Sunday, July 24, 2011

Joe at 6 Months

I got a little video of Joe (Zac x Rhyme) today. He's about 6.5 months old and has been on sheep 4 or 5 times.




I'm just letting him work as he wants for the most part. He prefers going to the right, and is much better to that direction, flanking freely and out far enough to get around the sheep and cover. He is willing to go left, but is tighter to that side so can't quite turn the sheep because he's always on their shoulders. That's why you'll see me whacking the flag on the ground to push him off just a bit as he goes past 10:00 or so. He seems to be figuring it out pretty quickly because he likes how it feels when he covers and the sheep turn to me. That's about the only thing i'd pick on right now and would want to fix early. I think he's going to be a bit of a lead sheep control freak like his father (I like it!). I like his feel for sheep and his cool head, and he's pretty comfortable going between the sheep and fence and also just walking into the sheep. Knowing so many dogs in his line, i'd have to say i like where he's at for a 6 month old puppy. They tend to be very keen dogs and there have been some hard grippers too, so i don't mind seeing him start out so sensible as i know he's going to just get more and more keen to work. I won't be doing much with him until the fall, even though he seems pretty mature for his age (we're just too busy traveling) but so far i'm pleased with what i see.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great video he looks good. Thanks for sharing

Laura Carson said...

Looking good Robin! My very first thought when I saw the beginning of the video was, "So is she starting with Zac and going to switch to Joe? Oh wait! That IS Joe!".

Lynn said...

No way, this CAN'T be the little puppy I met at Long Shot this spring!!! Lookin' good, Joe and Robin!

Robin French said...

Yep, that be him! Laura - i think he moves a lot like Zac. He's a good boy!