There has been some active discussion on FB about pen work. Questions about what you do, how, when, ect. Where Diva and I work regularly there isn't much in the way of small pens so I have to make do with what is there. In the large field there is one free standing pen and then there is the small pen that is home to the shelter for the sheep. It certainly isn't tight (unless you have the whole flock in there) but it does present it's own training opportunities with the dog having to go around the shelter at times and trust taking your commands. I don't work in this pen very often but periodically I like to take Diva in and work on staying quiet, moving the sheep about, and baby inside flanks.
The videos below are a series taken yesterday of Diva and I doing some of those exercises. I didn't edit so what you see is all of what happened during each clip. There were a few times when I had to step forward and help her but over all I like how she handles working around the shelter.
In this clip she is supposed to be driving them back up into the shelter but she makes a little mess and I end up sending her around to regroup. The very old ewe that isn't all that impressed by Diva hangs back and you can see how she bounces away from the pressure. That is still a work in progress for her and I suspect getting her to stand and hold pressure will always be a weak point.
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