colin and zola

With the summer displays now over I can turn my attention back to all things farming, like preparing the ewe flock for ‘tupping’ and making a start with the training of Zola and Colin. The two of them have had a little training over the summer, but from July they have become increasingly more sheep obsessed. Zola in particular thinks of nothing else than work and tries to take any opportunity to take herself to find sheep.

My wife Debbie has been in charge of walking the pups over the summer. It’s a task which she doesn’t always find pleasurable, as Zola is prone to jumping any fence or gate on the farm in order to seek out a suitable flock of sheep to round up. Having found a flock, she will resolutely keep on the far side in order to avoid capture, a technique which she can keep up for half an hour or so, while Debbie gets more and more exasperated as she tries to catch her.

Colin is a little more laid back. He accepts that walking time is for recreation, but when he goes out for his training sessions he’s just as keen as his sister. He has a very gently way about his work, but has a good feel for his sheep and when he choses to use his speed he can be quite fast. When it’s Zolas turn to train, she’s full of energy, lightening quick and strangely for such an obsessive dog she is very responsive.

So with Alfie’s steady progress and both Zola and Colin showing great promise at this early stage, I’m really encouraged by my current crop of young sheepdogs. There’s a long way to go yet, but hope fully by this time next year we might have a champion in the making

Colin at Work

Zola