Driving, and now the gather is broken?

[kelpiegirl]

I have heard this said, and I want to make sure that I can avoid this happening with my dog. She *loves* driving- well, until she feels like she is losing control- but she can go a long way. She also likes to walk up on sheep and turn them for the drive. Her gathers have been very good, but recently, I have seen her instead of fetching wanting to stare and walk up on them. My plan is to correct her for that- as she is road tested enough to know a fetch from a drive, but it is odd- she knows to get her sheep... Anyone have any experience with this, can offer ideas?

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

You know I speak out of vast experience, but really, I've never see or heard of a dog having a problem with switching back and forth or having confidence in what the handler asks, if the drive is allowed to develop naturally - especially in a dog with a lot of natural. In other words, just like with developing the proper pace and such while fetching, by walking miles of wearing, one does the same with driving. I remember getting in the golf cart with my old Rick dog and just following the flock everywhere. I do think we did do miles each lesson!

 

My impression is that if the dog learns it's his job to keep the stock under control and your job to tell him where to take them (or hold them), it puts your partnership in just the right place. Part of that is being clear with your body language when you start out working back and forth.

 

Gather the sheep, walk a bit, then turn and figure out some random place you want to take them. Show her your rear very clearly (that's not hard for me!). Then as the sheep pass you, walk with them, help her take them to wherever it is you guys are going. If it gets boring, move faster, stir things up, switch sides on her and have her flank behind you and then in front later as her confidence increases. Don't use so much flank commands, as just stopping her before she goes to the heads.

 

Before you reach the place, stop, settle the sheep, then you can choose to let her gather them, or you can call her off, or you can pick another place to take them. The big thing is, you pick, and make it really clear again that you have a plan!

[laurie etc]

I have heard this said, and I want to make sure that I can avoid this happening with my dog. She *loves* driving- well, until she feels like she is losing control- but she can go a long way. She also likes to walk up on sheep and turn them for the drive. Her gathers have been very good, but recently, I have seen her instead of fetching wanting to stare and walk up on them. My plan is to correct her for that- as she is road tested enough to know a fetch from a drive, but it is odd- she knows to get her sheep... Anyone have any experience with this, can offer ideas?

I have one dog like this - I spent a long time working on widening and deepening her outrun, but once she learned to drive, that's all she wanted to do from the moment we entered the field. I just worked on telling her "that'll do" when I saw her start to "stalk" instead of thinking about an outrun - called her to my side, broke her concentration and set her up again, and sent her with a shhshhhh. If she still tried to go in tight like she was going to stalk - I'd call her back again and reset- this time with a stronger physical presence and push. We worked it out in practice. I had to mix it up, like Rebecca suggested, so that she listened to what I was asking for, instead of assuming I wanted to her to push the sheep away. I've been told this can be quite common, for dogs that really like to be "up close and personal with their sheep" and pushy dogs. Laurie

[Marilyn T]

One of the most important things about training up a dog is to keep everything in balance. You need to work on the driving, but most importantly, do not work on it exclusively. For every five minutes of driving, do an outrun lift and fetch too. (numbers may vary!) Knowing what to do, and when, in training up the dog, is what seperates the 'men from the boys'. Conventional wisdom usually says to start with a gather (so the dog doesn't forget the object is to bring you sheep) then work on something, do another gather, work some more, then finish with another gather. Do some silent gather work too.

[Shoofly]

Someone i respect once told me to get the dog doing everything, and enjoying it, then go back and perfect the parts. I think it's wonderful advice and keeps the dog fresh and happy.

 

Marilyn's advice is very sound. If you're asking the dog to do something less natural (or less fun), mix it up with things that let the tension release a bit and keep the dog's attitude good.