no problem HJ..a picture is a split second in time..
I admit, I am proud of this dog, because I do feel he is very tough..he's convinced my husband, a die hard heeler person, that BC's can get the job done.
the problem I see around here, is the assumption that a BC will use eye and pressence..and when that doesnt work..flakes off..
IMO, a good BC takes the approach of "as little as possible, but as much as needed" and doesnt flake off when a less physical approach isnt working...
I had this issue afew weeks ago with my ram. The ewes were very easy for him to move with eye..the ram constantly challenged him. I asked my stockdog instructor about this..her reply was "hes gotta toughen up" and to kinda encourage him to escalate abit..not wild outta control..but let him know it's OK, if the situation warrants, to get alittle physical..its worked well for him...and he is quite docile moving sheep with eye.
he is not afraid to escalate with the cattle...this particular picture, this steer had charged my other BC and ran her out..I was trying to open the gate to drop a bale of hay. So I sent Fletcher in..the ideal course of action, based on where the steer was and where he needed to go was to drive him there..the steer had just taken a swipe at him with a hind leg, which just pisses Fletcher off..so, Fletcher took it to the next level and the steer was moved to the area I needed him too.
He can also nosebite. Back when he was still a "foster"..we had him out while loading heifers, one jumped the gate and took off down the fenceline..he took off after her, headed her, bit her in the nose, got her turned and drove her back to the loading pens...this display is the reason he is still here.