Rialey's first farm walk

  It took a few days for little Rialey, our newest pup and future chore dog, to settle in on the farm. She was feeling under the weather the first couple days, even running a slight fever. It's also becoming clear  that she is a very compassionate, caring puppy so I think she was mourning the loss of her previous canine and human family as well. Between not wanting to overwhelm her and having to work, it was about a week before we were able to take the little girl out into the pasture.

I was trying to watch the puppy, Luna, the goats, and all the other  livestock while taking pictures. Not an easy task.

She impressed me right away by chasing the goat kids back away from the gate. Amelia even tried to get tough with her, and little Rialey got right in her face, barking and snapping at her nose until she turned tail and ran.

The kids were less than amused by this treatment, but they didn't try any funny business with her again.

  Overall, Rialey did really well. She was tail up, happy, and taking treats the whole time. It was interesting to watch her react to all the livestock. She kept looking over to Luna for clues on how to behave around them. Luna for her part, kept a buffer zone around the puppy so that nothing out there could come and harass the new guy. Luna even went so far as gripping one of the older goats who was showing just a little too much interest in the pup.

  I've been told that English Shepherd learn their work by watching, and I've already seen that in Rialey. We'll be setting up a small circular practice area soon so that we can start working on herding basics with some of the younger pekins. A lot of our sheep ladies are very pregnant and very grumpy so sheep herding might have to wait until she's a little older and more confident. Either way, I'm really looking forward to getting this girl out there working!