Terrorizing the Woolies

This Saturday we met up with members of our Carolina Cattle Dog Club and had a Herding Fun Day in Siler City, NC. Those poor sheep -- they had no idea what they would be facing throughout afternoon! My husband and I were excited for Jake because he had such a great time when we did this last August and his best gal pal Pepper would be appearing to have her turn at the sheep. A club member had brought her five totally adorable, no-we-can't-take-one-home puppies for a little socializing so we fulfilled our cute quota for the day with a little cuddling.

First and foremost, you will notice an appalling lack of photos to go with this post. My camera bag was at home, a 3 1/2 hour drive away. Fortunately, other ACD parents had their cameras so I'm hoping to bum some pictures off of them to eventually get up here on the site. Bad Mommy. After signing the release form agreeing to pay for any damage to the sheep, my husband headed into the smaller pen with Jake for his first round of the day. Initially Jake was put on a long lead just to make sure he hadn't changed his nice manners around the sheep. Jake immediately started circling the sheep and kept circling and circling and circling and circling and circling. We were able to get him to switch directions just once for a single circle before he went back to circling right. My husband said he had so idea how dizzy he would get out there. Jake got some lovely compliments from our host, who again suggested we get Jake in some herding classes where he could build up confidence and training. After Jake's turn many of the other club members started showing up with their ACDs. Of course, we had to run and go see Pepper so they could perform their greeting ritual of twisting their leashes into one big knot. Pepper had brought one of her blue brothers from home, Zac. All three of our dogs together looked like they came from the same litter -- sleek, muscled, and blue.

The most explosive turn at the sheep came from Tilly. (Note: This picture of Tilly is actually from our previous Herding Day.) Tilly was in the pen living up to her cattle dog heritage. Tilly sent the sheep thundering towards the fence. The sheep didn't stop. One sheep hit the wooden fence with such force that the wood split wide open with a loud crack. It didn't phase the sheep one bit but my husband and I kept staring at the broken fence like a bad car accident.

We took a break for a potluck lunch with yummy pasta salad and mac & cheese, fried chicken, cut fruits and vegetables, sausage balls, and various desserts. A few of us let our dogs out into the fenced backyard to burn off any leftover excess energy. Jake got to meet our host family's foster boy Spin. Sensing another kindred spirit, Jake and Spin proceeded to wrestle, spin, play chew and race around the yard. Jake found himself trying hard to keep all appendages and soft body parts safe from not one but two cattle dogs as Peachy joined the play group. And don't worry, my husband was standing a few feet away keeping a careful eye on the our little man. P.S. Spin still needs a forever home! (His picture courtesy of our host family.)

And then the real parade of cattle dogs began! Little ones, big ones, red dogs, blue dogs, all had a chance to face those white woolly sheep. Pepper and Jake continued to try to squeeze every inch of their bodies through the wire mesh on the pen fence. They didn't understand that every turn wasn't THEIR turn. At one point, the sheep ended up in front of the gate where Jake had made another stand. He reached his little head through the gate and licked a sheep right on its little nose. If the sheep hadn't been trying to suck in oxygen, I think it might have run. Jake got a second chance at the sheep but everyone was tiring at this late hour. The sheep had seen more cattle dogs than they ever cared to see again. I decided to go in with Jake this time. The sound of thundering sheep was a little more intimidated than I thought it would be. I'm sure any photos of me out there showed a woman trying to appear as small as possible in the middle of lots of white animals. The sheep took up residence in one corner and there were no budging the exhausted trio. Jake, always a sympathetic creature, gave the closest sheep another lick on the nose.

After a few obedience tips, we piled in the car and Jake fell into a post-sheep coma in my lap. I didn't have the heart to throw him in his seatbelt harness. Before long, a pile of drool started on my arm underneath his motionless head. He was OUT! We drove two and a half hours to my in-laws to stay the night. Jake was rewarded for his long day rolling in sheep poo and itchy grass by a long bath in their doggy shower. Jake had reserved enough energy to jump on my in-laws' German Shorthair Pointer Sadie a few times but you could tell he didn't mean it. Another wonderful day of playing with other ACDs was a complete and total hit for Jake.