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Dog running on wrong lead


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Hi Carol,

 

You've seen this pup, Pete, in March, he is now just about 10 months old. I had him at Norm's clinic this weekend, dog was about the same in that he was slow when going around his sheep, but Leslie immediately pointed out that the dog was running on the wrong lead around the sheep.

 

Hope I am explaining this correctly. When circling to the right (the away side) the dog is leading with his outside leg, instead of his inside leg, making it slow and awkward to get around the sheep. The same happens on the opposite side.

 

There are times he moves faster, and if you watch him, he is leading with the correct leg, but then he hitches up and leads with the wrong leg and becomes slow.

 

The dog has never been lame either in the front or rear. Runs in the fields without any problems.

 

I've not worked him on a regular basis, as I thought the slowness was a keeness issue, but I'm going to start working him on a regular basis and see if it improves. I've only been taking him out once every couple of weeks, trying him and then putting him up.

 

Any ideas about what to do to help with him running on the wrong lead? I talked to a few horse people that have dogs, but they didn't know what to do for a dog running on the wrong lead.

 

Maybe he's just young and gangly and will learn to use his body correctly, I don't know.

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Guest carol campion
Hi Carol,

 

You've seen this pup, Pete, in March, he is now just about 10 months old. I had him at Norm's clinic this weekend, dog was about the same in that he was slow when going around his sheep, but Leslie immediately pointed out that the dog was running on the wrong lead around the sheep.

 

Hope I am explaining this correctly. When circling to the right (the away side) the dog is leading with his outside leg, instead of his inside leg, making it slow and awkward to get around the sheep. The same happens on the opposite side.

 

There are times he moves faster, and if you watch him, he is leading with the correct leg, but then he hitches up and leads with the wrong leg and becomes slow.

 

The dog has never been lame either in the front or rear. Runs in the fields without any problems.

 

I've not worked him on a regular basis, as I thought the slowness was a keeness issue, but I'm going to start working him on a regular basis and see if it improves. I've only been taking him out once every couple of weeks, trying him and then putting him up.

 

Any ideas about what to do to help with him running on the wrong lead? I talked to a few horse people that have dogs, but they didn't know what to do for a dog running on the wrong lead.

 

Maybe he's just young and gangly and will learn to use his body correctly, I don't know.

 

Hi Nancy

 

I saw your post in the training section and read it with interest.

 

I have ridden horses a lot but never trained them so cannot speak from any experience there. I do know that over the years, I have trained numbers of dogs that were very uncomfortable flanking in one direction or another. It noticed their bodies didn't like to bend that way. Maybe what I was seeing is what you are describing. It was through repetition that they relaxed and progressed. I always thought it was their muscles learning a new way of moving that allowed them to become relaxed in the tight clumsy direction. I would think getting wider would make the physical bend subtler, so maybe that would be the first approach to strengthening.

 

There was a thread on some list years ago about horses/dogs actually preferring use of one eye over the other. The suggestion was to cover the favored eye so they had to strengthen the weak one and ask them to flank the direction that they were avoiding.

 

There was also a thread on Working Sheep Dog list this past winter about dogs using their tail for physical balance and how that affects their work. Maybe this is a "which comes first" scenario. Getting him comfortable flanking/circling may take care of the lead?

 

All very interesting to me. I am looking forward to following the thread.

 

Just a thought. Maybe see if the owner of the sire has seen a developmental thing similar in his dogs?

 

Carol

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