In the world of farming, few animals are considered more docile and amiable than sheep. In fact, a person who just does what they’re told without questioning anything is often referred to as a sheep! While we won’t be talking about “sheeple” today, we are going to learn that not all sheep are as passive as we might think!
For sheepherders, keeping a large flock in line isn’t easy.
Sheep love to wander and get lost – hence, the need for a shepherd.
Due to their ‘flocking’ mentality, they are likely to go astray on most occasions. Sheep follow one another blindly. They have an instinct to flock together so as to keep safe. … All it takes is for one member of the flock to wander off and the rest will follow. – Farming Base
Over the generations, farmers have come up with clever ways to keep their sheep in line and make sure they don’t get lost or hurt. The most famous way? Sheepdogs!
Sheepdogs have been used for hundreds of years and are so effective that they are still in use today.
Herding dogs don’t tire easily, are super smart, and offer a variety of skills to their farmers (who are inevitably their friends).
All herding behavior is modified predatory behavior. Through selective breeding, humans have been able to minimize the dog’s natural inclination to treat cattle and sheep as prey while simultaneously maintaining the dog’s hunting skills, thereby creating an effective herding dog. – Wikipedia
As we are about to see, however, the sheep may have started evolving ways to fight back against their furry herding overlords!
In a video, a collie is attempting to back a sheep back into the herd so they can move on.
The collie gets up close and stares down the sheep, clearly used to the sheep running away and doing what they are told. This behavior is called “heading”!
Other breeds, notably the Border Collie, get in front of the animals and use what is called strong eye to stare down the animals; they are known as headers. The headers or fetching dogs keep livestock in a group. They consistently go to the front or head of the animals to turn or stop the animal’s movement. – Wikipedia
In this one instance, however, the sheep has plans of its own!
Instead of cowering back and being afraid, the sheep instead bucks up to the dog! Lowering its head and feigning a charge, the dog doesn’t know what to do! The sheep isn’t submitting, it’s fighting back! Incredibly, it was all caught on camera.
The two face off and there appears to be a standstill.
The dog does its best to get the sheep back and even starts nipping at the sheep. Even though the sheep was tough, the threat of a nip on the ear is clearly enough to get it back in line. Although the dog has won this round, the sheep surely have a plan for the next. There is power in wooly numbers.
Check out the video below!
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