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Straight Outrun


D Strickland
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My first dog always had a natural outrun - which was great for a first dog.

 

My second dog goes straight up the middle if I don't watch him carefully and set things up just right.

 

I am worried that, although I can teach him what a correct outrun is, he will revert back to a tight or straight up outrun when stressed or unsure.

 

Has anyone here had a dog that started with a straight up the middle outrun and ended-up being a consistent Open dog with a nice outrun ???

 

Thanks,

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My first dog always had a natural outrun - which was great for a first dog.

 

My second dog goes straight up the middle if I don't watch him carefully and set things up just right.

 

I am worried that, although I can teach him what a correct outrun is, he will revert back to a tight or straight up outrun when stressed or unsure.

 

Has anyone here had a dog that started with a straight up the middle outrun and ended-up being a consistent Open dog with a nice outrun ???

 

Thanks,

 

 

Hi Dave,

 

My Nellie had a straight up the field outrun when she was a youngster- she was sick before she could get to Open but she did OK in Pronovice. Never a big, sweepy outrunner but adequate. She got wider/deeper with age though, and outruns further out now than I ever pushed her out to be- so just be consistent and he'll get there.

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Hi Dave,

I have two youngsters who were straight up the middle when they started out. Because their dam is a wide, sweeping outrunner, I very consciously did not push them out all. They have widened as they have matured and now at just over two years old are doing very nice outruns at the nursery level and certainly seem to have the scope to do open outruns (this time of year, early in the season, the nursery outruns are a little shorter than the open outruns). It helps to know what the working tendencies are in your dog's lines--if there are plenty of nice or wide outrunners, I wouldn't worry about a tight/straight up the middle outrun in a youngster.

 

J.

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We don't have same sort of trials, but one of my current dogs started with a dead straight outrun, and is now widening out (he's approaching 4yo).

 

I tried lots of things to widen him out when he was young, without much success, but my OH told me not to worry about it- he has a full brother from an earlier litter who was also very straight initially, and just naturally widened out with work and experience, and now is a very good casting dog with a big mustering cast for work and a great cast on the trial ground. My dog hasn't turned out half as good as his, but his cast is getting wider as he gets older and now he'll go up the ground looking fairly tight, but widens out as soon as he feels the sheep, which gets us by. He seems to be getting better as we go on.

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Take heart, my first two dogs ran straight up the field and did it for a couple years because

I was too dumb to reconize a good outrun from a bad. The first one did widen out but was

always flat at the top. Her son went on to develope a very nice outrun and later on rarely

lost more than a point or two on the outrun and lift. They can be widened out. I agree with

Julie on early outruns...my third dog was a natural outrunner and I was careful not to push

him out for fear of ending up with an outrun in the next zip code. Better to have to widen them

out later on than trying the next to impossible and bring them back in.

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Ted had no outrun until about two months ago. I basically ignored it and worked on other stuff and then like magic one day he left my feet and went about 75 yards for the sheep. A couple weeks later Robin had me do a little walk out a couple times while he was running out, and ever since then he goes out nearly perfectly to any distance I can send him - I've sent him 400 yards so far successfully - still a smidge flat on the top and sometimes he'll stop a bit short, not too happy with that but since he's going to training I have not messed with it beyond fussing a bit and repositioning. It's easy forget how little time he's been doing this. Sometimes he even shows a flicker of wanting to flip out a little wide.

 

His outrun magically appeared right at the two year mark.

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Ted had no outrun until about two m /..../ have not messed with it beyond fussing a bit and repositioning. It's easy forget how little time he's been doing this. Sometimes he even shows a flicker of wanting to flip out a little wide.

 

His outrun magically appeared right at the two year mark.

 

Thanks to everyone for your replies ... This dog of mine is finally starting to widen ... actually in the last few days of training he's been so wide that I'm getting worried. He's up to about a 150 yard outrun and is nice and deep on the Away side ... a little tight and stops early sometimes on the Come By side ....

 

The good thing is that he may just work out !!!

 

We went to a goat trial this weekend ( these goats had never seen a dog - other than a guard dog ) and if it wasn't for my dog's ability to grip without hanging-on we never would've placed 3rd.

 

Thanks again,

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Thanks to everyone for your replies ... This dog of mine is finally starting to widen ... actually in the last few days of training he's been so wide that I'm getting worried.

 

Congratulations on placing at the goat trial.

I am a little confused. You said your dog runs straight up the middle on October 28. On November 2, you report that your dog has widened out to the point that you're now worried that he may be too wide. Honestly? In four days, he has gone from running straight up the middle to running too wide? I'm not trying to give you a hard time, just curious...

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Congratulations on placing at the goat trial.

I am a little confused. You said your dog runs straight up the middle on October 28. On November 2, you report that your dog has widened out to the point that you're now worried that he may be too wide. Honestly? In four days, he has gone from running straight up the middle to running too wide? I'm not trying to give you a hard time, just curious...

 

Welcome to my world !!! LOL When I walk half way up the field between him and the sheep and send him he is extremely wide because he feels my pressure.. The closer I get to him the straighter he gets. If he gets stressed or too excited he will also go straight. The worst is when I pull him off stock and walk him back to redo the outrun ... and the sheep decide to make a run for the trees ... I have to send him quickly and he will be straight. At this point I can see him change almost overnight since I initially posted this.

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and the sheep decide to make a run for the trees ... I have to send him quickly and he will be straight.

 

Sounds like your kinda setting him up. Are you expecting him to go wide on a deep outrun without getting a small one first? Teaching bad habits (or letting them set in) from the start is hard to correct later. If it were me and my sheep were going to run for the trees I don't think I'd be working on outruns with these sheep at that spot (learned by expereince)

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