Piper herding instinct

Piper went to a herding clinic and she did great. She is a great little herding dog. I was so proud. It was a herding clinic given by Hado-Bar farms, near Mansfield. We had a lecture in the morning and then time with the sheep twice that day. It was a great little clinic that I would recommend to anyone. They also have private lessons, which I think we might take next spring.
Piper was one of the best behaved dogs out there, she was very calm and polite. It took her a few minutes to get the idea, but fortunately, the intructor was very knowledgeable about shelties. There were mostly Border Collie mixed and Aussie mixes. Piper was the only sheltie. I think the instructor liked shelties. She said shelties are very sensitive and we must just calmly walk with the sheep and give Piper a chance to click. She did and she began to move the sheep. It was very cool to watch. Both instructors said she had an instinct and could be a herding dog. I thought that was very cool and I may pursue lessons in hopes of at least passing a herding test.
It was an interesting group of people and dogs. So many were mixes and very loosely mixed at that. I thought one looked like a black lab, but since it didn't have a tail the owner called it an aussie mix. There were also a few conformation dogs, both Border Collies and Aussies, in the group. It was interesting that the conformation ones did better and had better instincts than the mixes. Some dogs were very aggressive and their handlers didn't have control. That was frowned upon, no matter how strong the instinct. Thank God, my dog acted like a little lady. There was even a poodle there and he was wonderful. He had a nice style about it and was very calm. Who knew poodles would herd?
It was so nice to have such a sweet little dog that I could take. She was very confortable in the barn, waiting her turn. She waited nicely to enter the gait. Most others dragged their humans into the ring and the instructors said that judges would not like to see that. She was fine with all the other dogs too. I am still getting used to that and I love it. I was thrilled that she has an instinct ( not all the dogs did ) and herding might be another activity to do with her. She seemed to really like it. She never seemed stressed that day. I think Holly is going to try to take Truman to the Nov clinic. I hope he gets in. It was a great day.