Retraining an older dog

[Guest Nancy Obernier]

Hi Amanda,

 

I was wondering what your thoughts are in trying to retrain a dog coming on 5 years. This dog has alot of nice traits and there is more than enough dog there, but has taken advantage of it's current owner who has owned the dog about 3 years, on and off. It won't stop, slices flanks and outruns, dives in and grips, when reprimanded will widely orbit or dive in and grip, when driving will run to the heads of the sheep, and when close to the sheep would dive in and grip.

 

I know the history of this dog and the dog and I get along well together, and have been working the dog for about 6 weeks, it is now outrunning about 100-150 yards correctly, is not slicing flanks, has stopped orbiting, will do fence and corner work without diving in and gripping, still having difficulty with keeping him behind his sheep when driving but he is improving, will sometimes grip on the drive, but not very often anymore.Stopping much better, but will often still take 2-3 steps, getting on him more for this now, since he no longer orbits. At this point, I am going to try working the dog for about 6 months and see where I get with him.

 

I've never tried to retrain a dog before. Was wondering what the expectations for rehabilitating a dog would be? Once a dog has formed really bad habits, do you ever really get rid of them? Also any training suggestions.

 

Nancy O

[Guest Amanda]

Sounds like you're doing a good job. The possibility for success is variable from dog to dog.

The best thing for it would be to run the legs off it with work. In your situation I guess that's not likely to happen. So, you have a make work project. Make work that involves jobs, to which the dog can see a sensible beginning and end. Such work appeals to a Border Collie's sense of order, and personal accomplishment. Good dogs take pride in their work. If things just look like a silly exercise leading nowhere, over and over again, they get jaded, grow skeptical of your intelligence, a crisis of confidence in the one at helm. That is a formula for a dog blowing a gasket--ringing sheep, cheap gripping and nonsense like that. Work is the remedy and lots of it.

Five is getting on with the job alright, but anything is possible

[Guest Nancy Obernier]

thanks for the info.

 

Have started using him to move sheep from one field to another, from one holding area to another etc. could not use him before because he did not listen well enough.

 

You are right, I have to make alot of the work for my dogs. so when I worm, I have the dog shed off a smaller group, put the smaller group into the chute sytem and take the larger group and move them to a large pen, have the dog move the small group thro the chute (having him lie down, get up and stand there when asked) and then to another pen area, then shed off part of the larger group and move them into the chute etc etc..... In the spring when I had 90 sheep and was using a young dog to do the work for the first time, it took me almost 2 1/2 hours, dog was tired but happy when we were done.

 

Have a question about doing work types of things with him or any other dog. Do you require the dog to do things correctly when doing these types of jobs? Lets say I am moving a group out of a holding pen and want to move them to the lower field, if the dog goes in willy nilly and is making a mess out of getting them out of the pen, do you reset it up and if needed, reposition yourself so that he does it correctly, or just let him try and figure it out for himself? Or if you've asked the dog for a flank while moving sheep towards the chute system and he slices it, do you correct him and have him do it right? I guess what I am asking is, do you allow poor workmanship when doing these types of jobs or do you insist that the dog work correctly?

 

Nancy O