Category: Our sheepdogs at work

  • Sheepdogs must flank both ways

    Kay’s control, versatility and manoeuvrability prove their worth in a tight situation Saturday isn’t our regular day for gathering sheep at Dean Farm. However, on Wednesday, John had mentioned that he wanted to take some ewes to a weekend store sale at Worcester Cattle Market. I volunteered to help with the dogs, reminding him that I want to give the dogs as much gathering work… Read more.

  • Gimmers in the mist – if you can find them

    Gimmers in the mist – if you can find them

    Gathering sheep in the mist is atmospheric – if only you can find them! I’m not a great sleeper, so it’s hardly surprising that this morning I found myself wide awake at four-thirty even though I wasn’t due to meet John for another two hours. Undaunted, I filled in the time by doing some maintenance on the website and, as night turned into day, I… Read more.

  • Carew really doesn’t want to be left out

    Carew makes it clear she wants to be involved when there’s work to be done With the knowledge that most of the lambs have already gone to market and many, if not all, of the ewes will soon be sold, I was pleasantly surprised when John rang and asked me to help gather his sheep again yesterday. There would be no lambs involved, but he… Read more.

  • Ness shines on her sheep gathering debut

    Despite her inexperience, Ness proved her worth on today’s sheep gather For this morning’s sheep gather, I finally decided to take Ness. I’ve intended to take her on the last two gathers, but changed my mind at the last minute because she’s inexperienced. This mindset is responsible for a great number of excellent sheepdogs never actually fulfilling their potential – it’s so easy to “play… Read more.

  • Little Dot – Andy’s first sheepdog

    Little Dot – Andy’s first sheepdog

    They say you ruin your first sheepdog . . . This is Dot, a daughter of Derek Scrimgeour’s Ben. Dot was my first sheepdog back in 2002. They say you ruin your first sheepdog, and there’s certainly some truth in that. I was much too hard on Dot right from the beginning because I knew nothing about sheepdog training and I’d been told that unless… Read more.

  • The highs and lows of working sheepdogs

    Kay and Carew take me from despair to joy in 48 hours! What with Powick, Mathon, and Evesham sheepdog trials as well as gathering sheep in the early morning on Wednesdays, the dogs and I have been exceptionally busy recently, but I wouldn’t have missed it for anything and I’m sure they wouldn’t either. If Kay’s performance has given me cause for concern recently, her… Read more.

  • Gathering sheep at dawn in August

    Today’s early morning gather went smoothly for dogs and sheep Last week, I noticed that it was barely light when my phone’s alarm woke me at 4.45 am, but at the same time this week, I would describe it as dark. It was time to get up and get ready for gathering sheep with John – but is it just me, or does everyone find… Read more.

  • When sheep don’t see a dog as a predator

    How do you load sheep onto a trailer if they see the dog as a friend? Once again, I had no intention of writing a blog about today’s sheep gathering experience, but yet another extraordinary thing happened and I feel I should mention it. When I spoke to John yesterday about today’s gather, he mentioned that there were a few sheep in a field near… Read more.

  • Carew loads sheep into a cattle truck

    Carew showed great talent when it came to loading sheep onto a cattle truck This is yet another morning when I was not expecting to be writing a blog! We’re hoping to get our new sheepdog training tutorial online later today, but first thing this morning when I took Carew and Kay to help John with the sheep over at Droitwich, Carew got her first… Read more.