The Chaotic Ramblings of a Former Haus Frau: March 2012

Last Saturday we signed Vander up to participate in a sheep herding seminar. We thought it would be a fun way for him to get some exercise and experience some new things. In our minds, we figured it was similar to the sheep herding we had seen on "The Dog Whisperer". You know... Where they put the dog in a huge gated area with a bunch of sheep and let him have at it. :) Well, we quickly realized how wrong we were once we arrived at the seminar.

To start the morning off, the woman in charge came over to meet us (and Vander). Now let's just say that Vander was slightly excited to be there... I mean, he's a five month old puppy, who had been placed in a crate and driven about 45 minutes in the back of our car, taken out of the crate at our destination to be met with a bunch of new people, dogs, sheep, and lots and lots of area to run... Of course he's going to be slightly crazed! :) We tried to get him to calm down and sit down so that we could properly introduce him to the instructor, but it was to no avail... Once his paws hit the ground, his nose was operating in full force, and trying to get him to focus on anything besides all the wonderful new smells he was experiencing was futile. :) Brian and I thought it was rather cute and we understood that he was just excited to be there. The instructor, on the other hand, did not think it was all that cute. In fact, she went on to ask us a few questions about Vander and then basically insinuated that we were bad puppy owners... All because he was pulling on his leash so that he could sniff over by the gated area. (Now, I know that we're not perfect dog owners by any means, but I have to say that I think Vander is pretty darn well behaved for being only five months old! He's definitely better behaved than the two crazy yellow labs that live next door to us! :)) She then went on to tell us that when a dog pulls on his leash, it basically means that he's doing his own thing and he doesn't even realize that you're holding onto the leash... Now this comment struck us as humorous since the Schutzhund (obedience and protection) training we have him in encourages him to pull on his leash as it promotes "drive". But, I digress... We simply smiled and nodded at the woman and proceeded on to the next thing. However, based on this introduction, we weren't really too thrilled to be there at that point. All of the excitement and anticipation had worn off and we were feeling slightly irritated.

But, we hung in there and proceeded to let the instructor continue with her assessment of Vander. She looked him over and asked a few questions, and then she informed us that she would have to take him (by herself) into the gated area with the sheep, and we had to stand off to the side behind the gate. At this point in time, she was basically treating us like we knew nothing and she had all of the answers when it came to dog training. So, we watched as she tied Vander up to an 80 foot rope, walked him inside the gated area, and closed the gate behind her... This is where the day got much more interesting! :)

She walked Vander around the area and had him sniff everything he came into contact with. And, the funny thing was that during this whole time, Vander kept looking back at us for direction and she would pull him so that he would listen to her (He doesn't know we exist, huh?! :)) Once that exercise was complete, she began to assess him to see if he had any "natural instinct" at herding sheep... Well, once she got to that portion of the test, I don't think she was quite prepared for what happened next. Somehow, she managed to drop the rope out of her hands, almost precisely at the same time that Vander spotted the running sheep... Vander took off like a bolt of lightening after those sheep!! The instructor yelled out a few expletives and started running after them trying to get the rope to pull Vander back in. By that point, Vander was clear across the field and closing in on the sheep. In her desperation, the instructor (who was wearing a very heavy Carhardt jacket/pants combo) threw her coat off and started running after the animals... We're still unsure as to why she threw off her coat... Perhaps she thought it would give her more speed?? :) Either way, she finally got ahold of the rope again (after Vander circled back around towards her) and stopped the fiasco... But, not before Brian and I got a few laughs out of it! :) I think the best part of the whole situation was the fact that we asked ourselves if we should go into help her as the scene unfolded before us... But, after her initial attitude towards us, we opted to let her handle it on her own. Hee, hee! :) And, to make this even more entertaining... We got the whole episode on film!! :) Hilarious!!

So, after that fiasco, Vander did quite well for the rest of his assessment. Afterwards, the instructor informed us that he definitely has a very good natural instinct (you think?! :)) at herding sheep. She then went on to explain that they offer lessons in sheep herding and we could sign up for them... Excuse me, lessons in sheep herding?? Seriously?! :) Needless to say, we declined the offer... If we so happen to want Vander to herd some sheep at some point in the future, I'm sure we could probably find a local farmer that needs some help. :) After Vander finished his run with the sheep, the instructor told us that we could stay and watch the other lessons if we wanted... So, we ended up staying and watching a few. And, can I just say, that it was rather difficult to keep a straight face while standing there?! :) These people were SOOOO excited about and really into this sheep herding thing... And, if the dog didn't do what it was supposed to do, you would hear them screaming and yelling, "Hurry up!! The sheep are getting away!!" (As if they could escape from the fenced in area they were already in! :)) I mean, they were all so serious... And, do you know how hard it is to not find it slightly funny when people are shouting that sheep, which are in a fenced in area, are getting away... Well, I'm here to tell you that it's very hard! :) So, I spent the rest of that morning holding back alot of laughter.

Overall, I'm happy that we decided to participate in this seminar... Vander seemed to enjoy it, and it was definitely an entertaining way to spend a Saturday morning! :) So, without further ado, here's a sneak peak at Vander's sheep herding experience... Word of advice... You might want to turn the volume up on the video... The reaction of the instructor is hysterical, plus you can hear Brian and I's debate in the background about whether or not we should help her out... And, based on the video, I'm going to say that I think he likes sheep herding... Too funny!! :) I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!! :)

Vander Herding Sheep from Kristin on Vimeo.

Vander turned 5 months old on Friday... Yay! :) So, for his birthday, we (or should I say Brian?! :)) decided that we would tape his ears up... Yep, that's correct... Since the poor pup wasn't able to figure out how to get his ears to stand up on his own, we had to help him. Personally, I was rather fond of the floppy eared look he had going on. :) But, Brian (as well as our breeder) decided that we should be proactive rather than reactive and tape them up before it was too late... So, now the poor guy is walking around looking rather ridiculous with two taped up ears... Here's hoping that this works sooner, rather than later!! :)

Here's the before picture...
The cute floppy eared look he had going on for the past few months! :)

Poor baby!!
Here's his new look...
(The original tape was white, which caused it to stick out like a sore thumb... So, me being me, I had to make him look a little more stylish, so I picked up some black tape to make it look a little less obvious, and a bit more camouflaged! :))