BeezSK Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 Hello all, long time lurker finally decided to try his dog on sheep. She is a purebred border collie from working parents. We went out to our breeder's farm and tried her on his sheep (she is 14 months old now). She is very interested in the sheep and will bring the livestock to you... as long as it's in the counter-clockwise direction. If you try to force her to circle the sheep clockwise she'll do that for about 1/4-1/2 circle around the round pen and then seperate one or two sheep from the flock and chase them counter-clockwise all the way around the pen and bring them to you. We couldn't get her to go the other way no matter what we tried. Has anyone seen this sort of behavior or have any tips/tricks to try? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 One-sidedness is not unusual in a young dog. You could move to an area (perhaps a small field) where you could set up the pressure so as to encourage the dog to go in the direction that is uncomfortable for her. That is, if you set up a draw so that the sheep want to go in a direction that would require your dog to go to the left to cover and stop them from escaping. But really, for the first few times on sheep, I wouldn't stress over whether the dog goes perfectly in both directions. Better not to force the issue and let her get the idea it's okay to split a few off (i.e., in effect teach her a bad habit) at this point. Just my opinion. I'm sure others will chime in with different ideas. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeezSK Posted June 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 It's not just one-sided-ness though. She really refuses to go clockwise. We were in a small round pen already. I'm very new to herding so if people don't mind explaining things in lots of detail that would be great Here are a few pics of the setup we had http://gallery.beezsk.com/main.php?g2_itemId=11404 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 Ann's sister was really one-sided and Ann went through a short bout of it herself (more like what you describe - her sister would simply leave rather than blow in, if forced). Our trainer kept the pressure very low and just let her work it out herself much as Julie suggests. It's a confidence thing - instead of trying to push her off, try drawing the sheep back with you (assuming they'll come with you) so that she has to work that side a little to stay with the sheep. Don't go for the whole enchilada - if she'll only give you 1/4, take that and keep working. Go for 1/2, then all the way, gradually. Listen to her - if she tells you she's listening and then gives you 1/4, then take that and go on, and give her another chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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