A Border Collie is not a horse, but...

[geonni banner]

For those of you un-horsey people, a longe-line is used to get the horse to walk, trot, or canter in a circle around you. It is basically the same thing as a long-line, and is used to teach the horse to answer to spoken commands to move at a particular gait and/or speed, to supple the horse and to a limited extent, to exercise it.

 

I have never seen anyone longe a dog, and have never tried to train the behavior. It seems like it might be a useful thing in limited situations, like a temporary way to exercise a dog in situations where there was no fenced area and a dog did not have a reliable recall.

 

I can't see it being done as a regular exercise regime, because it would seem like a thing which might lead to repetitive stress injuries. Plus I suspect that a BC would be bored silly in about 3 minutes. Still...

 

Any thoughts on this?

[juliepoudrier]

I've seen it before. I've only seen it done by sports people, and if I had to guess I'd say it was probably because of on-leash rules at agility trial venues? I have to admit the first time I saw it at a sheepdog trial (agility folks), I was astounded. I was walking my pack free on part of the property (big field next to a road) one morning and came on two people longeing their dogs. I've also heard of it being suggested as part of rehab work, but as you note it in that case it would be something temporary and not done routinely.

 

Maybe someone who does agility will chime in on the practice.

 

J.

[border_collie_crazy]

I do it with my terrier mix, but only because he cant ever come off the leash, so I let my other dogs run free, and I longe Rusty. I have never had a problem come from it..but my terrier X is not prone to obbessiveness either lol

[Carson Crazies]

I basically longed Nick as a part of his PT when he had a soft tissue injury and had to be brought back up. It was a solution for my situation but not something I'd want to do on a regular basis (or where anyone could see me!!!). It was simple to teach him really, and he was so grateful to be doing something after all the crate rest that he didn't bore as quickly as I would have expected. But all of that being said, I've not done that with a dog before or since. As far as I can see it doesn't, IMO, have a very practical application for me outside of the rehab we were doing.

[timberviewfarm]

Its part of Jen's rehab that she will be doing for her severed flexor tendon. I haven't seen people just teach it to dogs, well except horse people, there was one girl that would lunge her JRT every morning when she got to the show grounds

[BethG]

My bc does it all by herself. I was at the dog park playing frisbee with her and instead of bringing it right back as usual, she decided to lunge herself. She trots around me in circles carrying the frisbee and looks pretty proud of herself. It brought back memories of countless hours spent in my younger days lunging my horses.

[Eileen Stein]

How do you keep them from coming to you?

[NCStarkey]

Hello everyone,

 

Sally Glei is a Border Collie enthusiast whom I met years ago when I participated in competitive obedience. I have seen videos of Sally's dogs doing "liberty" work on a circular path, just like the equines do in the circus. She has her dogs trained to walk, trot, and canter around the path on command, and she can reverse their direction on cue, as well. I don't know how she has taught them to do this, bu it is truly impressive to see her free-longe her dogs.

 

Regards,

nancy

[geonni banner]

How do you keep them from coming to you?

 

I dunno... I was wondering that myself.

[Carson Crazies]

How do you keep them from coming to you?

 

I just carried a piece of PVC pipe. I used it both to widen him and to urge him a bit faster (pressure on his rear to move him faster, pressure on his shoulder to move him out). I could call him in when I needed to but if I was holding the pipe he certainly wasn't coming to me unless I suggested it strongly.

[Lenajo]

I dunno... I was wondering that myself.

 

I use this to warm my agility dogs up. Since they can't be off leash because of rules mostly. And lately the trials are indoors during weather so bad that I would avoid going outside and have to make the best use of a smaller space.

 

I use a 6 foot lead, and just started by walking briskly in a loose circle. Now that they get the idea I still walk with them some because I'm warming up too. Both of my dogs walk happily on a loose lead and move out - if they didn't I would probably have started with a target stick for them to follow

 

I would teach a dog to stay out further by incorporating target training. Set up some cones in a group. and start rewarding for them going around the cones. then gradually spread out the cones and give the behavior a name "go around". Less and less cones, further apart and further from you.... Be sure you associate the cones and game with a specific command, collar and/or harness. You don't want to remind mindless circling or the dog seeking out cones on his own (could be annoying in competition when they are used for numbers)

[Lenajo]

I just carried a piece of PVC pipe. I used it both to widen him and to urge him a bit faster (pressure on his rear to move him faster, pressure on his shoulder to move him out). I could call him in when I needed to but if I was holding the pipe he certainly wasn't coming to me unless I suggested it strongly.

 

Pressure and release like this works well for some dogs. Years ago I saw well know behaviorist and sport competitor using a telescoping "light saber" (the kids toy) to teach the dogs to get away from her in agility. She said out, and simultaneously flicked the toy at them, changing it from a few inches to a few feet. For a typical Border Collie thats sensitive ot pressure they got the meaning pdq LOL

[Andale]

Pressure and release like this works well for some dogs. Years ago I saw well know behaviorist and sport competitor using a telescoping "light saber" (the kids toy) to teach the dogs to get away from her in agility. She said out, and simultaneously flicked the toy at them, changing it from a few inches to a few feet. For a typical Border Collie thats sensitive ot pressure they got the meaning pdq LOL

 

 

I run my young BC in wide and tight circles, inside and out as part of our foundation training for agility. We start with the dog on leash and then when possible, perform the drills off-leash. This teaches the dog to keep pace with the handler and to be sensitive to direction changes cued by the handler's feet and shoulders. It also teaches the dog not to cross behind the handler since all reinforcement to the dog is given in front of the handler.

 

I have to say that its a pretty boring drill but in the long run, it teaches the dog some pretty important skills. You almost never want your dog cutting behind you when on the agility course and in order to be competitive the dog needs to under stand the positional cues provided by the direction the handler is facing.

 

Using a target stick or "light sabre" to establish lateral distance is a great idea. My dog frequently wants to turn into me and gets a little too close. I want him to look forward while running and not look so much at me.