Mankind has spent hundreds of years meticulously selecting and breeding dogs for specific genetic traits – and for a good reason.
In order to work alongside us and help us out, man’s best friend had to specialize in all sorts of ways so that they can get their work done quickly and efficiently.
You can’t expect a dog that has a long, thick double coat to work in someplace hot like the desert!
It would be torturous for the poor thing, the same way you don’t expect a Chihuahua to go swimming in the sea by itself.
When it comes to the art of sheep herding, dogs often do it best.
Traditionally, a shepherd is someone who takes care of a herd of sheep. This often includes caring for them, protecting them from harm, and feeding them.
And as any child can tell you, sheep graze on grass to feed – and grass is something they need lots of.
So it was – and still is! – common to see sheep being moved around from field to field, to allow a plot of land to rest, recover, and regrow.
Herein lies the problem – herding around sheep is easy if there’s only, say, 10 or 20 of them.
But what about 50 sheep? Or a hundred? Or, as is more like the case, how do you move around herds numbering in the hundreds?
For those of you who are shepherds, or just work with farm animals, you will know that the job of a shepherd already has you doing so many roles at once.
Often, you just simply do not have the time, energy, or focus to move your sheep around.
And these days, sheep often have to be left alone for long periods of time without a shepherd. There isn’t any other option.
Into this equation comes sheepherding dogs!
Energetic, independent, and most importantly, intelligent, these dogs help a shepherd by rounding up a herd and keeping an eye on them far more efficiently and quickly than a human ever could.
Usually, you would have to pick out a promising puppy from a traditional sheepherding breed and train them up, but it seems like Michael Jobson doesn’t really have that as a problem.
Basset hounds aren’t traditionally sheepdogs, but it seems that 3-year-old Lady is pulling off her role just fine – albeit unintentionally!
Her owner is a mechanical engineer and a part-time farmer who happens to own a small flock of sheep in Gamlingay, England.
He doesn’t really need a sheepdog, but for some reason his sheep love shadowing Lady’s every step – while the dog herself remains completely oblivious to her unlikely entourage!
In fact, this has happened often enough that Jobson had to make a video montage of all these incidents, so he could share it with the world.
In this video that has since gone viral, you can see just how the entire flock all trail behind Lady while she is busy sniffing out the grass in the field. It makes for an incredibly adorable sight!