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NAWBA HERDING
Truman v Sue Mesa, Marc
Mesa & me
Round Two
2pm Thursday, Nov 11, NAWBA Nationals. Round 2 of the Herding Clinic.
Laaaaaaadies & gentlemeeeeeeen. In the gray trunks, weighing
in @ 85 pounds & hailing from Ridgefield, CT, the challenger
Truuuuuuuuuman Rifkinson. Wearing the leather sneaks, pink sweater
& carrying the fiber glass rod, a determined look, weighing in @ 110
pounds & trained @ Rolling Meadow Farms, the reigning champion,
SUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEE MMMMMMMEEEEESSSSSAAAAAAAAAAA.
With some trepidation, I handed Truman over to Sue. I knew she was
frustrated with him & I felt Truman wasn't sure what was expected of
him. I know only too well that Truman is incredibly stubborn,
independent & doesn't easily back off. And I thought maybe he
found it easier to "dis" a woman than a man but I sure wasn't
going to say that.
I was worried that Truman was resisting Sue's control @ several levels:
- basic instinct, his very powerful prey drive as in "I want
mutton"
- taking commands from a stranger
- taking commands from a woman
- not understanding what was expected of him
Someone from the crowd suggested a muzzle; I said 'no".
I didn't want Truman's spirit broken but I knew he had to learn respect
for the herder. For me there are safety applications for this kind
of control. For example, if Truman were chasing a deer or charging @ an
intruder, I wanted to be able to control this behavior & I thought
it might translate.
Although I wanted to get into the ring with Truman & Sue, I decided
to abstain but did mention a few of Truman's commands @ home where there
aren't any sheep -- commands like "no bite",
"go around" (as in go around the tree, post, table),
"down", "stay". I thought Truman might make
the connection between these
familiar commands with Sue's attempts to dominate him.
Basically Truman is a very good boy, smart, well behaved, spoiled but
eager to please -- a lover, not vicious or a biter -- but try telling
that to a sheep.
Sue stood next to me as Marc started to pull a select group of 3 sheep
out of a separate pen one by one; dragging them by a back leg.
(Truman watched.) One sheep lay down trying to resist being
dragged into the ring. Sue watching my reaction muttered,
"well, that one just died of fright" & got a good laugh
from the horrified look on my face. "You're so easy to
tease". Yes I am.
So Sue marched Truman into the ring. Near the gate, Sue picked up
what looked like a buggy whip to me. She was determined to get
Truman's attention this time around. This instrument had 3-4"
string like extensions @ it's tip. I was sure Sue didn't want to
intentionally hurt Truman but a flick of the wrist & a sudden head
turn might accidentally land these little projectiles in Truman's eye.
I held my breath. Before letting Truman go, Sue tried the switch
out by flicking it near Truman's ear. It made a swishing noise
& Truman reacted to it which Sue took as a sign that she would be
able to get his attention by using it. Hmmmmm.
Truman was led to one side of the ring where the sheep had gathered,
awaiting the onslaught. (Word must have spread throughout the
flock.) Sue positioned herself between Truman & the sheep
& let him go. Once again, Truman charged the woolies.
Sue flicked her buggy whip a couple of times without one iota of
reaction from Truman so she abandoned it, yelled out for someone to
bring her the noise making plastic jar filled with
pennies while taking off her jacket in the meantime which she began to
use as a toreador does in the bull
ring. So my mind wandered over to considering whether this was
having the same effect -- just inciting Truman a little more.
At one point, Sue screamed out "You've bitten my cookie" (in a
jacket pocket) & everyone laughed. There was a running
commentary. Sue yelled @ Truman: "Oh, you want me, huh?
Want a piece of this?" She held out the fiber glass rod that
appeared from somewhere. Truman bit @ it. Sue used a pointed
her finger @ him
while dancing around trying to maintain her position between Truman
& the sheep, forcing him to widen the space between himself & the sheep; alternately trying to get him to
"down". At one point, she put her finger in his mouth to
show him she wasn't afraid; he didn't bite. (Remember, Truman's a
lover.)
Every once in a while Truman came over to fence to make sure I was still
around. And he achieved some success in suckering Sue into one
position, then making an end run around her to grab a sheep. Sue even
stopped Truman from taking a dump while yelling "oh no you
don't, take a dump on your own time." It was a real contest
of wills.
To get Truman to "down", Sue stepped aggressively into
Truman's space, facing him head on. A few times she succeeded @
which point she immediately backed away, explaining that putting
pressure on a dog (moving aggressively into the dog's space) to get it
to do what you want is one way of demonstrating who is alpha, getting
the dog to perform & immediately removing that pressure (stepping
back out of the dog's space) is the reward for performing the task.
Sue considered her " downs" minor successes but I thought this
was something Truman *did* understand & it gave him a moment to
re-group & consider his situation before the next onslaught.
However, there was some evidence that Truman was making wider arcs
around the gathered sheep (this was good) -- moving back &
forth. And when Sue felt she was making progress in controlling
Truman, she allowed him an opportunity to get the sheep off the fence.
But Truman, never to be deterred from lunch, dashed in for a leg, at one
time dragging a poor sheep off the fence into the center of the ring by
the hind leg & turning him over.
My mind flashed to the way the beginning herding tests are described as
"the first leg" & "second leg". Did Truman
think he was prepping for these exams?
Finally, upping the power of her approach, Sue grabbed Truman by his
beard, pulling him to her face to face & bit him. "Do you
like the way that feels?" she yelled @ him. "Did you
like that?" She shook him a couple of times & let him go.
He seized the moment & zoomed right past her to get a sheep.
Now I can tell you from my limited experience that all this is
physically exhausting & Sue Mesa had unbelievable stamina but Truman
was wearing her down. Remember, Sue had worked with other Bouvs as well
though they hadn't required the same expenditures of energy. So
she called it quits & asked her husband, Marc, to take over.
This time I asked to go in the ring.
While Marc Mesa quietly asked under his breath why that was necessary,
Sue responded out loud because Truman was my dog & I wanted to be
involved. Right answer. So Marc, Truman & I entered the ring.
Marc had a decidedly different style than Sue; less vocal, more focused
on physical presence to imply dominance & his alpha position in the
ring which he explained as he tried to dominate.
Consider this: You see a guy swaggering aggressively down the
street -- are you going to stop to talk to this fellow or are you going
to avoid his stare & space? How about the guy who is
sauntering along, perhaps head down or a vacant look on his face?
Anybody who is not looking for trouble is probably going to opt for the
2nd guy. (Thanks to Chris Redenbach who used this description
during her seminar to make a point). Well Truman is of the first
example -- ask the sheep -- and Marc was trying to be even more menacing
to gain control of the situation. And he was having some
success.
This time I was more involved, got a few "no bites" out, &
together with Marc, moved Truman back from the sheep. One of my
"no bite" commands actually resulted in Truman letting go of
his unfortunate victim. After each grab I apologized to Marc &
the sheep, made sure the wooly was ok while tying to keep up. Marc
had some success in getting Truman to "down". I did,
too. Was Truman tired? Was he reacting differently to a man
than he did to a woman? Did my presence make a difference?
To those questions, I answer yes, maybe, yes.
I have great respect for both Sue & Marc Mesa's style because they
worked "with" Truman, respected & accepted his challenge
for sovereignty without inflicting physical violence, anger or
frustration, yet with clear dedication to attain the goal. And
they were willing to work with me, too.
There was no knockdown in this event; not even a TKO. Was it a draw?
Not exactly. My feeling was that only more time would really tell
the story & Truman was signed up for the herding instinct test on
Friday.
I'll leave that tail for next time.
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NAWBA 99
