Category: Our sheepdogs at work
Portia’s training upgrade at Dean Farm
Training a sheepdog for working a larger number of sheep Note: In terms of training, the actual number of sheep discussed in this article, is not as important as the step-up in flock size compared to the dog’s previous experience. Increase flock and field sizes slowly. A welcome invitation! Busy schedules have reduced opportunities for our dogs to gather sheep away from home recently. As… Read more.
Gathering sheep at Dean Farm today
Portia excelled when she was gathering sheep at Dean Farm today! In the picture above, after returning the sheep to their field, Portia took a dip in a water tank. “Get in the car!” Apart from not wanting to get into the car! (I still have to lift her in). Portia was very impressive when we gathered sheep at Dean Farm today. To be fair,… Read more.
Watch Dulcie Working at Dean Farm Early Today
Watch a sheepdog working sheep on the farm – this is Dulcie gathering and sorting sheep early in the morning at Dean Farm in Worcestershire (UK). Watch a sheepdog doing a good outrun Notice how Dulcie does a good wide outrun and gathers the flock of ewes and lambs in the open field. Then she takes the whole flock to the farm buildings, where she… Read more.
Dulcie’s First Gather in Over Three Months
Since the Covid-19 outbreak, we’ve been confined to working the dogs at Kings Green, so gathering sheep at Dean Farm today was very welcome. And Dulcie didn’t disappoint us! Gathering sheep on a glorious June morning Dulcie resumed gathering sheep effortlessly. Her outrun has improved considerably since we last visited Dean Farm. Here, she’s moving the flock towards the railway bridge on the way to… Read more.
Cammen Kay – our unsung hero?
Quietly in the background, with no fuss or bluster, we didn’t always give Kay her due! When we bought Kay, at about a year old, our intention was to train her but not, necessarily, to keep her forever. Yet I think Kay was probably the only dog we didn’t ever suggest we could sell. When Andy first started to plan First Steps in Border Collie… Read more.
Making an Excellent Sheep and Cattle Dog
Introducing Dulcie – daughter of Bronwen – granddaughter of Mel. Each of them, an excellent sheep and cattle dog. The latest addition to our team of working dogs is Dulcie. She’s the daughter of Bronwen and Oliver. Bronwen was one of our best ever sheep and cattle dogs. She features in our “Bronwen and Scylla” tutorials where we compare the litter sisters Scylla (the naughty… Read more.
Sometimes I Really Miss Carew!
Since Carew left here, Kay’s hearing has deteriorated badly, and occasionally we’re stuck for a skilled dog It’s hard to believe that it’s nearly two years since Carew left here and to be honest, there have been a few occasions when I’ve wished she was still here. One such occasion was only a week or so ago. Our landlord John needed to move some very… Read more.
Scary Place 2 (The Sequel)
Kay shows her daughter Jet how to get sheep out of a Spooky Black Hole! Watch the VIDEO We often hear “my sheepdog won’t/can’t bring sheep out of a shed” so we had a strong response after we posted a picture of Jet looking anxious. Luckily Kay was on hand to demonstrate the right way to deal with a tight situation. Jet was contemplating the… Read more.
Jet Joins the Dean Farm Set!
Jet’s right on the ball with her first gather at Dean Farm With her mother Kay being out of action because she’s “in season” at the moment (Kay’s one of those females who’s work is sometimes affected by her seasons) it seemed like a good time to let young Jet try her paw at some ‘proper’ sheep gathering today. We thought it would be a… Read more.