When you think of a sheepdog, you probably think of a big floppy dog that blends in with the flock; stays alert at all times; and would be willing to fight a wolf, coyote, or another predator to protect the sheep. Apparently, sheepdogs come in all shapes and sizes.
A family of farmers in Italy decided to give a little pooch a change with a big job.
They assumed he would be able to hand the task, but when they checked in on him, they couldn’t believe what they saw. He wasn’t herding the sheep or even watching them. He was sleeping on their backs.
The couple watched and laughed as the dog rode on the backs of the sheep as they moved around the fields as they pleased.
He seemed to be pretty comfortable bedding down on the soft wool. Apparently, the dog was just as comfortable for the sheep. While the dog was on the back of a sheep, she started to get sleepy and hunkered down on the ground for a quick nap.
The little dog maintained his balance as it kneeled and went right back to sleep after the sheep got comfortable. These two lazy animals were getting along and seemed to both be getting in a good nap, but who was watching the rest of the sheep?
It turns out the dog was resting but hadn’t neglected his responsibilities.
As soon as the people filming got close to the flock, he jumped right up on the sheep’s back and started barking at them. He is capable of protecting the flock after all.
Many sheep farmers leave the task of keeping the sheep safe and together to a dog. In most cases, it is a border collie, corgi, or a German shepherd that keeps the order. They not only act as intimidation against possible predators, who may try to make off with one of the sheep, but also bark to warn the farmers, scare away the animals, and alert the other sheep to run away.
Most herding dogs are active and run around all day keep the animals packed together, redirecting the strays, checking the borders of the flock for weakness, and just staying alert.
It must have been a slow day for this dog and his flock. Possibly even a Monday. He just wasn’t in the mood to work and wasn’t putting in his usual effort.
How many other days has this dog hitched rides on the backs of sheep?
How does he get up there? Why don’t the sheep mind? There are a lot of questions that need to be answered, but the important one is, did he get fired from his job?
Luckily, the farmers are pretty lenient and fond of the little pup, so they let him keep his job on the farm. He must be doing a pretty good job. He just happened to be caught in a moment of weakness. He probably doesn’t sleep on the job often, right? Let’s hope not.
The video stops with the sheep getting back up and walking away with the dog still on her back.
It’s safe to say he wasn’t upset about being caught and had no plans of changing his pace for the day. Hopefully, he is able to continue to balance his naps with his duties. That could be hard considering he also has to keep his balance on the backs of the same sheep he is supposed to be protecting.
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