I don't care if it's in my job description: The sheepdog that's afraid of sheep

By Daily Mail Reporter


In the classic debate it would appear to suggest that nurture matters more than nature.

Ci the Border Collie has shown himself to be a sheepdog in name only - after developing a fear of sheep.

The four-year-old became afraid of the flock after owner Jane Lippington placed him in their field as a puppy.

He is so scared of the sheep that as soon as he is confronted by them he turns tail and runs away.

The sheep have now worked out how to get the better of Ci and chase him off whenever he tries to herd them up.

Mrs Lippington has become so exasperated with four-year-old Ci she has given up using him as a working dog.

But he may have a future as an internet sensation - when Jane uploads the footage of him being given the run-around.

Mrs Lippington, 54, said: '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.

'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.

'Now the sheep have worked out that he can't push them around because he is too soft.

The video clip shows how four-year-old dog cowers as the flock approaches him

Ci can only stand his ground for so long before he turns tail and flees from the sheep who have learned how to get the better of him



'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.

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

Mrs Lippington runs 200 acre Manor Farm at Langridge, near Bath, Somerset, with husband Donald, 62, and they have a flock of about 100 sheep.

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.'




source:dailymail