Finally, Chris was able to get her first lesson with my trainer on Saturday. Much needed for all, my trainer was feeling better and needed to work her young dog as well as get a feel for Christian.

I, forever in a rush, had missed some foundation work with her. So now I need to go back and do some more fence work with her, to get her to be able to 'feel' her sheep much better than she does now.

We worked her in a very large round pen, back and forth, not letting her under flank on one side and over flank on the other. A common problem when a dog does not have a proper feel for their sheep. She has basically been working stock mechanically. Something that I "thought" I was avoiding.

I am personally not a fan of mechanically working a stock dog, and fight my natural tendency toward it constantly. But Chris is differently bred than either Bonnie, my first stock dog, or Kate, or Tam. This line, and that she started working sheep at a younger age, may have caused this, but basically, she is just a different dog, with different training needs.

I tell a lot of dog people that I meet, that there is no "one" way to train a herding dog, as they are all different. Just like kids, they all learn differently. So is the case with Chris.

It's back to more foundation work for her, and my learning exactly how to give her what she needs. We will be spending more time on the fence, having her learn that she can still work sheep, with out being on top of them. And also making sure that she covers her sheep on the come bye side, and does not over flank on the away side.

Once she has a better feel for her sheep, we can move on with her training. I will also become a better trainer by learning how to train her to feel her sheep.