Pippin's person Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 Our almost 10 mos old pup hasn't really turned on to the sheep yet. He is interested in chasing and pulling wool but doesn't seem to have much idea about working with me, circling, etc. He is rather soft and looks pretty confused when corrected (a bit of a crybaby, really--he'll go off and sulk). (he's not a baby when corrected at home for regular home-type stuff). He's better with me than with either of the folks I train with (one of whom bred him), but I'm not very good at helping him figure out what's right (no surprise there) He's the last of the litter not to be circling (though the rest of them are quite varied in terms of what they are doing). While I'd be lying if I said I'm not surprised--both of the other boys we've been training were working in larger fields by this age and started circling before they were 7 mos old--I'm not particularly worried about him figuring it out eventually. He still seems pretty immature in a lot of ways, so I think he just needs to grow up some more. My question is what kind of age-range y'all have seen with youngsters turning on. A second question is whether there is anything we can do short of bringing him to sheep everyday (which isn't feasible at this point) to help grow him up. He stayed with our trainer for 10 days and he got better (and was particularly better with a larger flock), but he still hasn't really understood the job (though he does dive at the sheep with his tail down ). Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 How about just putting him up for a couple of months and reintroducing him the sheep when he's a year old? Sometimes just letting them grow up away from livestock helps. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvw Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 Robin, I've been told Molly's male pups in general have matured late. I know its frustrating but I bet he'll just be a late bloomer. Brechin is very soft with corrections off sheep.........and while he is circling he is VERY immature off sheep. who knows Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackacre Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 My question is what kind of age-range y'all have seen with youngsters turning on. 12 weeks and up. A second question is whether there is anything we can do short of bringing him to sheep everyday (which isn't feasible at this point) to help grow him up. He stayed with our trainer for 10 days and he got better (and was particularly better with a larger flock), but he still hasn't really understood the job (though he does dive at the sheep with his tail down ). You could let him watch while another dog was being worked. I guess I'd also work on getting him to take a correction off sheep without sulking. It's hard to get anywhere on sheep if you can't help him to do it right, and of necessity, that will involve putting some pressure on him. Just saw Jen's last post. Is it a Molly? Molly/Shep? A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippin's person Posted August 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2007 Yes, he's a molly/shep pup. I'm pretty sure he is a late bloomer--he's only starting sniffing at dog pee in the last few weeks. I'll post a picture of him in the gallery--he's almost all black and pretty impish. He doesn't sulk with corrections off the sheep (and he's not as sulky with me as he is with Kelly when he's on the sheep , but my timing isn't very good). We've had him watching, too and working with mom (he and Molly made a sheep sandwich in the round pen last week....). We're going to work him with a larger flock next week to see if that changes his mind and then we'll put him away for a while. I'm not really worried about it at all, just curious since it's quite different than Hamish and Rafe. Hamish gathered the sheep at 4 1/2 mos. and was pretty serious as a worker by the time he was 7 mos. old Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackacre Posted August 18, 2007 Report Share Posted August 18, 2007 As Jen said, Spot, Mick and, I think, Jack, from the Molly/Merc litter were all late maturers, while the two bitches were absolute fiends. Spot in particular was a real baby. Interesting if the pattern held in this litter. I'm really interested in how they turn out: I like Shep a lot, what I've seen anyway, and Molly is a good producer. Kellly is a great trainer and knows what she's doing, so I'd just take her advice on this. Hard to do when you're keen to get going, I know. Tell her Spot Glen her soul-mate sends his love and wants to know why he's still living in Canada? A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy V Posted August 19, 2007 Report Share Posted August 19, 2007 Robin, I wouldn't worry about it. Your pup is the largest in the litter, is he not, and may take a longer time to mature. The problem with having all the littermates placed locally is that you can't help yourself but to compare their progress. Each dog is different and will take it's own path. FWIW, my 2 yo M who is out of Dexter, Molly's littermate, is also slow to mature. Very keen and hard-headed at a young age but still not suitable to take to a trial field. All talent, but a real meathead at times. Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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