Was Carew right to disobey me, when she could see it wouldn’t work?
I’d looked forward to Penybont Sheepdog Trial for months. It’s a delightful setting with a friendly atmosphere. The sheep are good, the field’s reasonably straightforward, and once the sheep are in the exhaust pen, they’re well out of sight for other competing dogs.
A slight complication is the outrun. If you send the dog left, unless it’s too tight, it must run around behind a large mound where it’s not only out of sight of the handler, but the dog loses sight of the sheep for a while too.
If only the sheep stay “put”
The sheep are brought to the holding pens along this route, so if you send the dog to the right, everything is well within sight, but the sheep occasionally wander away from the peg. Because they’re trying to get away, they naturally want to go back the way they came, so from the post, the sheep are sometimes seen walking or trotting off to the left. With this in mind, sending the dog left to meet the sheep would seem a logical choice.
In Carew’s case, however, she’s shown a tendency to stop on her outrun – and being out of sight of the handler (me) is when she’s most likely to do it. Because of this, I decided I’d send her in the “Away” direction.
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I like to think I’m fairly open minded. In fact one of my failings (if it is one) is that I’ll change my plan at the last moment if necessary.
So what happened at Penybont? I walked up to the post full of confidence. Having watched the first four runs (we ran at number five) I was looking forward to watching Carew’s superb handling of these particular sheep. They were flighty and difficult if the dog was fast or too close, but moved very well if the dog handled them with respect – just as I knew Carew would do.
Carew crosses over
As we arrived at the post, I called Carew to my right to show her that she’d be going right. To my surprise, she dodged back to my left. I called her back, but seeing some of her sheep wandering to the left, I quickly sent her off.
She went off at high speed, but to my amazement, crossed over very quickly. I shouted and directed her right again. She set off to the right, but soon bent back to go left. I stopped her and re-sent her but once more she headed left. This time I redirected her without stopping her, and it worked. She went out beautifully but the sheep were about sixty yards off line. I realised Carew would get virtually no points at all for her outrun.
Very cross and humiliated, I signalled to the judge that I was retiring. Carew and I took the sheep straight off the field and put them in the exhaust pen. I was at a loss to understand why Carew had crossed over AGAIN at a trial. She’d done it earlier in the year, at Clun.
Know when you’re beat?
The Penybont sheep should have suited Carew, but were not the sort of sheep to show Kay at her best. Kay can be difficult to stop and is inclined to push her sheep too hard. Rather than risk another dreadful run, I decided to withdraw her from the trial.
I told the competitor who was due to run immediately after Kay and I, and then waited for one of the runs to finish. As the sheep were being taken off, I went to the Judge’s car to tell him that I wouldn’t be running Kay. The judge on the day was John Thomas, respected as a top handler, despite no longer being in the first flush of youth as it were. I’ve known John for many years. He’s highly knowledgeable, fair, and speaks his mind. As he saw me coming towards his open car window, his face lit up and he said: “That was your fault you know, don’t blame the dog, she’s a good dog.”
I must have looked a little confused, because he added: “Your sheep were trotting off to the left and she saw them. She was only going to get them for you. Don’t blame the dog, it was your fault!”
My immediate reaction was to agree with him. How foolish. I hadn’t realised it, but Carew clearly saw the sheep going to the left, and she’d gone to get them.
Obedience despite all else?
By the time I’d walked back to the car I’d changed my mind. Surely, right or wrong, the dog should obey a command. Carew should have outrun to the right wherever the sheep were, and whatever they were doing. If you let your dog ignore your commands, chaos ensues.
I could see John’s point though. It was comforting to think that Carew was just doing her job but it threw up lots of questions. How could I prevent her crossing over on her outrun in future trials?
As I drove home I relived those awful moments in my mind. As at Clun Valley Trial Carew clearly showed her intention of going left on our way to the post. If she’d stopped behind the mound on the left of the course we’d have lost a point or two. That’s insignificant compared to the disastrous loss of points (or possible disqualification) for the multiple crossing over episode.
I didn’t mentioned the video did I?
Yes, there’s video evidence from a little camera near the windscreen of the car. I’d hoped to review our runs when I got home. Looking through the windscreen it was unlikely to be good quality. The field was misty, but I could make out the dog and the sheep and thought the footage would be useful.
As I sat out in our field with the dogs and a glass of wine that evening. I remembered the video, but it wasn’t until much later that I motivated myself to watch it.
Everything looked fine as we walked out to the post, except that Carew seemed very keen to go left. I’d noticed some sheep moving to the left but, despite this, I set her up on my right. While I was looking down at her, the whole bunch of sheep began trotting smartly to the left. I sent Carew off, but she crossed over. The evidence was incontrovertible. But whatever the sheep were doing, Carew should have obeyed me and gone “Away”.
Watch the short video of Carew’s outrun.
This morning, while I was out with the dogs once more, my mind went over the events yet again. Surely this is covered in our “Close Work” sheepdog training tutorial. I’d said that if you give a command, the dog should obey it, but if that command proves wrong, a dog with the sense to correct it should be commended.
The difference between a trials dog and a farm dog?
Carew had clearly gone the wrong way, but I realised that she HAD obeyed me briefly. She’d clearly set off in the “Away” direction, and then crossed over. It’s inconclusive, but I feel I’ve misjudged Carew. It reminds me of the old controversy – can a good trials dog be a good farm dog, and vice-versa.
Gill remarked that, had we been in a farm situation, I’d have been delighted. I often say I like a dog to have initiative and Carew showed enough initiative to correct the situation. Of course, crossing over at a sheepdog trial is seriously penalised. Some judges even disqualify the dog for it.
Carew certainly has the finesse required of a trials dog, yet doesn’t lack power in a farm situation. She should be the best of both worlds, but I must stop her from crossing over.
Reviewing the evidence
Once I’d seen the sheep making their way from the peg I should have waited to see what happened. If I had, I like to think that I’d have changed my mind and sent Carew left. Arguably the “letters-out” should have kept the sheep on the peg, it’s their job.
With the sheep trotting so far away, it’s likely the judge would have told me to wait. If the sheep weren’t returned to the peg we may have been given a re-run. Instead, I hastily committed to the run and sent Carew “Away” while ignoring the new situation.
We learn from every experience, so I must remember:
1. Don’t make the final decision about the direction of the outrun until you reach the post and can see what the sheep are doing.
2. In Carew’s case, unless there’s a strong reason to send her one way or the other, if she shows a clear preference for one side, send her that way – she probably knows best!
3. Listen to John Thomas – what he doesn’t know about sheepdog trials isn’t worth knowing!
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