training a young dog

[SoloRiver]

Commands learned on sheep translate better to off sheep than vice versa. Most Border Collies find sheep to be a highly motivating reward, and in any training, use of the right motivator enhances performance. Working sheepdogs learn a rocket recall and lightning-fast down because they learn to understand them in context. And if you can get a dog to recall or lie down brilliantly around sheep, doing it anywhere else is a piece of cake.

[Caroline]

Thanks Denise and Bill,

 

I am happy to see some suggestions that I don't need to worry about the down before I see the sheep with Luke. I suppose my concern is I let him get "bad habits" through my ignorance of what is the "right" thing to do. He circles calmly and widely and was quite game to move the sheep. Of course they are really dog broke sheep. I need to go read some more on little hats about starting a young dog. I think my trainer's idea of having the down is to keep the dog back further from the sheep so you can let the sheep move with out the dog getting so close. Luke has just started and I might be remembering wrong. I will ask next week and keep working. Seeing the "mistakes" I made with my first dog (not on sheep just training) just makes me wary of how I can screw up a nice pup *laugh* however, even my children will be in therapy someday probably from my "mistakes" hahaha

Caroline

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

You can increase distance without stopping your dog by including right angle turns as soon as he gets to balance. Let him cover, then turn at a right angle from the sheep's heads. While he's busy getting to balance again, walk back fast, the sheep will follow, and you'll end up with more daylight.

 

Rinse, repeat. The more he does this the more he should realize it's more comfortable to give to the sheep. In theory. (c;

 

At any point you can also try stopping him when he's on balance, and calling him off, then immediately sending him again. That will make him happy to come.

 

If he won't stop don't worry about it right now, though.

 

This is just one of many possible ways you can work with him at this point, by the way.

[Tassie]

Hey Rebecca ? I?m trying to visualize this right angle turn thing to try tomorrow. This is probably a really dumb question ? be kind ? I?m a very newbie handler. Is it important which way you turn the right angle? I?m thinking if she?s gone on a come bye to balance, and I make the right angle turn to my left (I?m facing the sheep, right?), then she?ll still be doing come bye to get to balance again, won?t she? On the other hand, if I turn to my right, she would have to go the other way (away to me) to get to balance, unless she circled. Have I got the picture right?

 

(This sheep thing is very hard for a pictorially challenged handler with a little dog who has learned some bad habits of splitting and chasing (my fault), and who now has to work really hard to learn to stay back off her sheep and balance them to me.)

[Pipedream Farm]

Hey charlie,

 

Sam ("young kid") wanted me to pass along to you her thanks. We had soooo much fun at her expense this weekend. You'd better watch your back.

 

Mark

[blackacre]

Originally posted by Tassie:

I?m thinking if she?s gone on a come bye to balance, and I make the right angle turn to my left (I?m facing the sheep, right?), then she?ll still be doing come bye to get to balance again, won?t she? On the other hand, if I turn to my right, she would have to go the other way (away to me) to get to balance, unless she circled. . .

Hi Barb,

OK, you didn't ask me specifically but I'll answer anyway. You've got it right conceptually. As soon as the dog gets to balance on one side, you turn and go the other direction ie towards the dog's head. Thus, the dog has to flip to the other flank to get to balance while staying behind the sheep. Eventually, you can back up when the dog gets to balance and get a few steps of wearing before you turn again. Or, you can stop the dog, walk straight through the sheep to the dog's side and send her around to the back of the sheep from there, in what amounts to a baby outrun. Eventually, you can walk further and further away from the sheep, with the dog at your side, before you turn and send her.

A.

[Tassie]

Thanks for that Andrea. We managed to get a bit of that done yesterday, which was good. Some days I think we're getting nowhere - other days, Kirra shows signs that she's really getting the idea. We even got to do a little 'job' yesterday to finish our session - getting her sheep out of one yard, through another couple of yards nd out into the main training field. It wasn't very tidy or pretty, but we did it, and although she chased after them as they went out into the main paddock, I was able to tell her "That'll do" and call her back to me (we haven't got a lie down yet), and she came back quite pleased with herself like she knew she'd done a good job.