It was a risk to bring Cleo to the farm  — I didn’t know how she’d do with Bravo, with the border collies, with the sheep, with me, with living outside full time.  I had a feeling that it would work out eventually, but I’ve been shocked at how many things have come together in a short time.  She and Bravo clicked right away, but she was still pretty reserved with him at first.  Now she takes the lead on their post-prandial romps every evening.

I was worried that she might get protective of the sheep when the border collies were moving the flock, since she’s never worked with herding dogs, but she’s been completely relaxed during our twice-daily moves to new pasture.  But perhaps the biggest change has been in the way the sheep relate to their canine protectors.  My sheep had never been around a guardian dog before Bravo arrived, and they were understandably wary of him at first.  While things had certainly improved, I still saw the sheep get tense when Bravo moved around them. Since Cleo’s arrival, that tension has disappeared.  I’m not sure if she has calmed Bravo down, or calmed the sheep down, or if her presence somehow fixes an imbalance — single male dog is scary but male-female pair is not? — but the sheep now intermingle and brush shoulders with the dogs with absolute ease.  Whatever the case, I’m grateful that she joined the team.