About a month ago, Robyn found out about a herding instinct test that the nearest herding dog club was going to put on, and called the people. They told her that they welcomed all dogs, and that maybe they could come up with some appropriate modifications to the test to take into account the different role LGDs are supposed to play.
Today was the big day! We got up early to make sure we were there in time, loaded up the beasts and drove out to the valley. (Yes, it's THAT valley.) After an introductory lecture we all waited our turn. I took the dogs to meet the sheep that were in accessable cages, just to judge their reactions, in case either of them were planning to look at sheep as a lunchmeat.
Tovarisch seemed entirely non-plussed. Curious, hesitant to come too close until he knew what they were all about, but he seemed fine. Ilka seemed to think that they deserved to be barked at, and might be hostile. Who could tell for sure? They certainly smelled bad and they were making the strangest noises.
We watched Border Collie after Border Collie racing around the ring with panicked sheep running as a single unit ahead of the dog. There was a Bouvier, a Doberman, a Labrador, a Golden Retriever, a Corgi, GSDs, Kelpies, and several smaller cute things I couldn't identify. (Ask me about big breeds, those I know.)
Finally it was our turn, and we found out that most the people who were running the event were anxious to see what these two huge monsters were going to do.
Tovarisch and I walked up to the ring and had a conversation with the shepherd during which we tried to anticipate what might happen, after all, Tovarisch was the first dog into the ring who was bigger than most of the sheep. T had been on his best behavior, very soft with the woman, very friendly with everyone who had approached him, generally quiet and calm.
When we walked into the ring Tovarisch checked out the sheep with an interested glance, (They were cowering on the far side.), and then he started noticing all the nifty sheep dung! Every time he wandered near the sheep they moved to another part of the ring. T seemed to decide that they didn't feel like playing.
He checked the fenceline, peed to take possession of the ring, and then wandered over to me with a "What now?" glance. The shepherd told me that I should try to get T more interested in the sheep, so I took him closer and tried to convince him that if he wanted to chase them it would be okay with me. He tried to get them to play, but they just kept running away. He ran after them for a while, getting close plenty of the time but not really pushing it.
He quickly grew bored of the whole thing and went back to checking out the dung, looking up at me and making eyes at the shepherd. He was happy to go running after the sheep if I told him he should, but mostly it just seemed like they were living in the same place he was.
He never lost his cool for a second and happily came each time I called him. What I'm saying is he was never so focused on the sheep that he wasn't paying attention to me.
Eventually the shepherd said that she'd seen enough. She asked me if he had the kind of tempereament that would make him keep strangers and other dogs away from the sheep. Tovarisch? Are you kidding? Yeah, to put it mildly, I think he would guard!
Anyway, he passed his Guardian Instinct Test, if there is such a thing, and he had a great time doing it. The evaluation said "Gentle with sheep," and he even got a certificate.
Ilka, ah well, Ilka was a different story. When I took her into the ring she was straining at the leash, ready to go get those sheepies! The shepherd had her staff ready, so she told me to let her rip, and rip she did! She was off like a rabbit, straight at the sheep. But, the sheep ran away! They didn't want Ilka anywhere near them, and this confused Ilka tremendously. Didn't they want to play? What were they hiding?
Soon she was very wary of the sheep, and wouldn't get any closer than I was to them, despite my exhortations. She also peed in the ring, making me think that with some more time she might have figured things out, but mostly she seemed concerned and wary.
The comment on Ilka's evaluation said "Interested, just not sure what to do." She did not receive a certificate.
People with sheep, is this a normal reaction for a young LGD to have, I mean being wary of the sheep? Ilka usually gets over these kind of things, but this is our first time with sheep.
By the end of the day we had two very happy, tired LGDs! A good time was had by all and I know Robyn and I looked at it as if we'd taken the dogs to some kind of Disneyland for LGDs. We have picture and videotape, the only thing missing were those chocolate covered bananas that Disneyland has, you know, the ones with the chopped peanut topping?
The people who own the farm wanted to know whether we thought an LGD would work for them, because, come twilight, the coyotes are all over the perimeter of their property and they currently use a human guard. With all of the rescue contacts we have on this list, I told him I though we'd have no problem finding him a suitable dog. They are moving the farm and said they'd call when they were settled in their new location.
Benjamin G. Levy, ben-levy@westworld.com
All material on this site is ©Copyright Benjamin G. Levy, 1996, unless otherwise specified. Use of any material available here requires explicit written permission.