The rest of yesterday went fine. No problems at all.

Today is going great with Decker. He has been on his best behavior all day. This morning, while I was turning out the sheep, I had the middle stall open. The sheep were heading out to the back pasture and Decker saw them. He took off through the middle stall and through the sheep pasture (where they were not) to try to get to them. Fortunately for me, Decker was stopped by a fence. I was surprised by how far he went. He basically did an outrun of over 100 yards. I think that his herding instinct is fairly strong in him. And he came back quickly when called and was told that'll do.

Later in the morning, I was expecting a friend with her two dogs over to work sheep and get a lesson. Before she arrived, I decided to work my two collies and Decker. This would give the sheep a chance to rest and cool down before my lesson arrived. Decker is still improving. My neighbor next door watched and commented later at how fast he is lying down for me. She seemed impressed at how hard he worked when the temperature was so hot. I explained that his instinct is strong enough to over ride a desire to rest.

When my friend arrived with her two dogs, Decker was tied to the fence close to where I was working sheep (so all of the dogs not working at the time, can watch). I warned her about him and she started to hold back and be real cautious. I told her that he was not dog aggressive and did not have to worry about her dog at all, that he was tied up and she could come and sit down on the bench. I told her that if he growled at all, and if I didn't here it, to let me know and I would correct him. Well, he was perfect! My friend said that he seemed excited to see her dogs and he was well behaved the entire time my friend was here. He swam with everyone, and ran around and played after herding was over. He looked relaxed and happy.

After lunch, my next door neighbor came over for about a half of an hour. As she approached the door, I directed her to wait, she knocked, and the collies were a little too excited. I stood in the entry way to see if Decker postured at all. Nope! He was a gentleman. I directed all of the dogs out of the foyer, in order to give the dominate humans some room. My neighbor came in and was accepted by Decker. As the visit progressed, we went upstairs and also into the basement, with Decker following. He just acted like a normal dog. That was nice to see and feel. Hopefully he can keep it up.