I have known Clay since the time that he drew his first breath.  He was one of nine
pups born in our dining room on the 1st of April 2001, the result of a breeding between
my Mica and Joyce Geier’s Tait.  At that time he was known only as puppy number
six and I guess this did not sit well with him because over the 8 weeks that followed he
did everything he could to convince me that he was in fact puppy number one, the one
to keep. He was always the first to greet visitors to the whelping box and the first to
find his way out of the whelping box.  When I decided to add another board to the entrance in order to keep puppies in, he was right there to see what all the noise was about and to investigate the cordless drill.    Clay is a high drive dog that handles stock well although he does tend to be a bit pushy. He has good natural balance and is very biddable. Happiest when his sheep are at my feet and under control; Clay has proven quite talented at gathering reluctant stock from high pressure zones.  Driving his sheep away from me is  definitely not his favourite thing but he gets it done with a little encouragement.  At the pen Clay is a very willing worker, taking direction well and responding instantly to each command.

One of the high points of his training was when he penned a single unbroken Katahdin ewe  at a clinic last summer.  It took some work as she was determined to join the rest of her group in a near by paddock.  Shedding is not something we have practiced to any extent, since it is a skill that I myself am still struggling with, but I don’t expect Clay will have a problem with it since he is so biddable and holds his stock well.

When I started Clay in Pro-Novice, I really did not plan on moving him up until some time
toward the end of the 2004 season.  I wanted to give him time to mature and me time to learn more of what it takes to be an open handler. But I am very happy that he is progressing so well and I look forward to working and learning with him in Open next season.