We use Trouble to help work sheep and the dairy goats here. Phyllis Clark is helping me teach her trial behavior which helps quite a bit with work at home. In this picture we're working on her flanks - 'way to me' means go clockwise while 'go bye' means to go counter clockwise. We are also working on helping her to understand that she needs to be calm to keep the stock calm as well.
She does great work for a young dog and helps me bring the goats in and out of the barnyard to and from the back pastures each day. Our goats especially are 'delicate' - they have tender udders and thin skin and need to feel safe in order to produce milk. It's important that Trouble doesn't stress them. The first few days with Trouble helping were challenging because the kids were so exciting for her but she's understanding now that they are part of the goat herd and not prey animals. It helps that I tend to be very low-key - the stock and the dogs feed off high or low energy of the people they live with.
No rain yet today but they say it's a'comin'
