than trying to stop her.

The trainer also knows of a good place to train for flyball where the dogs learn one at a time, instead of being thrown into a room full of screaming dogs from the get-go. I may try that again, we'll see. I have to pick and choose here...I do not have the time and money to do agility, herding, flyball, Rally-o, and possibly lure coursing in the spring. My NuttyMutt may be talented, but she's going to make me go broke!