Chicken Bea

One of Bea's daily chores is to help me move the lambs into the back pasture to assist with clearing. 

She has the routine down.

She is gaining more and more confidence in moving these silly lambs.

I love the way she 'feels' the stock bubble.  We do daily chores, keeping it very light and happy.  It is my job to expose her and let her be successful and even naughty at times.  When she goes back to Dianne in the fall, she gets to do the 'training'.  I am just giving her oodles of exposure and letting her have fun. 

When we got the chickens I knew she would be great with them.  She proved me right. 

Once she figured out I wanted her to move them, she was on it. 

Slow and easy, she felt every single step they took.

One would think this is a recipe for disaster with the lambs behind the barn, alas she stayed on task with the chickens.

The chickens scatter all over the large yard.  It is her job to help me gather them up and put them away at the end of each day, with the least amount of stress possible.

She is very happy with herself. 

The next time we are at Fido's I am going to try her on ducks.  I think she would enjoy it. 

Unfortunately, one of the chickens learned Beth is NOT good with poultry.

  Much to the hen's relief she survived the encounter, sans a few feathers.

Beatle Bea is a real farm dog now. 

Worker Bea

Miss Bea has been doing chores.  Nothing too demanding.  I am not expecting perfection.  But what she does needs to be correct, but if it isn't I am not going to get bent out of shape about it.  I just want to give her exposure and build up some confidence and experience.  More than anything I want the chores to make sense to her so she can really get her feet under her - and grow. 

Today she helped me move the ewes & lambs from the upper pasture, through the night pen, down the alley then across the lower pasture to the pen in the front by the road.  The whole time I stayed close to her, gave her confidence and backed her up if the ewes were bitchy trying to protect their lambs. 

First we gathered the flock from the far reaches of the upper pasture.  That is a chore because they spread out under the trees.  Bea has to hit the fence-line then push them down to the gate.

You can barely see her little head way in the back (to the left of the tree in the center), a good girl, laying down as I asked.  

She moved them nicely across the pasture toward me.  (Please pardon the icky iPhone pictures)

The black and white ewe, Daisy, likes to pick fights with the dogs.  She decided this day to challenge Bea.  You can see her turning, for no reason what so ever.  Bea is not too close to her lambs, she is just being a biatch. 

When I stepped over to help Bea, Daisy darted off with her lambs.  She was not happy about leaving this pasture. 

Bea was up for the challenge.  She ever so politely walked into her.

Daisy stomped her feet.  

Bea kept moving forward.  When Daisy started to charge....

Bea met her face with some teeth.   I did not get a shot of that because I was egging Bea on and had to concentrate.  Daisy turned and ran back to the rest of the flock. 

Bea got the rest through the gate ever so politely. 

I love the way she works.  She feels everything.  Every little nuance or turn of the sheep, Bea will compensate.  She errs on the side of safety and will opt to put less pressure on that more.  As she gains confidence that will change.  

With the exception of Daisy, the ewes seemed to like her a great deal.  The work was calm, orderly and quiet. 

Into the night pen...around the lamb pen.  When I blew a lie down, she would drop.  Such a unique & wonderful thing.  

Into the alley...

Around the corner and out to the lower pasture they go...

I stopped taking pictures here because I wanted to be able to help her, the sheep were not thrilled to be pushed out in the front pasture & things got a bit tricky. 

Dianne did an amazing job with her so far.  I am tickled pink.  Not sure I will be able to let her go back to Idaho for more training in October. 

Now if I can just start calling her by the right name.  What possessed me to name all my dogs "B" names?