By Cindi Hayden

We stood looking down the steep grade,beyond the thick dark trunks of tall trees that had been spared cutting to provide shelter for sheep and cattle.The sun competed with shade for space on the immense field of green.Light,cool winds carried the familiar scents of forest and farm.RuaBinn,my 4-year-old red and white Border collie,poised ready by my side.

Three sheep,a ewe and two lambs,guarded by man and dog, grazed nervously at the base of the hill,350 yards away. Acknowledging the away to me command, Rua cast out to my right and down the hillside,mind and muscles immersed in the moment. Rua was focused on the sheep and terrain.Intriguing sights, sounds and scents posed no distractions for her. Past the sheep holding pen,the pine tree grove littered with pine needles and downward towards the small pond on the right of the field she ran.Slowing down at the base,considering options to run left or right of the pond,she broke away to the right around the pond to prevent the sheep from fleeing. Casting out wide behind the sheep she locked on to them at 12 o ʼclock. With a nice lift,making controlled contact with the sheep,she began fetching them through the valley toward the hill.

The valley is known to swallow the tones of the shepherd ʼs whistle before they reach the sheep dog. Luckily,Rua needed no direction there. Ascending the slope,the sheep leaned to- ward 3 o ʼclock,the sheep holding pen,but Rua kept enough pressure on them to bring them through the gateway in the middle of the field and on to me at the handler ʼs post,on top of the hill. Obeying whistles,she drove them in a clockwise direction around me and began the descent to the first ob- stacle,the drive panels.

Halfway to the drive panels,the ewe became increasingly nervous and protective of herself and the lambs.Unwillingly, she was being driven away from safety,the holding pen,and back down the hill to uncertainty.She had followed Rua ʼs direction up the hill with the single intent of getting back to the holding pen where sheep grazed.Rua had used the right amount of pressure to guide the ewe and lambs away from the pen while they were on the run;the movement was fluid, the pressure was give and take.Now,balking with fear,the ewe ʼs fight instincts overpowered her flight instincts.The fluid movement of pressure and release ended when Rua moved in too close with too much pressure for an instant too long.The ewe turned on her.

I whistled to Rua to hold her ground,but I did not encour- age her to fight.The ewe ʼs advances continued,charging defensively.At this point,Rua ʼs only option to gain control over the situation would be to grip the ewe.I couldn ʼt let that happen.We were in a trial setting and these were not my sheep.I left the handler ʼs post to go to Rua ʼs side.Using my crook I blocked the ewe from charging Rua as I steered the threesome off the field to the pen.Rua covered me,rightly, exerting little to no pressure.Once,I looked back to see her not far behind,using the cover of a tree to keep pressure off the sheep.The ewe ʼs advances persisted still.The mere pres- ence of Rua caused the ewe to worry and fight,even though we were headed to the coveted pen.Once the ewe and lambs were off the field, Rua cooled off in tub water.Then we sat a spell,as partners.

Overnight,I gave thought to RuaBinn.She is now my right hand.She took over Callie ʼs job when Callie lost her hear- ing. On the job,Rua often has to work without much direction from me.She is good at reading livestock and I allow her to use her judgment. When I want her to handle a situation differently than the way she reads it,I let her know. When we are working in close quarters or threatening circumstances,I evaluate the situation and try not to put her in over her head. Trust is foremost in our working relationship. If she is unsure,I reassure.If the going gets tough,I step in or get another dog to back her up.Foolish courage is danger- ous for all.And when we have a dif ficult day,we work to make the next one better.

I had let Rua work on her own a little too much that day.I hadn ʼt read the sheep well enough and had allowed Rua to put too much pressure on them.I should have backed her off the sheep and kept her moving,flanking a little more when the ewe began to balk. Once the line from respect to fear was crossed,there was little recovering to be made in that environment. The best I could do was to walk the ewe and lambs off the field with Rua covering me. We finished the job together,rather than calling her off,leaving the sheep behind.It is important for a dog not to fail. A dog needs to feel good about itself and its partnership.

Rua might have been okay with the way things ended that day,but to be sure,as best I could,I planned the next day for success.We had the opportunity to work a small group of cattle before the sheep herding began.Working cattle would be a nice diversion from sheep.It would loosen her up men- tally and give her an energy boost.

RuaBinn ʼs adrenaline began pumping as we stepped into the field.Four Herefords were in a corner at the far end.Rua did a nice outrun. She had no choice but to go in close and hustle the cattle out of the corner.They were frisky, running and bucking with de fiance.I whistled to Rua to head them off to change direction. Outrunning them from behind,she dove in front of the fleeing cattle,power exuding from her being,nipping the oncoming heads, turning the large bodies away.We repeated this a few more times,until the cattle were resigned to taking direction from Rua.Follow- ing whistle commands,she quietly drove them around the field and through some panels.We let the cattle settle and left the field.Rua was beaming.Her con fidence was not in question. Once again Rua spotted the sheep at the base of the hill.The first part of her run was as beautiful as the day before.She brought the sheep to me at the top of the hill.I directed her around the handler ʼs post and she began the descent to the first set of drive panels.At that very spot of contention a ewe began balking. I couldn ʼt believe it.How did we get so lucky to get that ewe again?Throwing that thought aside,I whistled to Rua to keep moving;flank, advance,flank,retreat,again and again.With a lot of footwork and effort Rua kept the three- some zigzagging,moving through the first set of panels to the second.It wasn ʼt pretty but it got done. Next we were to drive them back up the hill to put them in a small pen.Not many dogs and handlers were having luck penning the sheep. I took a good look at the sheep as Rua drove them up the hill.I decided to forego the pen.I didn ʼt want to push them or my dog any more. Rua had worked hard for me and accom- plished more than I had intended. We left the field with an incomplete run but we left completely satis fied.It was time to go home and get to work.

(Cindi Hayden is a herding dog trainer in Contoocook,N.H. She can be contacted via her website: www.cindihayden.com )