Strider, Merckx and Ben

We all are trying to put this into words but it is so futile to explain, the handlers that have been there know, folks that have not been there will never understand.

This might be why I keep chasing the elusive,,,what ever it might be.

I like how most of us when we first start thinks that we have a good idea about how to make our dogs do this but then we realize that it really is not about that at all. How most of us at first care so much about points and what people will think but how with experience we care less and less.

It is because I can see my dog way out there and that I can see that he is happy even if he is so far out there that I really cannot see him at all.

It is because of that one moment in time just when he makes contact with the sheep and he reads everything right I can take my arms down because I know he does not need me for this.

It is because it is so complex that at some point you have to ‘do and feel’ and not ‘analyze and think’. Not many things in life are like that anymore and working my dogs makes me feel part of an ancient dance that is no longer appreciated in our modern life; it is a blessing to be part of such old beauty.

It is because those days when I managed to help my dogs to be as complete as they possibly can and where my dog helped me to be a better person then I used to be.

It is because of those times when my dog clears a big field with scattered sheep and I just silently stand and look as he put small sets together into bigger groups, bending out, looking back, walking in, planned and choreographed like a dance but also knowing that this is something that I never taught him how to do.

It is because that moment when your whistle goes to shit and your dog stops and look at you with a “don’t worry about that whistle, I got it” and carries on.

It is because of those times early in the morning when it is still dark, trying to command both of them and things just fall apart. Until I shut up and they make it happen in silence. I love that they know how to do that and that I somehow was a part helping them find that knowledge and how proud my dogs are when they know they have done something well and how praising them when they know they did not do well never seems to works.

It is because that when I shed with Merckx I can point to the sheep I want and he will take care of the rest and I love that we got to that level of knowledge by working together.

I like how Ben will turn back without seeing any sheep and still hunt for sheep just because he trusts me. I respect that you cannot get that with treats and clicks, only with spending lots of time working together.

I like how it is just as much about what it is not as it is about what it is.

I like how I can travel thousands of miles in a year to trial and honestly still claim it is not about the competition.

It is because when things are just right I don’t think 'why', just 'here and a now'.



It is because that when I shed with Merckx I can point to the sheep I want and he will take care of the rest and I love that we got to that level of knowledge by working together.

I like how Ben will turn back without seeing any sheep and still hunt for sheep just because he trusts me. I respect that you cannot get that with treats and clicks, only with spending lots of time working together.

I like how it is just as much about what it is not as about what it is.

I like how I can travel thousands of miles in a year to trial and honestly still claim it is not about the competition.

It is because when things are just right I don’t need a why, just a here and a now.