what to do when working on my own?

[Laurae]

So Craig, the Open dog who has come to live with me as his retirement home, has been with me for a week now. We've been out to my trainer's twice, and it's really been fun playing around with him as we get to know each other. This weekend, my trainer is away at a trial and I am taking care of her farm. This means I have the rare opportunity to work my dogs myself (my trainer is great, but I have a tendency to rely on her too much and she winds up working my dogs more than I do sometimes...). I took Craig out this afternoon, but we worked for only a little while because I just did not really know what to do out there. We did some random walking and balancing, some outruns, some driving...it just seemed a bit...mechanical, maybe?...out there. I tried to pick a spot in the distance and direct Craig to bring the sheep there, but he kept turning them back to me when I flanked him to reposition him, and then I got nervous that I was commanding him incorrectly, so I stopped trying to work on driving. (After all, he does know how to drive, so if he's turning them back to me, it's obviously my poor handling, and I'm not experienced enough to troubleshoot myself yet.) Am I expecting too much too soon? I realize it will take some time before we are a team, especially since I'm such a novice, but I don't want to waste this opportunity to work him myself. Really I just wanted to play around with him, but I felt kind of at a loss out there. Are there exercises I can do to encourage our teamwork? Or just feel more comfortable?

 

ETA: I guess I have the same problem when I'm working Taz on my own--I'm way a novice for sure, but I've been working with Taz for a couple of years...it's just so rare that I work dogs by myself that I don't quite know how to really take advantage of our time out there when we do get the opportunity to work without a more experienced person taking the reins, so to speak...

[hsnrs]

Great question and we want to know too. Tried to have my newbie dog work with newbie handler (me) with scared sheep. She wanted to keep heading them. Backed them in a corner after chasing them around the area. Then a standoff for a half hour before we gave up. What should I have done to move dog to rear of sheep and walk them calmly? (We are waiting for our trainer's facility to be done before formal lessons at her place with schooled sheep). N

[kelpiegirl]

When they are in a corner help your dog. Take her collar, and walk her between the fence and the sheep, and once they have moved off the fence, walk backward, and then do some turns so that she has some work to do. Putting sheep in a corner is better than chasing, and it shows she wants to control them. Getting them out of the corner can be hard, but if you show her that you will help her, the sheep will relax, as they know what is next, and the dog will too. If the sheep you have a just too nutty, then I would hold off on working her on them for now.

Julie

 

Great question and we want to know too. Tried to have my newbie dog work with newbie handler (me) with scared sheep. She wanted to keep heading them. Backed them in a corner after chasing them around the area. Then a standoff for a half hour before we gave up. What should I have done to move dog to rear of sheep and walk them calmly? (We are waiting for our trainer's facility to be done before formal lessons at her place with schooled sheep). N

[Smokjbc]

Hi,

 

For starting out with an already trained dog- I would go back to the basics. When you want him to drive sheep somewhere- start walking with him at first. Build the distance gradually and if he slips up and brings them back to you, go back to the distance you were both comfortable with. It seems like this issue alone should keep you busy for awhile. He needs to learn what you "mean" when you command him- you will sound completely different and probably use slightly different "phrasing" (if that makes sense to anyone) than the person who trained him. There is nothing wrong with it- don't worry about being "exactly" right with the commands- find what works for you. The dog will catch on very quickly if you work at it. I'm working with a lady now who is learning to handle a dog I started and I find there is a big learning curve for both dog and handler in this process. Work on that driving close at hand, make sure you work with an attitude of "he doesn't understand, let's try again" rather than getting anxious or frustrated.

 

Try not to rely too much on the "easy", default stuff like Outrun, Lift, Fetch but do a little of everything when you work.

[Bo Peep]

Try putting out old milk cartons with sand in them and have the dog take the sheep around the milk cartons. You can figure out lots of games to play.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

I agree with Jaime - run through the basics. When you go out, evaluate what's going on just as if he's a young dog. He's got to get to know you just as you've got to get to know him. How's his distance? Balance? Stop? Inside flanks?

 

Enjoy your new dog! Patrick's getting to know a new dog of his own and it's been fun to see them "discover" each other. And don't forget it can take as long as a year to really get into a working rythym.

[Laurae]

Thanks so much for the tips! I went back yesterday and we worked on walking and driving shorter distances. We were able to work together enough to accomplish more subtle flanks, so he stopped completely turning the sheep back to me . He was really listening to me, despite the quick cadence of my New York accent (Elaine, his last owner, is from Texas--poor dog probably thinks I'm speaking a different language!), and he tries his little heart out to figure out what I want. Unfortunately this means he keeps taking my incorrect flanks--I think I've confused him a little, but he'll soon decide, as Taz has, that sometimes there is apparently no discernable plan accompanying the commands that escape my mouth (or, sometimes the commands I give actually sabotage the plan that seemed to be in place). Actually, Taz has learned to give me a double take when I give him an incorrect flank. I have the same problem as Becca with verbal/spacial translations--I can't tell my left from my right either. I look forward to learning to whistle consistently before I completely screw my poor dogs up . Also I did set up a couple of cones and directed him around them. Or tried to anyway--here our problems were less the result of our communication and more my apparent lack of depth perception. Boy, positioning sheep between panels sure looks a lot easier when you're watching someone else...

 

Anyway, I just wanted to report that I think we both had a lot more fun following your helpful advice yesterday--thanks so much for the great responses!