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Click here for a printable version of this page.
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For the first challenge in the new series of Brilliant Creatures, Stephen and Gail had to round up a group of sheep using only their voices, and Splash the sheepdog!
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They had only an hour to learn how to do it, and whoever fared the best was to be picked to enter a real sheepdog trial for the next Brilliant Creatures challenge.
They got some useful tips and advice from Katie Cropper - the UK's top shepherdess.
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She explained the basic commands:
"lie down" to stop the dog
"come by" to make the dog go left
"away here" to make the dog go right
and
"that'll do" to make the dog come to you.
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Gail went first and found it's trickier than you might think.
Working out which is the dog's left and right from wherever you are standing can be confusing. And your reactions in issuing commands need to be quick!
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Katie also mentioned that the tone of voice used for each command is important.
"Awaaaaaay here" works better than just saying "away here", for example...
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...success!
It was Stephen's turn next - you can see the video of him in action on our clips page. |
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Stephen fared less well than Gail and readily admitted that it's not as easy as it looks.
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After consideration, Katie chose Gail to participate in the sheepdog trail and undertake the next Brilliant Creatures challenge!
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