You can take the dog away from the herd, but yesterday, there was no taking the herd out of the dog.

Yes, friends, it's true. That's why they call it instinct. And despite the sheep's desperate attempt to overpower it with a generous helping of freshly wafting manure odor, yesterday, Jon Farleigh's inborn faculty for driving livestock could no longer be contained. He is, in fact, a herding dog. It was a sight for a doubtful dog-mama to behold. :)

Oh great, a repeat of last time?!

Jon Farleigh says, "No, I don't think so."

photo courtesy of Taryn at A Tail of Two Cardis
(The human is well-known herding instructor Susan Rhoades of KeepStone Farm.)

I've heard other herding dog owners talk of the moment they could tell the metaphorical "light bulb turned on" during their own dogs' herding instinct tests. Now, I know what that looks like. :) There was a precise moment, after Jon Farleigh noticed the sheep moving away from him in the ring, that his expression changed and that poop on the ground was no longer interesting. But being the cautious people-pleaser he is, before he took off to do the thing he mysteriously already knew how to do, he turned to face the instructor and waited for her gesture of approval. Then he was gone. It was a free-spirited side of him that I have never seen before. It was unbridled dog beauty. :)

"Don't let these flowing locks fool you, sheeps; I'm all Corgi."

photo courtesy of Taryn at A Tail of Two Cardis

We (my two human Girl Children, two dogs and I) had a great time hanging out with the people and dogs of the Chesapeake Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club (CCWCC) (who sponsored this herding fun event) in Millersville, MD yesterday. So much fun that instead of reporting on all of it here today, I've decided to post it in chunks.

Up tomorrow? Wild man, Dewi, in the herding ring for the first time in his life.

Any predictions?