There’s two ways to round up sheep, it seems. You can get yourself a border collie puppy from a long line of champion sheepdogs, train it up until it obeys your slightest command, and trek out with it to a remote hilltop and stand whistling complicated instructions until the sheep are safely gathered in.
OR
You can just drive to the edge of the field, honk your horn a few times and watch the sheep come running. I’m guessing the latter approach involves tasty sheep treats (erm, grass?) and sheep that haven’t worked out where the last batch of lambs went to.



July 26, 2008 at 9:13 pm |
Strictly speaking you only have to get ONE sheep to respond to that method, and then they’d all follow anyway.
And sheep are stupid: fact. They probably think all the lambs are just in the next field.
July 26, 2008 at 9:35 pm |
yeah but it has to be the right sheep…
July 26, 2008 at 9:55 pm |
OK I love lamb and fell very guilty when I have it for sunday dinner, also I am a welshman.
Ten Welsh Commandments
Thou Shall…
-Worship Sheep
-Drink Beer
-Wear 3 Feathers With Pride
-Not Slay Dragons
-Love Rugby And Football
-Not Be Too Friendly With The English
-Keep A Welcome In The Hillside
-Learn Our Anthem (Not Just Chorus)
-Eat And Enjoy Leek Soup
-Congregate And Drink On International Match Days
July 27, 2008 at 9:23 pm |
There is a third way, as brilliantly demonstrated by a neighbouring farmer a few years ago (yes, in Wales!):
Run frantically from side to side waving your arms, preferably holding empty blue plastic sacks. This drives the sheep in all directions in front of you until, at the end of the field, they double back and stampede past you to start all over again.
Meanwhile your utterly hopeless sheepdog (who can blame him!) follows a few yards behind you laughing hysterically (well it looked like it anyway).
July 28, 2008 at 8:03 am |
John – that’ll be why the hills are overrun with dragons then
Justwilliams – that sounds more like a way of exercising sheep than rounding them up
July 28, 2008 at 10:15 am |
Now that you mention it, those sheep did have a lean and hungry look about them. Maybe I got it wrong. Maybe he was exercising them. We’ll never know.