This photo shows Chris, a young dog, in his very first herding lesson. He is circling the sheep and handler so as to keep the sheep trapped between himself and the handler. This is the most basic aspect of all herding instinct and all training begins by building on this genetically hard-wired instinct. I had rescued Chris from Modesto Animal Control at the age of about 6 months. This picture was taken a couple months later. Chris is NOT a purebred Bouvier , nor a purebred anything. When asked what breed he is , I always reply "he's a Yurgess" meaning "your guess (is as good as mine)." But somehow he does have herding instinct and as an adult he has the valuable trait of never over-pressuring his stock. He never alarms stock, but they do move off of him and they do so very calmly.