Preface: Dewi comes from a line of actual working farm dogs on his father's side. His father, Ch Chaos's Jack of Hearts (who performed a herding demo at this event), has a string of AKC Herding titles. The likelihood that Dewi inherited at least a little bit of that talent was high.
So, all of you who guessed that Dewi had as much fun as Jon Farleigh during the instinct test were right. He has instinct (that was determined within nanoseconds). If there had been a spark in the sheep pen, I do believe the friction from Dewi's full-on galloping would've set the place ablaze. :)
For optimal photo-viewing effect, I have included appropriate audio accompaniment. :) (Go on and listen!)
Disco Inferno (1976) - The Trammps (YouTube)
(Right click and open in a new window to play in background.)
...Satisfaction came in the chain reaction. I couldn't get enough...
...so I had to self-destruct...
photo courtesy of Taryn at A Tail of Two Cardis
...I herd somebody say, burn baby burn!
[Herding] inferno!
I just can't stop...when my spark gets hot...
I herd somebody say...
photo courtesy of Taryn at A Tail of Two Cardis
Burn baby burn!
photo courtesy of Taryn at A Tail of Two Cardis
My "Herding Inferno"
The instructor told me after Dewi's test that his herding style is to pin the sheep to the fence and keep them there (which isn't exactly the ultimate goal). He'd need herding lessons (and a distracting object in the pen) to teach him better control.
*****
Coming tomorrow - Dewi family reunion photos!
WOOT! WOOT! You go Dewi!!! You've really scared the daylights out of those sheep. BOL!
ReplyDeleteGo Dewi, go! I bet he had a great time! Nick is sooo jealous.
ReplyDeleteDewi in da house! Go go
ReplyDeleteBenny & Lily
Hi, Elizabeth, Dewi and Jon Farleigh..
ReplyDeleteI'm telling you, we enjoyed the music you picked for the herding..it was absolutely perfect. And..we spent almost a half-hour just catching up with old disco music on youtube. Thanks so much for bringing that around for us. You guys are absolutely the cutest woofies and we love you to death!
Hugs,
Tom & Julie
Nice job, Dewi! It's so neat to see those instincts kick in in him and Jon Farleigh. Schnauzers, on the other hand, were bred to be ratters. I'll be more than happy never to see Oscar's instincts in action...
ReplyDeletei wish there was a place like this here for us to test G's herding [hah!] instincts. do the sheep ever get...distraught or well...dead?
ReplyDeleteOh gosh...this is how Reese would be I bet! Intense! hahaha
ReplyDeleteThanks, y'all!
ReplyDelete@Amber - I don't think the sheep were scared. Really annoyed? Probably.
@Tom & Julie - Thanks. :) I clicked the video about 15 times while writing the blog. :) Love 70s music!
@Oscar - I discovered that Schnauzers can compete in AKC herding events (interesting). But, no, I wouldn't you to see Oscar become a ratter either. :)
@GLP Typist - I was wondering whether someone would ask that. :) There are only certain breeds of sheep that are used for the herding sport (and the trainers are careful to get the sheep used to being around (and chased/herded by) dogs from a young age. The sheep on Sunday were rotated out frequently. No one got hurt or distraught. (The dogs have some prey drive as herders, but they should never go after a sheep to injure it. And the sheep know this.) Interestingly, I did see a sheep turn and get snarky with one of the dogs on Sunday (so it got rotated out for a mental break from the corgis).
I would LOVE to try this! I bet I'd give those sheep a reason to move! teehee!
ReplyDeleteHappy Wednesday woofs & hugs,
~Bailey
I'm not going to be able to get that song out of my head all morning. Thankfully, as I hear it (over and over) I'll also be seeing Dewi in action in my mind's eye. Wow! Great photos!
ReplyDelete