We enjoyed our time with good friends and their dogs on a breezy, beautiful day in the country. Our job was for Colt or Rue to be the "distraction dog" for the dogs working to earn their AKC Farm Dog Certificate. Much of the time we hung out in the shade, but every 5 or 10 minutes we entered the course to walk past a dog that was required to sit or stand quietly while we did so.
Brandy, the young Briard, did a good job of keeping her cool.
The dogs came in all shapes, sizes, breeds and colors.
I was able to take photos of many of the participants as they worked their way around the course. The requirements included walking past unfamiliar objects and pieces of equipment that would be found on a farm or ranch,
passing through a gate politely, walking calmly past strange people making loud noises and the earsplitting racket of a running tractor.
Orange cones marked the course, and this Belgian shepherd thought they looked a lot like toys.
The dogs also had to approach a pen full of sheep. Brandy was calm and collected when she did so, but then really didn't understand why she couldn't stay and herd them.
You could almost hear her saying, "But...but...but...those are sheep;
surely we aren't going to leave without working them!"
She did, however, sit quietly while Connie fed the sheep a bit or corn,
And was very excited when she received a passing score...or maybe it was the treat she was anticipating when she returned to her crate.
The last thing the dogs needed to do was to stand quietly while their handlers checked them over for burrs. We all agreed the Briards with their heavy coats presented the biggest challenge.
The other activity going on at the event was instinct testing. In this exercise, the dogs were taken into a pen with sheep to see if they displayed the proper level of interest and desire to herd. I didn't spend much time at that venue, because Colt, Rue and I were busy on the FDC course. I did get a couple of shots, though, of the sheep and dogs working them.
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