Posted By Sandy Wilson on June 5, 2011
Delta von der Kleinen Wiese
After a long Winter with lots of snow and ice, we’ve made it to Spring and are finally back to herding. The dogs are certainly happy to work. Last week I took Delta herding and it was the first time she ever experienced new lambs before. In the picture above, she is quite curious about the lambs and the little ones are a bit curious about her also. At one point during her exposure to the lambs, she was nose to nose sniffing them.
The first week I took Delta to the graze, her eyes just lit up with excitement. Over one hundred lambs and lots of colors too! Delta had lots to do and see with all the lambs and ewes actively grazing. The grass is lush, green, and rich and it shows from the good condition of the flock. The lambs are going to be growing quickly with such an abundance of beautiful pasture.
Spring Lambs 2011
The fun thing about Spring is watching the lambs run around all over the pasture as it is quite entertaining for me to watch and also quite stimulating for the dogs as well. Certainly the dogs have a more challenging job with lambs around, but they also make the job much more fun for the dog as now they have real work to do. The older ewes know the dogs patrol the boundary and pretty much know where they should be, but lambs take a while before they learn the ropes. It is always fun to watch what the lambs do when the dogs come by on the boundary. This year the lambs are especially attractive as they are all mixed with patches of black and white as opposed to last year with an all white flock. The ram used on the flock was a multi-colored Dorper and offspring look like little Jersey Cows. Sooooo cute!
Delta watching the flock.
Back to herding — Delta worked so nicely and much more independently this week. She had so much to see and to do – and I could tell she was really enjoying her work. She had to cover all sides of the boundary as there were ewes and lambs spread out over the entire graze and Delta could see the lambs running and playing and making baaaaing noises constantly. She worked very nicely and calmly around the sheep, but when the sheep were on the boundary or close to it, she was definitely having fun pushing them back. She is learning to use her body language to influence the sheep and lambs and she is finding that just using speed sometimes approaching the sheep or sometimes bouncing along the boundary is very effective in making an impression on the sheep.
Delta coming up the hill to push some of the ewes back.
I have been taking Delta to work for about 2 hours for her lesson and it is really great for her to settle into her work. She is showing me more confidence and she is keeping her boundary and corners very well. Today she was working a very large grazing area and so she really had to cover a lot of distance to keep a watchful eye over the entire flock. Quite a few times there were some unruly lambs and moms trying to cross the boundary and she was there to push them back. I can see she is really learning her job and understands what she is supposed to do. When the dogs have the opportunity to push the sheep back off the boundary, they get a sense of power and confidence with each experience.
There’s a happy dog!
Below are just some candid photos of some of the beautiful lambs. They look really terrific and boy are they cute to watch. I just love having a colored flock to watch. The lambs have so many different patterns of black and white.
Beautiful Ewe Lamb looking for mom.
A little lamb gathering!
Delta tending the boundary.
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Tags: D Litter Pups, Delta, Delta von der Kleinen Wiese, Herding - HGH, Sheep Herding
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