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creating work situations


Liz P
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I've got a young dog who is about 30 lessons into her training. I can't remember ever having worked with a pup who is so phenomenally natural. Her instinctive understanding of her stock is absolutely breathtaking. I don't need to drill her on clean flanks, pace, lie down, how to handle herself in pens, when to grip vs when to not grip or any of the other many lessons your average young dog needs. My problem? She is getting extremely bored, very fast.

 

With just a few lessons I could already start using her for chores, which is what I am doing right now. However, there are only so many things that need to be done on a 35 acre farm. She holds stock off feeders, moves them from one section to the next, helps me with tending duties when I use the goats for brush control and puts them away at night.

 

I have been in contact with some other people in the area about going to their farms to work different stock, including a flock with some crazy, soon to be weaned lambs. I figure this will provide some variety for her. However, I am looking for ways to create situations that she will view as work to stimulate her at home. Any ideas?

 

PS, she is also probably the most biddable dog I have ever owned. I have to be very careful to keep my mouth shut during training so that she maintains independence and doesn't look to me constantly for commands.

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Hi Liz, congrats on what sounds to be a fine young dog, I'm envious of your problem and have to say that it can be a real fun problem to have.

 

What I do is to make each individual task here at home a larger one, for example, instead of just holding the stock off the feeder, first take them out to a different lot, then to a small field, then back to their lot where you feed them. The entire time watch for situations to arise that test your youngs dogs ability to control either the livestock or herself. Can she slow the stock down without fully stopping them by getting to the head, can you sort half off, let them go to the grain and take the other half to pasture.

 

In a case where you bring livestock in from pasture, work some cross drives, or drives directly away from you, once I know the dog understands how to fetch I will send them on an outrun let them get the stock moving toward me and then flank them around to have them cross drive the stock, be careful to not turn it into a pattern, break it up so that she does not anticipate but also so that if you need her break off and flank during a fetch that she easily can.

 

If she does not break off get into training mode, have a quick little lesson with her and move on, get's to the point where you never go out specifically to train your dog because she will be advancing and learning on the job. If you identify a place where she get's nervous about her ability to control and can't listen to you, slow it down and show her that she can maintain control.

 

Hope this all makes sense, sometimes it is difficult to explain over the web, but easier to demonstrate.

 

Most importantly, have fun with your dog.

 

Deb

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She's probably not ready for this yet (though at the rate she's progressing she might soon be!), but here's a training exercise that I've found useful and fun.

 

Use 8 or so sheep. Put half in a round pen, half in the field 100 or more yards away. Send the dog into the pen, let the sheep out and lie the dog down. Let the sheep start to drift towards the other sheep, then send the dog with the intent of keeping the two groups apart. Once the dog has the first group under control, send it on a look back to find the rest of the sheep and put them all together.

 

Then teach the dog a shed to split them into two groups again, and pen one of the groups. Send the other group down the field and repeat the whole exercise.

 

It's quite a lot fun to do, and teaches the dog a lot of different things (dealing with running sheep, look back, shed, driving, etc.), and it's anything but boring. If your dog doesn't pick up the shed quickly enough, you could always gate sort some back into the pen.

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Jim's suggestion is also fun if you have two different species of livestock, goat and sheep, sheep and calves, sheep and ducks, etc. Have the dog do something with one species, send her on a lookback to pickup the other species, work them together and then shed them apart. The different species naturally seperate helping the dog be successful on a shed. Great fun!

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I can't see where it would matter if the dog is believed to be bored, stressed due to much training pressure or if the handler is bored, regardless, expanding simple basic chores and figuring out how to create working situations as opposed to drilling on the dog via schooling lessons is a good idea, IMHO.

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I do a version on Jim's suggestion.

I split the sheep into 2 groups, driving one off as far as I can. Then call the dog back and work the second group all around the pasture without letting the 2 groups slip back together. I can make is as hard as I want by which groups I seprate. I have lambs and mommas which I seprate and it's a test to keep them apart but in the same field

 

Still jealous

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^^^I call that playing keep away. This pup might be a bit young for that one. Another thing you might try--if you have a free standing pen, you can put some in the pen, and then let others loose; of course, they will go stand on the outside of the pen. Help the pup to pull those loose ones off the pen and take them away somewhere else, put them up somewhere, then go get the ones out of the pen and take them somewhere. I really like teaching a young one to leave one group alone, and to focus on/do something with another. I like to do a lot of sorting off one group, taking them somewhere, then going back for some more to take somewhere else, and so on.

 

If you've got grass now (most do--but we're the opposite out here), let the sheep spread way out while grazing and work with the pup so that she understands scoping the field to make sure she picks up everyone on the outrun (assuming you've got a decent sized flock to work with).

 

Do you have small lambs? Let her figure out how to move mommas with little lambs.

Better yet--if you have a group of lambs that are into lambie races (and so, not hanging with their moms), then have her work that group of little lambies.

 

At this point with a youngster who is coming along really nicely, I also will start doing some "driving"--using the walk up and lie down behind the sheep when they are going someplace they want to go, anyway. Gets the pup used to (pseudo) driving, so it's not such a big deal later on.

 

Mostly I like to keep changing things up and presenting the pup different challenges as far as different groups of stock go--heavy light, small, big, and so on,

A

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I do tending with my dogs....they figure out the boundaries and there is some wily ewe that wants to slip away.....i also sort half and put them in a stall and hoof trim one, then out them together, then maybe do a walkabout the farm. Put them all away in the stalls for the night....have them hold the sheep from the feeder about 25 feet away.....drive them in the marsh to the island.....i think of all sorts of stuff....

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^^^I call that playing keep away. This pup might be a bit young for that one.

 

Yes, she is a bit inexperienced for that. Could she do it? Probably, but I would have to give her lots of commands. I am trying to minimize commands right now because she has the potential to become extremely mechanical. If I talk to her she starts to pause and look to me for direction, whereas if I keep my mouth shut she maintains focus and works very nicely.

 

Another thing you might try--if you have a free standing pen, you can put some in the pen, and then let others loose; of course, they will go stand on the outside of the pen. Help the pup to pull those loose ones off the pen and take them away somewhere else, put them up somewhere, then go get the ones out of the pen and take them somewhere.

 

That's one of her favorite games.

 

If you've got grass now (most do--but we're the opposite out here), let the sheep spread way out while grazing and work with the pup so that she understands scoping the field to make sure she picks up everyone on the outrun (assuming you've got a decent sized flock to work with).

 

The sheep I use take a very long time to spread out if they know a dog is anywhere near, but I have goats that do that almost instantly. They like to hide behind clumps of brush, so finding them is a nice challenge for her.

 

Do you have small lambs? Let her figure out how to move mommas with little lambs. Better yet--if you have a group of lambs that are into lambie races (and so, not hanging with their moms), then have her work that group of little lambies.

 

We are going to work some lambs next week. I don't have any.

 

At this point with a youngster who is coming along really nicely, I also will start doing some "driving"--using the walk up and lie down behind the sheep when they are going someplace they want to go, anyway. Gets the pup used to (pseudo) driving, so it's not such a big deal later on.

 

We have been working on driving almost since the first day. Sometimes she will drive them 200 yards before she realizes I am no longer with her. She seems to enjoy it but is unsure of herself. She still wants to slide up to their eyes rather than stay behind them when I give her a walk up command. When I verbally ask her to stay behind them she gets worried that she is doing something wrong, so I have been putting her on a line and doing silent driving exercises.

 

Mostly I like to keep changing things up and presenting the pup different challenges as far as different groups of stock go--heavy light, small, big, and so on,A

 

I've been looking for different farms in the area where I can work her to provide a variety of stock.

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I don't have a talented dog by any means, but I tried to make things more interesting for her too. I could tell by her posture when she was thinking the work was too mundane, and also the repetitiveness of chores made her anticipate my commands, so I had to alter things so that she never knew what command was going to hit her (though I also tried to make her realize what we were trying to accomplish). I would do things like putting some sheep in the LGD's dog house, putting sheep in a pen on drive - without me at the door, putting the sheep in the pen with door only slightly open. At one clinics there was a drive slalom exercise, but also using natural things like trees and setting a route like a slalom or figure eight is fun.

 

Also since you said she is so biddable - one of the experts on the forum told me once that the thing to watch out in a dog so willing to please is not to go too fast too much. It was good advice for me, anyhow.

 

My knowledge of course is rather limited, but hey! everyone wants to jump on the wagon a help a maybe future champion :D :D :D :D

 

Best wishes with the youngster,

Maja

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