Proud Moments

    Teacher. Explained by the most basic definition of 'One who teaches.' What makes a good teacher though? Is it the person who has the most success in their field? The most experience? Of course there are certain skill sets related to the field the person is teaching about that are required, but what about beyond that? I was thinking a lot about teaching yesterday when Jessica and I took Diva and Myst out to work sheep. Without real intent I am finding myself in the position of teacher for both Jessica and Myst as they start their herding training. There have been a few occasions that I have been asked to take on a more formal role of teacher and I have always shied away from it for various reasons. What I like to do is watch dogs work livestock, any dog, and if I can offer some advice then so be it. Sometimes it's just about approaching things from a fresh angle but usually it's about the way you present the information. Can the person understand what you are asking for and can you provide them with a picture of what is needed and why? This is what makes a good teacher in my opinion. Jessica has the wonderful opportunity to work with a trained dog (Diva :-)) and I am being blessed with the chance to see my training out there in action. In essence we are both her teachers. I don't know why it surprised me but I wasn't expecting the feeling of pride I got from watching them work together. While they were up in the big pasture fetching sheep I snapped a few photos and Jessica's smile says it all. 

 

    Jessica and Diva did a great job of bringing down the sheep, putting them in the sorting field, and then pulling off 3 and taking them to the round pen for Myst. Diva was looking for me once they came into the arena field but she didn't leave Jessica. In a couple of the pictures she is looking at me like, "Why are you hiding in the sheep shelter Mom?" LOL, very cute.

    When Diva and I worked it was a repeat of the previous weekend with me focusing on her go by side outrun and her inside flanks. I am trying my best to not say to much and to watch the tone and volume of of my voice. The idea was to whisper because earlier in the week I had admired some video blog of a friend where her voice was so nice and soothing. All I can say for myself is that I am a work in progress ;-). The other seemingly simple and yet very powerful thing I have been working on is to smile more while we are working. Diva reads my face and I tend to frown when I am concentrating hard. This makes her worry and get stressy, especially if I do it while we are trialing! It's amazing what a smile and a good girl will do for her while we are working.

    The real star(s) of the day were Myst and Jessica though. I decided to finally video some of her work because I know that Jess will want to look back later and see how far they have come. For the first trip in I handled Myst but my ankle caused issues. The 3 sheep we had sorted were very knee knocker and more than once they bumped me. It made me defensive and nervous not being able to move where I needed to be and in turn I was more firm with Myst than I wanted to be at this stage. To her credit she kept working regardless and was being a very good and honest puppy. On the second go I moved to the fence line and turned Myst over to Jessica. The result was lovely work for her age and Jessica had made improvements in timing and motion from last weekend. Myst is showing some wonderful things for a 7 month old puppy and there is no quit in her. I think they have a bright herding career ahead of them. 

                                       

 

    So for now we will continue to take Myst out to sheep once a week unless she starts to show signs of stress. Diva and I will be out to work again tomorrow (Wednesday) and my plan is to focus on putting her in situations where she absolutely has to watch/read her stock, particularly when sorting. I will be working on my whispering ;-).