Boxing Day

Bruce working young Sam who is one of those amazing natural dogs. He is doing nice gathers the length of the field and some little drives showing some nice moves and pace. Bruce has been using him for chores; holding sheep off the feeder while he gets hay out of the barn, bringing the flock in/out and sorting the working group etc. It really shows the benefit of that kind of work because Sam already seems to understand the work better. I feel bad or....kind of amazed that my dogs have any sort of 'feel' because all they do is 'drill' work in the field - without a 'purpose' that would help them understand the 'why' of what I ask them to do. The fact that they still work so well is testament to how intelligent these dogs are. They continue to inspire and awe me every day.
Jana allows Dusty to watch from 'her' spot. No other dog would get that close without seeing the bitch-grin at least.
I think she lets him near because he doesn't even look at her - he only has eyes for sheep...like Jana. They both got a spin around the field after Sam finished. You can see in the pictures how low the sun is from the long shadows even in mid-day. So nice to know that sunset will get later and later from here on in.

It was a lovely bright sunny day with clear blue sky although cold for us. The shady parts of the field were still frosty. But a super great day to work sheep. I worked all four of my dogs as I felt that poor Dusty and Blair have been getting short shift this fall as I concentrate on the youngsters; Jayne & Owen. I did some shedding with Blair and he is really starting to get the idea and liking it a lot. I take the opportunity to do a little 'look back' which I hope will help someday if we were to somehow get into a double lift. lol I have no idea if this is a good training method or not....
Kristi was also there with her new young dog, Rex - they are looking like a great upcoming P/N team next season! He has been in training with Lee Lumb for a year so Kristi has only worked him a few times since she got him home a few weeks ago.
Bruce's Josh looked good also....and Rose's Lexy, littermate to Sam.