We picked up a guide for 10 km in Eysus, France on the Via Arles in October. A large, white Pynénées dog started to follow us, then began to lead us. At a tricky part through a stile of barbed wire that kept cattle in but allowed walkers to pass, he did the weave perfectly, sat and waited, and then led us through the barbed wire maze at the other end of the cow pasture, then to a more obscure barbed wire gate, back onto the original road. For a couple of hours he would lead us to the next turn, sit and wait, then move to the next corner, across pastures, fields and along roads. He made peace with the farm dogs as necessary to clear our way. Finally after the thermal bath resort (closed the previous weekend), he left us at a barking dog that was moving goats from one field to another, an old friend of his, no doubt. At one point when I dropped behind my brother a few meters after a photo opportunity, the dog dropped back with me until I caught up -- a very good dog, indeed, concerned that I was a straggling sheep.