Sunday, I went to a friend’s farm to work my dog Poe. We were working a bunch of lambs in a large field with a very strong draw back to the barn area.

Poe is a strong confident pushy dog. When he walks on the field the sheep all come to attention. The upside to that confidence and push is that he can mentally handle difficult situations without batting an eyelash. The downside is that he can be drawn into the sheep, getting closer and closer and rattling the sheep more and more. His chosen mode of dealing with things is to move in closer and apply more pressure. In daily chores and elsewhere we have been working on releasing the pressure that Poe puts on the sheep.

My previous dog had less confidence and push but read sheep extremely well. People used to say “he is nice to his sheep.” Because he couldn’t confront sheep, he often used release of pressure on the sheep to get them to move. If a sheep was flustered and turned to face him, he would take his gaze off the sheep for an instant. The sheep would feel comfortable and turn without confrontation. So, I learned well from him how sometimes less is more.

After some work, I sent Poe out on an outrun to gather the 15 lambs. Suddenly one left the group and tried to head back to the larger flock. I flanked Poe to go catch it. He stopped it a  hundred feet from the rest of the group who were now standing in a huddle close to me. Usually a lamb would go skittering back to the group. But this lamb decided to turn and face the dog.

People’s  (and certainly Poe’s) inclination in situations like these often is to put more pressure on the lamb so that it turns and runs back to the group. We tend think of the sheep as being belligerent instead of as an animal that doesn’t want to turn its back on a predator. But Jura, my previous dog, taught me well that releasing pressure can achieve the same or better results without the drama. Increasing conflict doesn’t always improve outcome.

So, instead of asking Poe to walk into the sheep, something he would have been happy to do, I asked him to lie down. The sheep was still transfixed. I flanked Poe a little into the draw that the lamb felt toward the barn and lay him down. We waited. The lamb was still transfixed. I asked him again for a tiny flank and a lie down. Lamb still stood facing the dog. Tiny flanks weren’t going to do it with this lamb. I quietly reminded Poe that the next flank I wanted would be bigger but it had to be square and he needed to move well out from the lamb (we have  a code word 🙂 ). . And I flanked him once again into the space between the lamb and the barn. Bless his willing heart, he made a bigger flank, taking the pressure off the lamb and I put him in a down. The lamb turned, hesitated and then trotted back to the group. I held Poe in the lie down to give the lamb the opportunity to commit to the course. And then asked Poe to quietly walk up behind the lamb, bringing him back to the group. The lamb needed to have the pressure off when it did the “right” thing. And Poe needed to have the reward of “having his sheep” for having done his flank and stop so brilliantly.

I didn’t train Poe. His marvelous ability to do exactly as I asked is the product of someone else’s training. But his increasing ability to use “less pressure is more” as he matures and gets miles on him, is something that he and I are developing. I saw light bulbs going off. Sometimes a dog needs a lot of push. Sometimes a dog needs a gentle touch. Having a variety of tools in one’s toolbox is always good. Poe is learning to put a “Back off and let the sheep relax” tool in his toolbox. Reducing conflict may not be dramatic but it is better stockmanship. 

If there ever was a time when I wish I had a video it was Sunday. Poe and I have developed a relationship where he thinks I can offer good advice in situations like these. He is willing to go against his inclinations  because I might be right. Sunday, I was right. It was a beautiful work of partnership and willingness on both our parts to work with each other.

Poe and my younger self (still today at times) are a lot alike. When I get passionate about something, I can push and push and push. I can back someone into a corner and essentially feed the confrontation rather than dissipate it. And I sometimes forgot my own intensity. Patience and waiting it out are not our strong suit. But we are both learning that sometimes stopping, thinking, and removing the threat can get us what we want. On another day, in another place, we will need that grit and push. But Sunday we stepped outside our natural inclinations and were heavily rewarded for our efforts.