Diva and I collected the flock from the large pasture and did the initial sorting of working groups. I found it amusing that as I was desperately trying to figure out who's lambs were who's so that they could be sorted off together the ewes really could care less and didn't call out. So much for making my sort easier! Diva did a nice job of holding the sheep to me while I gate sorted a group that was heavily comprised of lambs with a few adult ewes in for comfort. We worked that group after they were in the arena and focused on staying out wide, rating, and watching for the draw. The lambs are all sensible but fresh and they quickly let you know when the dog is putting to much pressure on them. Diva has beautiful wide flanks and outruns when I am standing still but when I am moving she tries to work in much closer and gets caught up with motion as opposed to watching and rating her stock. This always makes me laugh because she can go out and do a much nicer advanced course with me not helping at all than she could go out an do a started course in fetch mode. It's interesting that fetching, which is her most natural default, also seems to put her brain on auto pilot. She keeps her stock together nicely but she doesn't pick up the nuances of individuals in the group as much as she just works the whole. This is why I love having lambs to work. Their less predictable reactions keep Diva watching and force more natural rating.
For our second work session we used a group comprised of 2 adult ewes and 3 lambs that didn't belong to either ewe. The lambs in this group were very strong to the draws and to add another element of difficulty we left the gate into the shelter pen open to add another draw. I was originally going to go out in the pasture with this group but when I sent Diva out to gather them it became obvious that there I had plenty to focus on in the arena. Diva could easily gather them and hold them to me but when I asked her to flank around and come in straight behind me to drive them off the lambs kept making a break for the draw while the ewes moved in the correct direction. Diva was taking the right commands from me but what she wasn't doing was taking them wide enough that she could catch the lambs eye before the scooted by. I ended upsetting this up several times before we had success and Diva finally squared off wide enough on her inside flanks. During some of the "out takes" Diva lost the lambs into the shelter pen and had to go in and bring them back out...another great teaching opportunity as she wanted to take a more direct route around them than the lambs could handle (especially without the comfort of and adult). I corrected her twice for trying to go to straight and she finally opted to hug the fence and pick them up nicely.
The last time we worked was more of an exercise in letting Diva just figure things out. As Rae was coming out of the gate she slipped in eager to work so, I had Rae close the gate while I stayed exactly where I had been outside. Rae and I were conversing and I made no effort to give any commands or make eye contact. It all of the sheep together so plenty for her to watch. Diva looked at me for a minute before she set off and gathered everyone. I assumed she would fetch them to me which she did but then instead of holding them she flanked in and drove them away. Once they were going she changed her mind and flanked out to fetch them back. This repeated a few times before I saw Diva's mind set change and she started holding the group to me. Such a large group though has it's own ideas and so she had to constantly go and tuck the sheep back in which was perfect for what I wanted to accomplish. We ended there for the day and I must say that I was pleased. The lambs were an excellent surprise and I hope that I can get back out again soon before they get too broke.
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