dinah_kay Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 Hi! This is my first time posting in this section (we are active on the bc rescue forum). I have two bc/bcmix that we have recently tested on sheep. There is a great local guy that trains bcs, and he offered to test my dogs for me. We have now taken the dogs two times (My male, Dave, is what we think is aborder collie mix, and my female Riley looks all bc to us). Both times the dogs are "worked," I use that term very loosely, on the outside of the round pen. My male seems really interested, while my female thinks it is fun, but it seems more in a running around like a dork instead of actually herding. Here are a couple of clips of them in action (their second time on sheep), what do you guys think? I know they won't be herding champs, but I would like to have some type of job for them even if it is only a weekend fun thing Dave http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oip-jBTQGE Riley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR7dY1WwA7w Thanks! Dinah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stockdogranch Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 Hi. Sorry I'm not the expert (sorry, Jeanne), but I have to ask: was the dog ever allowed IN the pen with the sheep? I don't think I've ever seen a dog "instinct tested" from OUTSIDE the pen. I'm not sure what to make of it... Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinah_kay Posted July 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 Hi. Sorry I'm not the expert (sorry, Jeanne), but I have to ask: was the dog ever allowed IN the pen with the sheep? I don't think I've ever seen a dog "instinct tested" from OUTSIDE the pen. I'm not sure what to make of it...Anna No they weren't, and you aren't the first person to wonder why they weren't in the pen I think it was done for a few reasons... I probably didn't help by saying at our first visit that a while back I put Dave in a pen with some goats, and he tried to herd them for a bit, but once he couldn't stop them he just ran up and grabbed it by the collar. The goat ran around the pen with Dave attached to it's collar. I had to pull him off. I don't know if that contributed to them staying outside the pen or not, but I was told he likes to start young dogs outside the pen since he likes to get a handle on them outside the pen before bringing them in since it can get chaotic with a green dog and sheep in the roundpen. I think a lot of it was to see if they actually wanted to herd or if they just had a lot of prey drive. My female seems to just like running around and barking, the sheep had zero respect for her after a bit, but others have said that they think she is just shutting down since she can't get to the sheep. I am hoping that they will get to go inside the pen next time. This guy is really nice and is letting us come out for free to see if they have any herding in them, which is super nice of him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 Hi! This is my first time posting in this section (we are active on the bc rescue forum). I have two bc/bcmix that we have recently tested on sheep. There is a great local guy that trains bcs, and he offered to test my dogs for me. We have now taken the dogs two times (My male, Dave, is what we think is aborder collie mix, and my female Riley looks all bc to us). Both times the dogs are "worked," I use that term very loosely, on the outside of the round pen. My male seems really interested, while my female thinks it is fun, but it seems more in a running around like a dork instead of actually herding. Here are a couple of clips of them in action (their second time on sheep), what do you guys think? I know they won't be herding champs, but I would like to have some type of job for them even if it is only a weekend fun thing Dave http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oip-jBTQGE Riley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR7dY1WwA7w Thanks! Dinah HI Dinah, Sorry, but I have to agree with Anna. Trying to "test" a dog from outside the round pen seem's like a useless exercise. Both dogs seemed very frustrated. It's impossible to tell if they are just chasing or actually trying to work. Their attitudes are wrong for work, but maybe with actual exposure to the sheep, the tails would come down and they would get serious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 HI Dinah, Sorry, but I have to agree with Anna. Trying to "test" a dog from outside the round pen seem's like a useless exercise. Both dogs seemed very frustrated. It's impossible to tell if they are just chasing or actually trying to work. Their attitudes are wrong for work, but maybe with actual exposure to the sheep, the tails would come down and they would get serious. Well< I wasn't finished with my response. I'm good at hitting the wrong buttons. Anyway, why don't you ask the trainer if he would be willing to take the dogs inside the pen with the sheep. Jeanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinah_kay Posted July 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 Their attitudes are wrong for work, but maybe with actual exposure to the sheep, the tails would come down and they would get serious. I am hoping next time I can get them in the pen. This guy is nice enough to do this for free so I don't want to be pushy. Worst case I will try and take them to a clinic later this month where they can go in the pen if I have to. Since I have no idea what I am doing, what about Dave's attitude tells you he is wrong for work? Thanks again for the input!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW Posted July 11, 2007 Report Share Posted July 11, 2007 I am hoping next time I can get them in the pen. This guy is nice enough to do this for free so I don't want to be pushy. Worst case I will try and take them to a clinic later this month where they can go in the pen if I have to. Since I have no idea what I am doing, what about Dave's attitude tells you he is wrong for work? Thanks again for the input!! The barking and the tail in the air are pretty good indicators of a dog's attitude. When he gets serious about his work, you will see tha tail come down and the barking subside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinah_kay Posted July 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2007 The barking and the tail in the air are pretty good indicators of a dog's attitude. When he gets serious about his work, you will see tha tail come down and the barking subside. Thanks, that helps a lot. I probably should have said that the barking in Dave's clip is from some other bcs in their kennels not too far away. Dave actually never barked, but I understand what you mean about the tail. Thanks for the tip since it will give me something to keep an eye out next time. Riley on the other hand was barking her head off, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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