Sheepdog that gets the collywobbles every time he goes near... sheep

By LUKE SALKELD

Border collie Ci has developed a fear of sheep


He has sharper teeth, faster legs, and is bred to be bossy.

But as he cowers in front of a flock of sheep, Ci the border collie is definitely not top dog.

His owner says four-year-old Ci, whose name is Welsh for dog, has been intimidated by sheep ever since he was introduced to them as a pup.

And although not the brightest animals, the 100-strong flock quickly realised there was safety in numbers and reset the natural order on their Somerset farm.


It's a fleece off: A nervous Ci tries to stand his ground as the flock approaches him


Now Ci’s reaction to the flock borders on the ridiculous. When faced with the woolly bullies, he simply turns tail and flees.

Owner Jane Lippington, 54, has become so exasperated she has given up using him as a working dog.

‘I have tried to use Ci to herd the sheep and get them in the right place lots of times but they are just too scary for him,’ she said at the 200-acre farm she runs at Langridge, near Bath with husband Donald, 62.


Can't we talk about this chaps? The sheep surge forward and Ci prepares to make his move


'Collies are very instinctive and they want to work the sheep and Ci wants to do it but he is terrified of them.

‘If they run away from him he will go after them and act like a proper sheepdog.

‘But the moment they turn and face him he runs away. Sheep can be quite aggressive if they think they have the upper hand – they stamp their feet and gang up and act like an army.

‘Now they’ve worked out that he can’t push them around because he is too soft.
‘He might be the worst sheepdog in Britain but there’s no way we would be without Ci, he’s part of the family.’


I'm out of here: Ci runs away from the flock as they claim victory


'Sheep can be quite aggressive if they think they have the upper hand - they stamp their feet and gang up in numbers and act like an army.

'When that happens Ci gets intimidated and runs off.

'The only way to make it work is for me to get behind them first and shoo them so they run away from you and then Ci joins in. It just means a lot more work for us to do.


Jane Lippington says she needs to give up trying to use Ci as a working dog


'He might be the worst sheepdog in Britain but there's no way we would be without Ci, he's part of the family.'

She added: 'I took some footage of it simply because I thought it was funny.

'But somebody told me I should put it on YouTube because it is quite unusual.

'I don't think he would get very far on One Man and His Dog, he's more suited to You've Been Framed.'


Sheep dog terrified of sheep


source: dailymail