See sheep herding demonstrations in Naperville
Keep calm and control your emotions.
Those are John Seraphine's words of advice for anyone trying to train a dog to herd sheep.
That same approach works for anyone training a dog or any other animal to follow commands, he said.
"Dogs are attuned to emotions," he said. "Who wants to come to someone who is screaming?"
Seraphine will demonstrate his dog-training skills while his pack of border collies will show off their sheepherding abilities Sunday, Sept. 20, at Naper Settlement's Sheep Day at 523 S. Webster St., Naperville.
While knowing how to herd sheep may not be at the top of your personal list of goals, knowing how to approach other creatures with kindness and consistency are valuable insights the demonstration imparts, he said.
"We feel there are lessons for everybody," he said.
Seraphine and his wife, Connie, live on Heatherhope Farm in Sycamore.
They'll be transporting five to eight sheep and four border collies to the settlement grounds for a demonstration set to begin at 1 p.m.
"What we try to do in the demonstrations is highlight the dogs doing their work," Seraphine said. "We talk about dogs in general and how training of sheep dogs is giving lessons for training any dog."
Both John and Connie give commentary as the action unfolds.
Seraphine said he talks about border collie history and about their remarkable skills.
Not only can dogs help move sheep from place to place, they can help convince reluctant ewes to pay more attention to their newborn lambs, he said.
"If you bring a sheep dog in, that makes the mother more protective," he said. "Everything the dog does with sheep is a balancing act. The sheep have to be frightened in order to comply. If they're too frightened … they get panicky."
Sheep Day also will include demonstrations on how to make felt from wool and how to use a spinning wheel.
Several activities will be available for children, including a chance to try wool carding, a technique used to prepare wool for spinning, along with a variety of arts and crafts.
Suzy Beggin, who goes by the moniker "Suzy the Shepherdess," will offer historical information on the production of wool. A Stockton, Illinois, farmer, Beggin uses the wool from her flock to make wool for historic presentations, such as Civil War Days, a re-enactment event hosted by Naper Settlement each spring.
"I mostly sell to re-enactors and museum professionals," Beggin said.
Beggin said she enjoys her frequent sojourns to the settlement.
"I grew up in Naperville. I went to Waubonsie Valley (High School)," she said. "Naper Settlement was my first look at history when I was a kid."
Beggin said she's seen the Seraphines' herding demonstration before and she's looking forward to witnessing it again.
She said she is amazed at how much intelligence and resourcefulness sheepherding dogs exhibit.
"Anytime I round up the sheep, I wish I had a dog," she said.
If you go
What: Sheep Day
Where: Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville
When: 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20
Cost: $12 for adults, $10 for seniors 62 and older, $8 for youths ages 4-12, free for Naperville residents, children younger than 4 and settlement members
Info: www.heatherhopefarm.com, www.suzy-the-shepherdess.com, www.napersettlement.com, and (630) 420-6010