Sheepdog (also known as Sheep Dog) is the twelfth episode of the third season of Bluey.
Synopsis[2]
Dad agrees to play Sheepdog with Bluey and Bingo to stop them from disturbing Mum who is taking a well-earned rest. But looking after a sheep is harder work than they expected.
Mum needs twenty minutes alone after looking after the kids all day. Dad is on it, but Bluey still wants to check on her. To distract her, he suggests playing a game they always request but he can’t stand… Sheepdog!
Pretending to be a sheep, Dad wanders into Wendy’s yard to eat her washing. Wendy freaks out but soon gets the full story. She tells the kids to play with Judo while she gives Sheepy a haircut.
Dad is shocked his owners are leaving him, so Bluey explains that she needs a break after looking after him all day. In doing so, she understands Mum’s needs, leaving Mum to her well-earned rest.
Episode Recap
Warning Spoilers!
It's dinner time at the Heelers', and Chilli is under strain preparing the food. Compounding such is the antics of Bluey and Bingo, the former playing her recorder and the latter telling knock-knock jokes ("Potato drives a car to the potato shop, and... buys a potato."), as Bandit returns from the barber's with a mullet on his head. Eventually, Chilli decides she wants some alone time for 20 minutes, which concerns Bluey, as she doesn't usually see her Mum take some alone time. (On the way out of the kitchen, Chilli notices Bandit's mullet; he says she told him they're back in.)
Bandit reassures Bluey she didn't do anything wrong, and explains the anatomy of a mullet to Bingo (his definition of a mullet is "a type of haircut that cool people are starting to get again"). Bluey, worried that her Mum had wished she never had the kids, wants to check up on her, but Bandit (after receiving a teasing remark about his mullet from Pat) tries to distract her by dancing the Cancan. While Bingo is indeed amused, Bluey isn't, as she's rather determined to check up on her Mum. Seeing this, Bandit willingly ropes the Heeler kids into a game of Sheepdog - a game he definitely doesn't enjoy.
Soon, Bandit is in the backyard on all fours, acting like a sheep. Bingo feeds him some grass, but he pretends to eat it; Bingo, wanting some accuracy, reiterates that he has to eat it, for real life. So he eats the grass, though he immediately spits it out. Bluey gets an idea: she'll put a ribbon on Bandit's hair. However, she doesn't know where the ribbons are, so she goes off to ask Chilli. Bandit, hearing this, runs after Bluey, but she's too fast for the sheepdog, eventually evading him and entering the house. Intending to distract her, he decides to get into the trampoline, where he's now stuck inside bouncing. Bluey tries to bait him out with grass, but Bingo tells her that the sheepdog doesn't like grass.
As Bandit continues to bounce on the trampoline, the Alt Energy Dog pops by, advertising a $200 cut on the Heelers' energy bill. However, the sheepdog Bandit has answered the door, and is bleating at him instead. The Alt Energy Dog is very confused, and says that he'll come back a different time. Bluey tries to grab her Mum, but is stopped by the sheepdog, who's grabbed her leg. Amidst the chaos, Bingo has found a ribbon and ties it on Bandit's tail, while the Alt Energy Dog decides to leave. Bluey manages to escape Bandit's grasp and runs upstairs as Bingo follows the sheepdog outside the front door.
Bluey apologises to Chilli for upsetting her, but she clarifies that she didn't do anything to upset her. She tells Bluey that raising a family takes a lot of pressure on her, and whenever she feels such, she just needs 20 minutes. Bluey doesn't understand why, but Chilli reassures her she will one day. The heartfelt moment is brought to a halt when the sheepdog Bandit has managed to wander off to Wendy's house and is eating her laundry. The sheepdog continues to eat her laundry as she decides to get Chilli; however, the sheepdog, still determined to keep Chilli's 20 minutes from disruption, decides to charge and ram Wendy in the behind.
Wendy, having had enough at this point, decides to call for Chilli, but Bluey tells her that the sheepdog had been making sure no one is bothering her. Bluey tells Wendy that she thinks her Mum wishes she didn't have children, but Wendy reassures her that it's not true. She offers Bluey and Bingo a moment to play with Judo - which she dubs their 20 minutes - while she takes care of the sheepdog. And by "taking care" of the sheepdog, she intends to clip the mullet off Bandit's head, much to his horror.
Chilli, now reinvigorated, exits her bedroom to find the house completely empty. She pops into the balcony to find her daughters playing with Judo, and also Wendy trimming Bandit's mullet off his head. Wendy implores Chilli to continue resting while she deals with Bandit's mullet, telling her that she'll toss him over the fence when done.Appearances
- Bluey
- Bandit
- Chilli
- Bingo
- Pat (off-screen)
- Alt Energy Dog (speaking debut)
- Wendy
- Judo (does not speak)
Trivia
- This marks the first time in an episode Bluey and Wendy communicated to each other.
- Baby Bluey from Baby Race can be seen in a picture frame.
- Bluey dancing at the credits is replaced by Bandit eating clothing.
- In this episode, Wendy is shown to be much more receptive to the Heelers' games compared to previous appearances, probably because, as a mum herself, wants to help Chilli have some alone time.
- Wendy refers to Bandit as "a big sook" when cutting his hair. A sook is Australian slang for a crybaby or whinger.
- Long Dog: There are a few long dogs in this episode.
- The first is the classic long dog located on the bottom shelf left of Bandit when he is performing the can-can. While the stylization choice would normally indicate it was part of the background, there is no episode in the early episode that poses the classic long dog like the one here.
- Interestingly, it disappears behind the shelf's leg, as it should be partially visible on both sides.
- The second is the shadow-y long dog on top of the playroom shelves.
- The third is the reoccurring magnet long dog that appears on the fridge.
- The last long dog is a sheep long dog. It appears behind the plant box in the lower left of the screen, and is only visible when Chilli is on the balcony with her back to the camera.
- Despite being behind the plant box, it does not appear behind the plant box when Chilli first walks out onto the balcony, even though it should be visible.
- The first is the classic long dog located on the bottom shelf left of Bandit when he is performing the can-can. While the stylization choice would normally indicate it was part of the background, there is no episode in the early episode that poses the classic long dog like the one here.
- When this episode aired on Disney Channel in the US, it was paired with Housework and Explorers.