Sheep- Dog Trials 219 



assist his dog to get them through the 

 obstacles, and finally penning them. 



The first obstacle, though apparently an 

 easy one, was not so in reality ; it consisted 

 of two goal-posts, about a land-yard apart, 

 through which the sheep had to be driven, 

 slowly, in a given direction, and it was 

 essential that all three should pass through 

 in a bunch not one by one. If two went 

 through and one broke back, the effort was 

 useless and did not count, and the three 

 sheep had to be gathered by the dog, and 

 another attempt made. Some of the sheep 

 were as obstinate as one could well conceive, 

 and I have come to the conclusion that Irish 

 pigs and mules are not half as contrary as 

 Welsh mountain sheep. 



Having successfully accomplished this, the 

 dog had to take his charge diagonally across 

 the field to the next obstacle, which was 

 called the single lane, and consisted of 



