Flash the Sheep Dog

by Kathleen Fidler

  “Do you like being at Birkhope, Tom?” she asked.

  Tom puckered his brows. “I like it well enough when I’m out with Flash, but – but it’s awfully lonely up there.” He suddenly felt an urge to confide in Elspeth. “I tried to run away once.”

  “Whatever for? Mrs Meggetson’s real kind, isn’t she?”

  “Oh, yes! They’re both kind. I miss London, though, the friends I used to go about with, and – and the river.”

  Elspeth regarded him seriously. “You ought to give the place more of a trial. You’ll be going to school here and maybe you’ll make some friends. It’s daft to run away before you’ve tried to do something about it yourself.”

  Tom might have been resentful of such a remark but Elspeth looked so kindly at him that he could not take offence. Suddenly he asked, “Do you go to school here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Which school?”

  “Mr Donaldson’s school.”

  “That’s where I’m to go.” Tom’s face brightened and the two children smiled at each other.

  Aunt Jane called from the house. “Come along, Tom. We’re ready to go now.”

  Tom thrust the little bundle of fur carefully back inside the hutch and Elspeth secured the catch.

  Aunt Jane buttoned her coat. “Weel, that’s all settled then, Alison,” she was saying with satisfaction.

  “It’s very good of you, Mrs Meggetson.”

  “Not a bit! You’ll let me know when you get word from the hospital?”

  “I’ll do that, thank you.”

  The goodnights were said and the Meggetsons got back into the car.

  “See you at the school, Elspeth!” Tom called through the window as they drove away.

  When they reached the farm Flash greeted them with a “Wuff” of welcome that sounded as though he was very pleased with himself.

  “What on earth’s that he’s got between his paws?” Uncle John asked. “Is it a rat?”

  “Guid sakes, I hope not! Not in my kitchen!” Aunt Jane cried in alarm. She took a nearer look. “Mercy on us! If it’s not your old cap! It must have fallen off the peg when you closed the door.”

  Mr Meggetson snatched up the cap, hardly recognizable as a cap any more. Flash had chewed it to ribbons!

  “Weel, it only wanted that to complete the evening!” he declared, looking ruefully at the remains.

  When Tom saw his uncle’s look he felt a sudden anger at Flash.

  “You bad dog!” he said, lifting his hand to smack the puppy. Uncle John caught him by the elbow.

  “No, no, Tom! You must never lift your hand to the dog in anger. He’s but a pup and he thinks he’s done something clever. To him that cap was an enemy to be worried. You must teach him better.”

  “How?” Tom asked.

  “That I’m going to leave you to work out for yourself, lad. It’s a thought late to be starting on Flash’s next lesson tonight. There’s always tomorrow.”

  Tom had kept Flash at his drill in the paddock with three sheep till he was well disciplined and did not run at them to scatter them. He crouched at Tom’s command and held the sheep by the power of his eye.

  “Aye, he’s ready now to make a cast,” Uncle John decided.

  “A cast? What’s that?”

  “He’s got to run in a wide half-circle round the sheep to the back of them, to right or left at the word of command, and bring the flock in gradually towards you. We’ll take him out on the hillside with the same three sheep. He’ll have more room to run there. Jeff can take them along for us, but once we’ve reached the pasture, then Flash can take over.”

  Uncle John whistled up Jeff and, with Flash on the lead, they took the sheep up the hillside. Though Flash trotted obediently behind Tom he watched Jeff jealously and now and again gave a little whine of impatience and even annoyance.

  “We’ll have to change these sheep, Tom. Flash is beginning to look upon them as his property and that won’t do,” Uncle John decided. “Besides, the sheep are beginning to know what’s expected of them and to obey the commands too.”

  “Are sheep really as clever as that?” Tom asked in surprise.

  “Sheep are no’ as stupid as some folk would have you believe. True, they follow each other in herds but that’s a natural kind o’ thing, when a crowd is a protection against their enemies.”

  “I’ve never thought of it that way,” Tom confessed. “What enemies do sheep have?”

  “Foxes, Tom! They go for the young lambs, aye, and carrion crows that swoop and pick out the lambs’ eyes.”

  Tom gave a shudder.

  “You should see a ewe stand up for her young then. She’ll fight with her little stumps o’ horns if she’s driven to it and lash out with her hooves. Here we are in the field. Come awa’ to me, Jeff!” Uncle John shouted, giving a shrill whistle with his fingers to his mouth. Obediently Jeff left the sheep and came trotting back to his master.

  “It’s all Flash’s now,” Uncle John said. “Take the stick, Tom, and point firmly away to your right and send him round the sheep. At the same time shout “Awa’ here!” to him in a loud voice.

  Tom slipped the lead from Flash and did as Uncle John told him, pointing with the stick to his right and shouting in a clear voice “Away here, Flash!”

  Flash looked at him uncertainly for a moment, then set off running in the direction to which Tom pointed, then he faltered, looked round and stood, not knowing quite what to do.

  “Why doesn’t he go on?” Tom cried in a disappointed voice.

  “Here’s where you’ve got to be patient, Tom. This is the first really hard lesson Flash has had to learn. Call him back to you and begin all over again. This time let him look at the sheep first, then point your stick to the right and make a circling movement with it to show him you want him to come in behind the sheep. Ye’ll maybe have to do it as many as twenty or thirty times before he gets the idea, but call him straight back and begin over again every time he goes wrong. Be stern with him at the same time to let him know ye’re not pleased.”

  All at once, after half-a-dozen tries, Flash seemed to grasp what Tom meant him to do and he ran in a wide half-circle round the little flock and behind them. It was Uncle John’s turn to get excited.

  “Fine! Fine! A good turn of speed and he’s coming in nicely behind them at a fair distance. Tell him to drop down. Quick, Tom!”

  “Down! Down, Flash!” Tom bellowed at the top of his voice.

  Astonished, but obedient, Flash flopped down reluctantly.

  “Grand! Just grand!” Uncle John approved. “Look! The sheep have faced round to him and he’s holding them by the power of his eye.”

  “What do we do now?” Tom asked, eager to continue.

  “Steady, lad, steady, or the dog will catch your impatience! Now you’ve to make him bring the sheep towards you very slowly, driving them like he did in the paddock. Whistle him up. Then, after a few yards, make him go down and wait for your next command.”

  Tom gave a whistle and in an instant Flash was up and the sheep turned and galloped before him. Before Flash came near them Tom shouted “Down!” and Flash stopped and crouched on his stomach again, though he went down with a look of frustration. The sheep trotted on a few yards then stopped and faced round. They did not seem unduly alarmed by Flash’s movements, but when he fixed them with his eye, they seemed to freeze where they stood.

  “Now make him lift the sheep again, Tom.”

  Tom went once more through the commands. Flash obeyed, bringing in the sheep nearer. At last the sheep were within a stone’s throw of Tom and his uncle.

  “Now for the last drive, Tom!”

  Tom whistled and Flash sprang to life. This time, however, he was not to be denied the fun of driving the sheep as hard and far as he could. They went scampering past Tom with Flash at their heels, threatening to nip them, though he never did it!

  “That’s spoiled a good performance,” Uncle John said ruefully. “But at least he didna’ bi
te them!”

  Tom whistled for Flash who came to him wagging his tail as though he had done something very clever.

  “No, no, Flash!” Uncle John said, shaking his head at him.

  “Bad dog, Flash!” Tom scolded him.

  The little dog looked from one to the other, aware of their disapproval, but puzzled, as Tom slipped on the lead again.

  “What do I do now, Uncle John?” Tom asked in a disappointed voice.

  “Begin again, lad. It’s the only way. But this time ye mustn’t let Flash bring them down the whole length of the field. Stop him after a couple of ‘lifts’ of the sheep, then call him off and praise him when he stops. We expected too much of him the first time. Wait! I’ll send Jeff to take the sheep up again.’”

  All this time Jeff had been watching Flash’s performance, almost with a sniffy air of condescension. When he was sent to fetch the sheep back he gave a whisk of his tail as much as to say, “Watch this!” With perfect discipline, hardly even needing his master’s whistle, he took the sheep up the field again to where they had been. As he came back to his master he gave Flash a sly look out of the corner of his eye.

  “Showing off he is a bit!” Uncle John chuckled. “Wait! Jeff’s a good dog. It’ll do Flash no harm to watch his way of working. I’ll send Jeff to bring the sheep down again.”

  Almost with an air of boredom, Jeff lifted the sheep and brought them down the hill. He crouched behind them every few yards giving them a chance to stand for a few seconds, then, without hustling them, brought them to a standstill a few feet from his master.

  Flash watched his performance, at first straining at the lead as if anxious to join Jeff, but when Tom said “Down!” Flash lay at his feet panting a little and with his pink tongue flicking in and out. He kept his eye on every movement that Jeff made and when Meggetson praised his dog, Flash pricked up his ears. Meggetson made Jeff take the sheep out to the centre of the pasture again, then whistled for him to return. There was no doubt Jeff came back with a slight swagger.

  “Now send Flash to fetch the sheep in towards us again,” Uncle John directed.

  “Away here!” Tom shouted, waving his stick to the right and then in a circle towards the sheep. Flash ran out in a wide arc to come in behind them.

  “That was a perfect cast!” Uncle John said almost under his breath. “Now, down wi’ him, Tom!”

  “Down, Flash!” Tom commanded in ringing tones, and Flash stopped dead in his tracks and dropped to earth.

  “Grand! Grand!” Uncle John muttered. “Let him lift the sheep twice and stop twice, then go and fetch him in yourself, Tom.”

  The puppy executed the manoeuvres much as he had seen Jeff do them, then remained crouched, his eye never leaving the sheep.

  “Go put the lead on him now, Tom, but praise him as you do it.”

  There was almost a question in Flash’s eye as Tom came up to him. Was he to be praised or blamed? When Tom patted him and said “Good dog! Well done, Flash!” the little dog leaped up with delight, jumping at Tom and licking his hands.

  “Quiet, boy!” Tom said, and at a wave of the stick Flash fell in behind him as they went down the field. When they reached Jeff beside Meggetson, Flash gave a short “Wuff!” of triumph, as if to say “I can do it too!”

  “Shall we teach Flash to go out on the left now, Uncle John?” Tom had seen his uncle sending Jeff out both to the right and the left and he was eager for Flash to make progress.

  “No, Tom. Let him have a few more lessons on the right cast and the lift and the drive first. When he’s mastered that, then we can do it all again from the left cast.”

  “How long will it take Flash to learn the right and left-hand commands properly?” Tom asked.

  “It might take three months till he’s absolutely certain of them but Flash is an intelligent wee dog and he might learn in less time than that. We’ll give him a lesson morning and evening, and if you’ve time midday, there might be no harm in giving him a short lesson then too. You can give him a walk among the flocks on the hills too, Tom, but the minute he shows any sign of trying to chase them, you must put the lead on him. He must only drive them when you give him the commands.”

  “It takes a long time to train a sheep dog, doesn’t it?” Tom commented.

  “Not wearying, are you, lad?”

  Tom shook his head vigorously.

  At the end of that week Tom said rather proudly to his uncle, “Flash has learned another new trick. Would you like to see it?”

  They had just finished supper but Uncle John got up and reached for his stick.

  “No, you don’t need to go out, Uncle John! He’s learned it here in the kitchen.” A look of conspiracy passed between Tom and his aunt. Mrs Meggetson produced her husband’s battered and chewed cap out of a drawer. Tom tossed it in front of Flash.

  “Watch it, Flash!”

  Flash took up a crouching attitude, growled softly at the old cap and fixed his eyes on it but he did not attempt to touch it. Uncle John’s eyes widened.

  “Now, both of you come for a stroll round the garden, please,” Tom said. “Will you close the kitchen door behind you, Uncle John?”

  They took a turn as far as the river, then came back. Cautiously, Uncle John opened the kitchen door and peered round it. Flash was still mounting guard over the old cap but not attempting to touch it.

  “Make as though you’re going to lift it, Uncle John.”

  John Meggetson pretended to make a snatch at the cap and Flash growled and bared his teeth.

  “Now, see this!” Tom said. He held out his hand. “Bring it to me, Flash!”

  Flash lifted the cap gingerly between his teeth and brought it to Tom.

  “Weel, I’m fair dumbfoundered!” Uncle John exclaimed. “You’ve got him right under control, laddie.”

  “I’d trust that dog to watch my best hat!” Aunt Jane declared.

  “My! That’s saying something!” Uncle John gave Tom a wink and Tom actually found himself returning it!

  5. Adventure in the Fog

  The weeks of the long summer holiday bore on relentlessly to the time of the school opening, but by the end of it Flash had learned to run to the right on the command “Away here!” and to run left when Tom shouted “Come by!” The dog watched keenly for the direction in which Tom pointed his stick and then he swung out in a wide arc, moving with lightning speed, to drop behind the sheep at Tom’s command. He learned also to bring the sheep down in a straight line towards Tom without flustering them.

  “That was a grand outrun!” Uncle John remarked one day. “I’ve never seen a dog at the Trials with a better turn of speed. The next thing is to teach him to bring sheep through a gate. For that we start with two hurdles and five sheep.”

  “Why do we need hurdles?” Tom asked.

  “They stand for the gateposts and if a dog makes a mistake it’s easier to take him over the same ground again. Besides, hurdles are used in the Sheep Dog Trials and Flash must get used to them if he’s to compete.”

  They carried the hurdles up to the centre of the field and set them up seven yards apart. The sheep were up at the top of the field. They were sheep Flash had worked with previously.

  “Once he has mastered the idea that he has to drive the sheep down between the hurdles, then we’ll try him with new sheep who are not used to him. He’s got to learn to handle strange sheep.”

  “What commands do I give to make him bring the sheep between the hurdles?” Tom asked.

  “Just the same as to make him go to right or left. ‘Away there!’ and ‘Come by!’ Watch which way he is driving the sheep and which way he needs to turn. He’ll soon learn to run from side to side behind his flock and keep them in a bunch when he knows what is required of him.”

  Flash made several very creditable attempts. He soon grasped that he must bring the sheep between the hurdles, and though at first one or two of the sheep eluded him and ran round the wooden frames, Flash quickly learned to watch for the reb
el and to bring him back into line.

  “I’ll take him up on the hills with me along with Jeff and he can watch Jeff working while you’re at school,” Uncle John said.

  Tom’s face fell. He had forgotten that the time of the school opening was so near.

  “It’s all right, Tom. I shan’t try to work him or give him commands myself. He’s got to know he’s your dog, but it will exercise him and he can run with Jeff. They get on well together.”

  “It’s – it’s not that, Uncle John. I–I just don’t want to leave Flash.”

  “You’ll be able to give him his training morning and night just the same, and at the weekends you can come with me when I go my rounds of the flocks.” Uncle John replied, but Tom still scowled at the thought of school.

  It came all too soon, the day when he set off on his two-mile walk down the valley to the school in the nearest village. In his pocket he carried his lunch of bread and cheese, an apple and a home-baked scone.

  Flash got up from the hearth and followed Tom to the door, eagerly anticipating a walk. Tom looked back at him miserably.

  “Awa’, Tom, and shut the door behind you and I’ll hold Flash,” Aunt Jane said, holding on to Flash’s collar.

  More miserable than ever, Tom shut the door behind him and went off down the turf-bordered lane, kicking moodily at the small loose stones. He had gone about a mile along the road, when he heard a bark behind him and there was Flash chasing after him as though he were a strayed sheep! The little dog caught up with him, leaping about for joy.

  “Oh, Flash! Flash! You ought not to have come!” Tom cried, nevertheless hugging the little black and white dog to him. “I wonder how you managed to get out?”

  Mrs Meggetson had opened the door when she went to feed the hens and Flash had seized his opportunity and dashed out. He was determined to go with Tom. His keen nose soon picked up Tom’s scent and he was hot on his track. When he reached a bend in the downhill road he saw Tom, a speck in the distance and raced after him at a speed quicker than he had ever made on an outrun after the sheep. His coming posed Tom a problem.