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Enough Dog


Guest Nancy Obernier
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Guest Nancy Obernier

Hi Amanda,

 

I've been reading your posts with great interest, and, geez, it's free too :rolleyes:

 

You often talk about having "enough dog" in your posts.

 

What training things do you do right from the start and throughout the training process to ensure that you end up with enough dog for the job.(knowing that some dogs may never have "enough")

 

Nancy O

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I trial in the west, when I can. WEstern sheep are simply more difficult and we don't have them because they do not suit our wet climate. They like dry, cold or hot. So that is definitley part of my training.

Conversely, it is bad for dogs to run in trials over and over again, where the sheep are over doggy and used repeatedly throughout the trial day. That style of trial trains them to expect no surprises. What kind of training is that? Limit your participation in them. Stay home and train your dog.

Contriving difficulty at home is helpful. For instance, I have a creek bottom with ice at the edges, fifteen feet wide, and it takes them away from their happy hay yard--no sheep wants to cross that. My dogs have to learn to exert enough pressure to do it, where they have to be to be successful. Mostly they do learn.

Find a place the sheep do not want to go. Put them there, with your dog, and if he is having difficulty, help him. Inspire him to have the confidence to manage on his own. Always organize events so that the dogs wins. Eventually, he should have more confidence in himself and more confidence in you--the tasks your are demanding of him. The confidence is important both ways.

Shedding helps here too--taking away some sheep who are more than reluctant to go.

Amanda

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Guest Nancy Obernier

Amanda,

 

thanks for your reply.

 

Would love to go west and work the dogs, but don't see that in the immediate future.

 

Will work on the other things you suggested. I've tried to keep a variety of sheep, some flighty, some heavy, some that don't like to flock and will only do so if the dog is always in the right place, etc. I normally keep around 50 sheep, so I can mix and match.

 

Interesting info about going to trials where the sheep are dogged. Hadn't thought about it that way.

 

Nancy O

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