What a lovely day Meg and Diva had yesterday when they welcomed lots of Beardie friends, plus two Powlish Lowland Sheepdogs, and all their owners, to a day of herding with Jackie and Bob at their home in Pickering, North Yorkshire.  As demonstration dogs for the day they each had a special job to do.

In the morning, following a super display from the resident highly trained Border Collies, Meg had an opportunity to show some "freestyle" circling, with changes of pace and direction, and a little "following on", a beautiful down and a "that'll do!" to finish.  All the visitors then had an opportunity to try their luck with the sheep, and some were very good indeed, showing great natural flair.

After we had enjoyed a delicious buffet lunch, Diva then worked her little flock of four in the small pen, showing her newly-learned flanking and stop commands, and the beginnings of "balance", all very quiet and calm.  Her new friends then chose between more "freestyle" or a little training in the small pen, and everybody learned lots about their own dogs' abilities.

The sun shone all day and Jackie and Bob worked tirelessly to make sure we had a very interesting and entertaining day.  The dogs certainly slept well last night.

Many thanks to all who came along and participated, and above all thanks to our hosts and tutors for trusting a bunch of Beardies with their precious sheep.