Guest piennl Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Hi Amanda, I have a wonderful bitch that has just turned two last christmas. I have had some great results in nursery trials but I really would like to get to novice class with her. Her only problem is she just won't stop on the fetch. I know she can balance sheep, but what she'd rather do is push them in a wave like motion (even on lighter sheep). The first time she'll stop is when she gets to the fetch gates, but by that time she's created so much tension in these sheep that she gets hotter and hotter. I can barely keep her calm enough to finish the run. She's a great problem solving dog, but it would be even better if she wouldn't create them in the first place! I bred her myself, so I know her mom very well. A very tough bitch to handle, but a very good listener outside the trialfield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Amanda Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Doreen You may be right to admire your bitch because she’s smart. She has outsmarted you. Think how clever a bitch is, to know she can do as she likes, until she gets to the fetch panels. You are describing cunning, instinct run wild, a maker of mayhem. From hence, allow no fetching out of control. If you must bring her in to the distance of the fetch gates to get control of her, do it. No fancy big outruns where she is allowed to gallivant, chasing sheep down the field— you run out, with more conviction than her, and stop her, with whatever it takes. She is running you instead of the other way around. The only problem she is solving is the one where she has to work with you: she thinks you are a problem. I do not think of that as great problem solving dog. Chasing sheep makes them resent a dog. Runs are hard to recover when a dog makes a transgression. Sheep are not usually forgiving. Don’t think of her as wonderful until she stops. Think of her as a villain. Listening away from sheep is of only minor consequence if her instincts are getting the better of both you and her, when it matters. Get her stopped. Two years old is malleable. It is not too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Amanda Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 Rereading that post, I see I sounded too harsh. Sorry. I feel conversational when I dash these posts out. On review, written down, they seem more severe than I would communicate verbally. I have a well developed sense of humour although it's hard to see from "Little Chats." Where's the moderator? If I sound tough, it’s because I am. Tough is required of me. I am a sheep dog handler. Any of the hands that competed in the top 17 at the National Finals, is tough and many good hands, who did not make it, are too. No one gets good without a sharp critical eye and being demanding, precise, and getting the best out of their dog. Running sheep dogs is different to owning a pet. While I do not see owning pets and running sheepdogs as mutually exclusive (some do), sheepdogs have an agenda where pets normally do not. There are a million reasons to own dogs. Most of them are pretty good. Running a sheep dog demands that you go further. Don’t love your dog, willynilly. Sheepdog hands lay down conditions. Love your dog’s strengths, but get serious with its weaknesses and develop an eye to spot them. This forum is for the development of critical eye. Don’t forgive them their vices. Don’t let them take advantage. Hold things against them. Dogs that do well are easy to love. Dogs that let you down, over and over again, are not easy to love, and they shouldn’t be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest piennl Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 my partner Ron is a top triallist and we've tried pressuring her into stopping. It doesn't seem like she's doing it just to mess around, because she's not the dog to just fool around. She only grips when I tell her and when I really pressure her into lying down on the drive she looks back at me, forgetting to focus. Now, as she's maturing she doesn't do that as often, but I feel she's not as tough as I made it sound like in my earlier email. However... she's a con artist too, trying to get away as soon as I get up to her and she knows she could be in trouble. Sometimes, she'll lie on her back only to regain her posture and be stubborn on her lie down. She's really a bitch with two sides on her. A sensitive, yet stubborn bitch who on her lie down will always take 2 extra steps before she falls to the ground (or stands, as she prefers it). Physical correction doesn't really work, or should I get on her every single time she won't lie down? One last question: do you think her stubborn behavior could change now that's finally in season (1st time, january 1!)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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