Time to Think About It

By the end of the herding lesson, Caeli's eyes are glazed. Her mind and body are tired.

Caeli and I are learning outruns -- how to go out and fetch the sheep.

As a young dog, Caeli wants to go too close to the sheep. When she does this, I must stop her, push her back on the right path, and give her time to think about it. Then, she proceeds with the outrun.

At the end of the lesson, my instructor tells me take the dog home, put her in a quiet place, and let her think about it. The following day, I'm to get Caeli out and practice on my sheep.

Caeli goes to her crate and sleeps for the night. What she thinks about, I don't know. I replay the day's lesson over and over. I think about my timing, my body language, my corrections, my confidence.

When we practice the following day, the improvement is tremendous.

That night, I think how herding lessons apply to life. When I run into problems at work, on the farm, with writing, I need to take time out, and just think about it.