Hugh & Nell had a good session in rural Leicestershire today with Nij Vyas & his athletic black sheep. Nell has had virtually no exposure to sheep over the Winter so it was good to see that she was still very keen. However, I think Hugh & Nell will have to start from scratch as expecting a dog to remember its good manners after such a long absence is a tall order.
We were both very impressed by Nij's calm, patient approach to the lesson - it definitely inspires confidencece. He explained that training the handler is probably as or more important than training the dog as when the handler has it right the dog will relax & get it right too!
Today was the first time for many years that I had been present at a herding session & despite the pouring rain & falling down a rabbit hole & twisting various ankles & knees on the way to the pen I really enjoyed it.
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Looking forward very much to going back soon.