Border Collie's Herding Trial Gets Hijacked By the Funniest Wayward Sheep

Border Collies are born with herding instincts. That's why your Border Collie who has never seen a sheep in their life still tries to herd you, your cats, your kids, and anything else that moves. They might not be great at it, but they'll do their best.

As it turns out, Herding (the job) is actually not easy whatsoever. Herding dogs have to endure rigorous training, lots of tests, and trials. At the same time, they're trying to herd sheep, and sheep don't always cooperate. On August 25th, one Border Collie's herding test was the victim of a case of the sheep zoomies, and she handled it with maximum class:

The pup in this video is June of Raventree Ranch, one of 4 herding Border Collies on the property. She's been with them for a while, but just made her way to camp recently and, as you can see, is doing perfectly well.

Related: Border Collie Doing a Final Sweep of the Farm Before Sunset Is Too Cute

June has lived on Raventree Ranch since she was a puppy, so she's been exposed to animals her whole life and learned from the other herders on the farm. However, she just recently went off to herding camp to receive her formal training, and that has been equal parts hard and rewarding.

Coincidentally, when they went to drop sweet June off at camp, they came across a Border Collie puppy, and they fell in love, so she came home. She actually just took a herding test of her own, though it was lower-stakes. I can't wait for her and June to meet!

How Are Herding Dogs Actually Trained?

Herding comes naturally to some dogs, but just like any professional, they need to hone their skills and that takes professional guidance. Sure, an untrained Border Collie will try to herd, but they won't be able to actually guide anyone or anything anywhere.

There are a few phases to herd training:

1. The instinct test (which baby Ru just completed ), which shows that they have the groundwork.
2. From 8 weeks until anywhere from 6-12 months old, the dog goes home and lives on the farm, watches the animals and other herding dogs.
3. Whenever their parents decide to send them, they usually go off to a herding camp for actual training.
4. They work with a professional trainer and real animals to learn techniques, procedures, and discipline.
5. Several times throughout camp, they take herding tests like this one to make sure they're progressing appropriately.

If a dog goes through a herding test and fails, the trainers look at what they need to work on and reteach those skill sets. If a dog isn't getting it no matter what, what happens next is up to the farmers: if they'd like, they can keep them, though they sometimes get adopted out to other families as regular pet dogs. Lucky for June, she's excelling!