Lesson Three

I've wrestled with myself on what I should call this lesson: "no one likes a yeller" "who wants to work for mad?" "try a little self control, baybay!" I'm still struggling.....

This memory is etched into my mind and comes from the days when I had an all breed trainer teaching lessons at my slice of Heaven.  I would get to my place early and move the sheep around, dividing them into little groups and putting them in pens for the day's lessons.  After a few months of this...the sheep absolutely knew which day was terror Tuesday and they did not want any part of the moving and separating.  My 5 acre field feeds into a 300 foot long alley way where I had set up pens under the line of big shady trees.

It was lesson day, so I grabbed Snook to gather the field and that is where things started to go wrong.  The sheep did not want to move towards the gate feeding the alley and I was under the gun.  Lessons would start soon and I needed to be ready.  I was so frustrated and my voice began to show my feelings....clearly.  I heard my main gate rattle and looked up to see my husband had arrived, dropping off something I had forgotten before heading to work. Snook looked up and saw him too.  At that moment she decided she was done with me.  I was frustrated and yelling at her and she would just rather go home for the day.  She took off running, jumping five foot fences and climbing gates all the way up to my husbands car. She slipped through the open gate and loaded herself in through his open door.  Me, well I walked the walk of shame......covering 10 acres to go fetch my one and only work dog from my husband's rig.  He did not even have to ask what happened.

I was thankful for the gates and fields I had to walk through to get to my dog...it allowed me time to cool off and realize that if I were going to get anything done, I absolutely needed Snook.  I took a deep breath and grabbed a grain bucket as I headed back to the field to accomplish the tasks for the day ahead.  Nobody wants to work for anybody that yells and demeans and shames.

LIFE LESSON THREE:  WHEN FRUSTRATED....LOOK IN THE MIRROR FIRST.

I think most of the time things went wrong with Snook, I could look at myself and see how it was my preconceived ideas of how "it should be done" that started the whole situation down a slippery slope of not getting anything done.  There is that one time a ewe went to take Snook out and I yelled at the sheep....that ended up poorly as Snook had no idea who I was yelling at and only knew I was mad.  I had to go to the truck and talk her out on that day as well.  Now some people will say they would never keep a "quitter and a sulker" but I am thankful today that Snook was both.  She taught me so much about self control, emotional control and looking in the mirror at me before I got mad at anyone else in the picture.

Life lesson #3 is one that I keep learning over and over, to varying degrees with each of my dogs.  Thankfully I am getting better and seeing my part in a frustrating moment quicker....not always before it comes out in my voice or mannerisms but quicker.  As I struggle with this life lesson it reminds me to give my dogs patience and they work through theirs.

Seize the Day!!