Guest Nancy Obernier Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 Hi Lori, Have a question about a pup just turning 8 months. I have put him on sheep about 3 times just to see what he will do. He is obviously keen. He is a small dog and does not appear to be afraid of things. He tends to split and grip in the round pen. The 3rd time I put him on sheep (last week) I used my hat to slap on my leg and said "heh" when he went in to split. Did get him going around his sheep and then I quit. He is use to a correction so the little "heh's" I gave him did not bother him, but did cause him to pull up a little and think enough not to dive in. I've not had a grippy pup before that splits sheep. My other pups that I've started have all gone around thier sheep nicely, even at 3 months. I'm not planning on putting him in with the sheep for another month. So my question is, how to approach getting a pup started that splits and grips sheep. As I don't want to take too much out of the pup, but obviously I want him to learn the correct attitude when working sheep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lori Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 Hey Nancy- At that age & with only a few times on sheep, I wouldn't worry much at all about the gripping. Your pup probably just needs a little more time to grow up. A month (or 2 or 3) layoff at that age certainly isn't going to hurt him. However, if he's only been on sheep a few times & he's responding to a correction as slight as smacking a hat against your leg & you're seeing a corrected behavior to that, I don't think there's any harm in continuing to take him to sheep occasionally and seeing if you can get him going properly. Just keep an eye on how he's handling the correction. If he looks like he's getting stressed or confused, put him up for awhile. BTW- I'm very jealous that all your other pups have gone around sheep nicely at 3 months. None of mine have! Mine seem to take after your current baby's style! A quick story: When my Riff was introduced to sheep, he was a wild sheep-riding gripper. One day, after such a ride, I noticed some blood on the side of the fully wooled ewe he had gripped. I stood there wondering how a puppy could have bitten through all that wool to draw blood. Then I noticed that Riff's mouth, not the ewe, was the source of the blood. I looked inside to find he was missing ALL FOUR of his puppy canines, both top & bottom. Little heathen had hung on until his teeth fell out. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nancy Obernier Posted August 21, 2004 Report Share Posted August 21, 2004 Lori, Thanks for the advice, I thought Riff had been a gripper for you. How did you get it through his head that he shouldn't grip? The second time I had taken this pup to sheep and he was splitting and gripping, I had banged my stick a few times on the ground to no avail, hence he didn't go back to stock for another month. That's why I tried the hat this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lori Posted August 23, 2004 Report Share Posted August 23, 2004 Hey Nancy- It can be a fine line between allowing a young pup to blow off some anxiety vs. correcting a grip. At this tender age, I'm concerned about making sure the pup has a good experience when he's on the sheep. I want him to continue to gain confidence and think he can move mountains. Coming down on a pup too hard at this early stage can cause him to become tentative and widen them out too much. Can you get him to go 'round at all? If so, make sure that YOU are moving enough to give him a good target to balance towards. Move even more than you would normally. Once you get him going, start off quickly in the same direction he's going so that his attention is focused on hurrying to the balance point. Try not to set up any situation where he feels the sheep are sandwiched between the two of you as that may increase the pressure to come in & take a bite. If if he dives in & splits, try not make too big a deal of it. Give him a verbal correction & back up & see how he puts the mess he made back together. Resist the urge to go towards him. Back off instead. If your sheep will regroup to some extent on their own & come towards you, it's a plus. At some point, when you have him more balancing consistently, you'll have to evaluate whether the splitting and gripping are both just evidence of puppy stuff, or whether the gripping is a separate issue that you'll have to get tougher on. Obviously, if he's doing real damage you'll have to stop it. Right now, tho, it sounds like he's just learning to settle & begin to balance. Remember when you put pressure on a young dog like this, you want to take it OFF as quickly as possible once you see the desired response and let him come back on the sheep. See you at Fosterfields. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nancy Obernier Posted August 25, 2004 Report Share Posted August 25, 2004 Hi Lori, Yes I was able to get him to go around using a quiet heh, and a slap of my hat. I let him go around for a few turns and then did get him to change directions once and then got him off the sheep. I'm not really doing anything with him. Just waiting for him to grow up some more. Will try him back on the sheep sometime in Sept. Thanks for all the advice. Nancy O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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