Sometimes you need to establish if the dog/puppy has the instinct to herd (some dogs need to be exposed to stock a few times for the 'lightbulb' to come on - especially if they've been discouraged from chasing things in the past) Firenze has a strong instinct to herd. He enjoys working sheep very much, and has also shown an interest in cattle and ducks. He is currently working on learning how 'get out' which means getting far enough outside of the sheep (in a pen) to keep them together. If the dog gets too close and too far in, the group of sheep will split. The dog also needs to learn how to 'balance' - to find the right distance that will keep the sheep moving to the handler without pushing the sheep past the handler. We also are working on having him switch directions in circling the sheep - this will eventually lead to him moving back and forth behind the group of sheep as needed to keep them together.
Once herding was done, dogs and people socialized a bit. Then we set up some agility equipment and got to see some very nice work done by a couple of the trained agility dogs. Firenze went through the tunnel a few times, and over the (very low) jumps. He then flew down the field chasing a butterfly with joyous abandon.. overall, I'd say it was a very good morning for him :-)
