We went to the International Sheepdog Championship & Festival this year! It was actually so much fun, and something new to do. It is so amazing how well trained those sheepdogs are! They have this huge obstacle course and they have to guide 5 sheep all the way through it, without loosing any of them. When they're through herding them down the course on the mountain, they have to bring them into a large ring, and separate them (what they call "shedding") into a group of two sheep, and a group of three.
After they separate them they have to lead them into a pen, and the dog's handler has to close the gate of the pen before any of the sheep have to escape. It is not easy, there were a lot of dogs that didn't finish because the sheep wouldn't go in. The dogs respond to a series of whistles that their handlers whistle, and that is how they know where to guide the sheep. It was amazing.
The handlers spend years training their dogs, and they have great relationships with them.
They also had a ton of fun things to do for the kiddo too! Besides the dogs, they had PONY RIDES!!! Brooklyn was so excited! They also had good food, a dog splashing competition, a weird animals show, and a petting zoo. Well worth the entrance fee!!All in all, it was a fun day. We will definitely go back next September and watch it again!!
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