Using a long line

[Nancy O]

I've attended 2 clinics with Bobby and he used the long line on all stages of dogs. The first clinic, he did not need to use it on my 2 dogs, as they would stop and flank as asked, he did use it on a pup of mine in the round pen.

 

My second clinic with Bobby I had a 2 year old that had no pace, I had tried the long line once on her and she worked like a charm, but take it off and she had no pace again. So took her to Bobby, figuring I wasn't using the long line technique correctly, he put the line on her, she was an angel, nothing to correct. So he said we would have to use the old fashion method, the long line came off and we just worked on correcting when fast or having to lie her down.

 

She still has very little pace, better pace on wool sheep, where there is weight to the sheep, rather than flighty hair sheep. But we continue to strive for pace. Her littermates have nice pace.

 

One exercise that drastically improved pace was the square and cone exercise. Setup a square with a cone for each corner. Stand in the center of the square and have the dog drive the sheep first one way and then the other around the square. You are close enough to be able to correct both pace and flanks. It is very addictive, so be ware!

 

Nancy O