Herding!

So, Lizmo found me a great herding teacher in the area and she actually has time for me and Izzy! We'll be visiting her on the 11th for what I keep calling aptitude testing. I hope she does well! Herding dog vibes would be appreciated

I'll send lots of Herding Dog vibes, but only if you promise to give full details of how he does.

Pictures woould be a plus and video would be even better.

That is cool, I ditto ^^^ CP.

Good luck

Ok, so the heat index for Tuesday is insane and we pushed it ot Wednesday but it is still happening.

Of course you guys will get full details. I just hope they're happy ones!

Yes. Tomorrow will be too hot for herding. An excellent decision.

Don't feel disappointed if nothing *does* happen. It might take an exposure or two to get an idea if she has any instinct.

Blaze, at 3.5 months, didn't do anything except follower the older dog around. At 4 months he turned on (what you'll see Izzy do, it's really neat to see it happen!). Then at about 9ish months nothing was really happening - as my trainer said he's still maturing. Even at 14 months he was still maturing and not showing much. (total that was around 5 times on sheep). Now he's 18 months and showing nice progress.

So.. At Ten months old (To the day!) What should I expect if she has ZERO interest? (Not really wanting to pay $50 a pop to see if she will develop interest 4 tries later)

I don't know. Honestly, I'm not educated enough in sheepdogs/border collie instinct to know. Robin will know, though. She could say that she might need another time out there or. . .I really don't know.

Sorry.

Most of it depends on the individual dog. She's a female, so they usually mature faster than males.

So, we got rained out Not sure when the next chance to instinct test will be but I will let you guys know!

To cheer me up, I'm watching Babe with Justin though opcorn:opcorn:

You say in your sig that Izzy is a retriever mix, she may not herd. Most dogs (even non herding breeds) will chase livestock. Herding is a little different than just chasing, your instructor will be able to know.

Good luck!

I did that sig ages ago and it was based on what the rescue told us. Since then she's grown in to a lot of very herding/Border Collie habits. Her coat and bone structure are also similar to a BC as well. I don't know how it will go but I am hoping she takes well to the sheep