10/19/2026
There’s an old proverb up on my whiteboard:
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
When you’re new to herding, it can feel like everyone else is miles ahead. Especially right now, with social media full of videos of “perfect” dogs doing “perfect” work. What you don’t see is the hundreds of messy sessions that never made it online. Meanwhile you’re out there wondering why your dog just ran sheep over top of you...again.
As an aside, that's also why I don't post "perfect" sessions in my courses, except for when they actually happen of course! I think it's important for you to see me work through problems in real time. I call out my own errors as well, because it's important for you to know that I still make mistakes.
Next time you see an amazing video online of a dog working, remember that handler and dog were exactly where you are once. They just kept showing up.
For example, for years every time I got to the point of needing to add inside flanks to my dog (which is when you ask your dog to come between you and the sheep), I'd ask my self "how the heck did I do that last time?" Sure, I had trained a number of dogs how to give inside flanks. But I didn't have a system. The two of us would muddle along until they got it. Was it pretty? Not really. Was it efficient? Nope. However, I kept at it until one day I realised I KNEW how to teach a dog inside flanks. I also knew that I had built all the important skills they would need in advance. All of a sudden things were clear for both of us. I got there because I kept at it.
Will Durant put it this way:
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
Your dog learns the same way. Not from one brilliant session, but from the boring, consistent stuff you do every time you go out. Ten good minutes three times a week beats one long, frustrating Saturday.
So this week, don’t worry about being fast. Just don’t stop.
Now tell me, what’s the thing you and your dog keep muddling through right now? Drop it in the comments. Chances are someone else is stuck on the same thing.
