The Wandering Shepherd 3

Penning the Sheep

An important part of the Shepherd's life is finding a nightly home for his sheep. Surprising to me is that Georg finds it one of his bigger challenges. He does not find this area helpful. You cannot put the pen on good feed, the sheep would just destroy it. And you cannot overuse an area, it would just become a mess for the sheep. Especially when it rains, which it is doing right now. We have a powerful thunderstorm echoing across the mountains.

When Georg was young Shepherds were with their sheep 24 hours when they were out in the fields. They slept in a very basic van/caravan. Nowadays Georg goes home every night. It is still a long day though -  50 mins to and fro.

The pens are netting that is electrified. The size is determined by Georg and depends on the terrain and feeding pattern of the area he is in. Many are for single nights but he does have several locations that are up to 3 nights.

                                

The sheep are never a problem to put in the pen but coming out is another matter. They can be very fast or annoyingly slow. Depending on their mood I guess!! Or perhaps what they can see the other side of the fence!!
But they have been taught that as long as the dogs are running freely they have to stay in the area - and this gives Georg the opportunity to pull down the pen in preparation for taking it to the new site.







Water for the Sheep

The Albs do not have many rivers and the Lauchert is the only one that is in this area. When he is not in easy reach of the river Georg has to manually cart the water.

Although you have to walk the sheep to the Lauchert it is the easier option than bringing the water to the sheep!

Fortunately sheep are not big drinkers!

Berlin

Well, Bear and I have just had our first break from the sheep business. A full week.

I went off to Berlin and Bear went to stay with his work mates at Georg and Margot's.

Bear thinks that he had the best time but I say I did. I LOVED Berlin AND I was there when my sister and niece were. We had a fabulous three days together. It was a splendid, happy coincidence.

Here is just a quick, idiosyncratic "highlights".

A Good Day

All my days are good. But yesterday had a lovely rhythm to it. Bear was on song and worked beautifully, the weather was sunny and mild and I found the environment enchanting (not a herding word!!)

We had been here before but we had not gone further along the track while I was there (Working in the Mountains 2, June 2). Yesterday we went into the dappled forest and it was just lovely.

See how the crop has grown

So pretty

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But the best bit was witnessing the extent of Bear's growth in the job.
Bear was sent in to move some sheep back into line with the others. So he had to make his own "line" or "border" to get to them and to return without disturbing the rest of the flock. He is told to "go on" and the rest is his decision making. The magic of the GSD.

As I did not anticipate Georg's instruction it took me a while to get the camera (phone) out and into action. So this video starts as Bear moves the sheep. Look closely centre left!!!!

My Workplace

I was standing with Bear and the sheep and I looked around and marveled. "Bear, we are here in Germany with a flock of sheep. Can you really believe it."


Amazing is it not! Georg and his dogs are down below. In the shade of course.

Of course not every day can be idyllic and while I "commune with nature" Georg is working for a living. 

The days are long, the work is every single day and the weather swings from far too cold to far too hot. 

The thunderstorm did not last long and we were fortunate to be close to a picnic spot

And remember the snow and the rain from earlier blogs!!

Another thunderstorm is rolling in.



But I love my part in this. I come for approximately 4 hours six days a week. I usually come in the mornings so some of that time is taken up with sheep resting, from the sun or to digest their morning feed.

I find it an incredibly intimate, personal life with your stock. You are observing them continually. I keep an eye on Bear as he can be a devil when left to his own devices (he can have his own agenda). I watch the sheep as they too can be devils with their own "ideas". And I sometimes watch for vehicles.

Georg has it harder. He watches his dogs, his sheep, me, Bear and sometimes for vehicles. He watches not only for the pattern of grazing but also the health of his sheep. And then he has to think about the where, when and why of the grazes he chooses. As I have said before, this is not a "passive" work life. There are dozens of decision making moments during the day. You must be proactive and alert to what is the best for these animals you know so well.

 I told Georg I loved this photo. I think it is Romantic (in the literary, artistic sense). Being a pragmatic man he responded with a quizzical look 😖
(Bear and Yukon are the dogs).

And because I am talking about my workplace;

My "commute" is 10-15 mins of no traffic with this particular delight every time.

Bear's Third Report Card

Bear is continuing to progress. 

As you will have deduced from the photos and videos, he has now settled well into his job. He works with all of Georg's dogs and he can do most of the tasks asked of him.
The tasks that caused him trouble when he first arrived (eg In the Meantime April 23) are well behind him. 

Bear is full of enthusiasm and confidence and often takes the initiative.  Sometimes as we would want, and sometimes not!  But one thing is clear; he is a keen worker who learns.

What more could I ask for?

He is now tackling his herding "demons" and I am confident that he will overcome them as he has all else.

 Ⅰ.   Standing still and up close.


Did you see him stretch? Displacement/stress relief. He manages the sheep returning
to the pen reasonably well. He knows they cannot "escape" him!!


Ⅱ.   Standing still and up close, while the sheep move of  out of sight/control


The sheep took forever to come out. It was a hot morning and they had no desire to
 move. Sometimes they come out like rockets. Bear did not move (Bravo), just a little fidget 
and some whining. He was impatient for things to happen but he is now able to hold
 himself together.
Unlike in the past, he has no trouble with closeness, but he still hates to stand for so 
long.