" Into the great wide open "

Into the great wide open,
Under them skies of blue,
Out in the great wide open.
A Rebel without a clue-
Tom Petty

My sheep have been sneaking around the E Net and getting out. So yesterday as  "punishment" I grabbed Video camera and Opal. It was a perfect chance to see how she would do out in a big open space that was cut short and relatively level.. Now I'm not saying she has never done this before,  but she has had less than a handful of goes on them.  All of them as a result of her being naughty and sneaking under the fence to get at them while they were out in pasture grazing.Since it was out of my control and she had already committed herself to working, I just would use it as a short training go and got her tired and happy enough to get a call off. Why go screaming after if you know you are not in a position to really do anything?
So off we  went. It was HOT. I mean in the close to 100 degrees F. Hot, but windy and not very humid. I figured a short go as long as things were calm would be okay. I am sure due to this heat it did keep Opal a bit quiet, and I am glad she showed she is smart enough to rate herself.
She really has had less than an hours worth of "formal" training and for a pup who turned 10 months old last week I am pretty excited about our future together.
I have really only worked on  at this point her feeling her sheep, helping her as needed but letting her have a chance to think about it and figure it out on her own. I have started to say the flank commands as she turns but she really does not know any commands at this point other than to lie down. She does know a call off but it is shaky at best. I'll need to put a long line on her so she does not pick up a habit of taking off round them when she hears a call off and knows she can get away with it because I can't really enforce her to come off until she is ready. Over all I am really pleased with this little dog!