Which is not always a good thing :-P
Last night, I had my first ever nightmare about herding. It was one of those dreams that is just vivid enough to leave you unsettled and disoriented when you wake up. In the dream, I was running Moss at a sheepdog trial (same place we'll be running in a few weeks). We were basically a big pile of fail... but in that exaggerated way only dreams can capture. Moss crossed over on his outrun, blasted into the sheep, and somehow tossed one about thirty feet into the air. It fell to the ground and I/everyone watching thought it was dead, but it wasn't. I decided to continue trying to complete the run. However, after completing the fetch (I don't think anything else happened there), I completely forgot to do the driving portion of the course, instead going straight to the pen. The pen was at the far end of a long chute, surrounded (conveniently) by really tall hay bales. Needless to say, we couldn't get the sheep penned. They kept jumping out of the chute and onto the hay bales. I was really upset and unnerved the entire dream because I didn't know how to "fix" things.
Ugh. Maybe this is my subconscious expressing my anxieties about our upcoming trial? Or maybe it means nothing. Who knows.
Either way, I am going to make a big effort to mentally prepare for the trial. For some reason, herding makes me nervous, and I'd like to be able to relax and enjoy it more. I think I get nervous because I really want to be good at this, and do my dog justice...but it's SO complex with so many different factors that can affect your success on a given day. Unlike obedience or agility, where it's just you and your dog, herding has a third factor: the sheep, which are notoriously unpredictable. And I'm not experienced enough to know how different types of sheep tend to react to things. I guess that will come with time.
I have some things to report about agility, but I'll save that for another post, maybe tomorrow. Plus, I need to upload pictures :) For now, here's a picture of my Moss as a baby puppy :)
Best of luck for your competition. From watching a small amount of dog trialing in NZ is that the 'old timers' seem to just stand about, very calmly with their dog, to let the sheep settle after they have just 'shot' out of their holding yard. The time doesn't start until they have gone through the start gates, so they seem very happy to just bide their time where as the 'young uns' are nervous and want to get started, so don't give the sheep enough time to settle down. No doubt you know all this anyway! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI think it is your anxieties which let you have the nightmares. I don't know anything about herding but I guess it is a kind of fun game too. So, enjoy it! While you enjoy it, your dog gets the message from your body language and it will have the fun together with you.
ReplyDeleteGood luck for the trials.
What a cute puppy! Aww Moss was (and syill is) so cute! :D
ReplyDeletesounds like a crazy dream, my favorite part is when Moss tossed the sheep 30 feet in the air and you were like oh well lets keep goin lol. You guys will do awesome at the trial this weekend I am stoked to take pics and video and watch you and Mossman do awesome.
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