Working like a dog
It’s a battle of wits and patience as dog and sheep face off at the Southern Indoor Charity Dog Trial.
Ike looks like he’s smiling as he moves the sheep across the bridge, through the gates and into the pen.
And he had every reason to – he was working inside yesterday.
Outside the temperature was around 2 degrees Celsius after a frosty start but at least there’s no mud, rain or wind to content with at the Cow Shed at the Waimumu Field Days site.
A quick pat on the backside for a job well done from owner Quentin Whitehead, of Gore, and Ike’s tail is wagging.
It might look easy, but penning three sheep at the Southern Indoor Charity Dog Trial at Waimumu is much harder than it looks, committee member Mike Joyce says.
‘‘If you think you’re going to get around the course in a hurry you’re not going to do well here. It’s all about patience. You’ve got to give the sheep plenty of room. The big thing is to keep them quiet and not hurry it.’’
There’s a 10-minute time limit, but it was not a race, Joyce said.
‘‘The more of that 10 minutes you use, the better.’’
Some dogs find trialling inside a bit strange.
‘‘Some aren’t used to being inside but most dogs seem to handle it. It’s all about the makeup and nature of the dog.’’
‘‘They do a lot of work in a day, people couldn’t do everything a dog does and they don’t ask for much. All they want is to please their owner and be fed at night and they’re happy.’’
The trial is the third indoor event to be held in the trialling off-season in Southland. In the past two years the committee has raised $13,000 for St John’s in Gore. This year all proceeds will go to Southland Hospice.
Judge Andy Clark was watching the action and the top seven dogs in each class would go through to a run-off tomorrow.