Penning fun.

[Smalahundur]

After the winterstop, end of March I guessed it would be a nice idea to start some "real" penning exercises with Gláma.

She should be about ready for it, knows her commands, and in the work similar things had come up last fall, and she did well.

So I made a penn in the training field, took the selected group of six hardly dogged yearlings out, and expected quite a difficult task.

 

But to my great suprise penning turned out to be ridiculously simple (no don´t laugh/protest yet, read on). Gláma flanked around the group, aiming the group for the hinges of the gate, the sheep went in, tadaa, done. The result was repeatable, accomplished the feat some sessions in a row.

I congratulated myself on being a great handler, and Gláma for being a genius sheepdog.

 

Well to be honest there was some suspicion nagging in the back of my mind, this was really a bit too easy, also complained to my wife that those darned sheep were so willing to walk in, how was I going to train for more difficult sheep...?

 

Well then came lambing time, and we did nothing in the way of training for about four weeks, in which the training group stayed on the field (in the winter they had been in the sheep barn).

 

Then, after lambing I took up training again, and penning. That was so easy remember...?

Well, someone pulled a prank on me and put a strong sheep repelling force field in my penn, I swear, they bounce off the entrance! They flow around the penn like water around a rock in a stream, they duck under the rope I am holding, even if I whip it like mad (they are icelandic sheep, and not fooled, they know it is just a rope).

 

We have been working on it since, and it is a hard task. It shows clearly where the holes in my training are, every mistake we make is punished by these sheep.

Things that need improvement; flanks are often not square enough, the back up command isn´t good enough. Down should mean down now, and not a couple of steps later, etc.

 

Sometimes we penn a part of the group; since lambing time the best we scored was four out of six, two of them popping out at the last moment while I was closing the gate. Still felt like victory.

Sometimes we don´t and give up.

When succesfully penning, it was always after numerous botched attempts, making me feel we have to wear the sheep somewhat out before succeeding.

 

If anything it teaches humility, patience and persistance. We will keep chipping at it, and we will succeed.

As always, any tips/insights are much appreciated.

[lookback]

When you said how easy it was to pen the sheep, I was going to suggest you move the pen to a new location because sheep which get used to going into one particular pen are often very wary of an unfamiliar one - but it's interesting to note that the same can apply after lambing. We don't DO lambing. Our sheep are kept purely for training dogs on, so we don't experience this.

 

I agree that attempting to pen sheep can teach humility patience and persistence, but it also requires calm (on the part of dog and handler) and excellent dog control.

 

The main reasons for not penning are

• Trying to rush things - take your time, then slow down some more.
• The dog being too close - so often the dog should be much further back.

[Smalahundur]

The main difference before and after lambing was, before I took the sheep straight from their confined winter quarters to training. I think being used to this confinement made them so willing to go into the small space of the pen.

After they had been in the field for a couple of weeks they decided that getting cramped in a pen was not such a good idea.

 

I think in our case the second point you raise is the most important, Gláma is often too close, not only at penning. She tends to get too close during driving (rushing), her half flanks during driving are often slicey. And getting in trouble because of it.

We are working on it. Lower pace, correcting bad flanks. Took some steps back, working closer to the dog, driving along the fence, being there to reinforce the width of the flank (downing, resending if necessary)

 

There is a certain hole in our training, that is widening her out/teaching "get back". I was weary about widening her out too much in earlier training, because of her very wide outrun, being warned that it is easy for such dogs to get so wide they loose contact with the sheep.

And she positively hates the "get back"...

 

By the way, nice to see you are still posting, saw your video last winter, very interesting (but it needs a sequel ).

[lookback]

Gláma sounds like a useful, keen dog and I'm sure you will be penning successfully very soon - but I fail to understand this fear among trainers, of dogs going too wide and losing contact with the sheep. You mentioned "Get back" (I use "Get out" these days) but what's wrong with another command like "Come in"?

Do people really just stand in silence and stare at a dog which is going wider and wider? I find a keen, enthusiastic dog that's going out wide, is invariably more than happy to come in closer at the slightest hint of encouragement.

Thank you for your last paragraph - so glad you enjoyed the DVD. The "sequel" is in the form of online tutorials which we update regularly.

[Smalahundur]

Time for an update (if anyone is interested ).

 

Penning kept on being difficult, and getting even a few sheep of the group in the pen was feeling a lot like grinding, keeping at it until after numerous botched attempts we got some in.

 

I gave it some rest, and yesterday I decided I was being stupid trying this "in the open". That required rounding up the group after failure, positioning them again etc. Sheep and dog have to run a lot in the proces, tiring everybody quickly in the proces.

 

So I dragged my pen to the fence, opening facing away from the fence. That works a lot better. Still not an easy task mind you, getting those creatures in (especially one off them is pretty wiley).

But it is much easier to regroup and try again.

 

Yesterday we got five of six in. It took two steps; first three, closing the gate, then we managed to add two, the last one bolting at the last moment. So proud .

 

So the obvious plan is first training this until we get some routine, then gradually moving the pen out in the open again.

[lookback]

Good to hear you're making progress, but I misunderstood your first post. I assumed your dog was familiar with penning under easier conditions, otherwise I'd have suggested moving the pen to a position against a hedge or fence.

 

Penning with the pen opening facing away from the fence, rather than alongside it, is useful because the sheep can't circle the pen, but they can go into the corners, so the dog needs to keep them under control.

 

When you move the pen into the open, try putting some "wings" either side of the opening, to channel (or funnel) the sheep in. Keep in mind also that the sheep get familiar with going into a certain pen in a certain location, so if it starts to get easy, move the pen to a new patch well away from where the sheep are used to it.

[Smalahundur]

Happy to report more progress.

Been two training sessions with penning since the last time I posted.

 

The first one went well, penned three sheep, after a nice balancing act in front of the penn. Just quiet pressure on the sheep, no walking in, giving flank commands with my eye on the sheep, not the dog. And no problem gathering the other three sheep and adding them.

 

Now today I tried again, and we penned the six pretty quick, and this time in one go.

 

So I guess it is time to leave this comfort zone quickly and start dragging my pen away from the fence again...

[Maja]

Very enjoyable post . I must say I love penning

 

Concerning the widening - I was also told not to force the dog to widen because she will widen naturally with age. And in Bonnie's case it was true. But I also learned that she responds to space a lot: in a fenced area - if it is small - she worked more closely, and after she went in open space she ballooned and I had to teach her a pull-in. But she was two then, so I think the idea of not forcing the dog too wide refers to younger age ( I was given this advice here on these boards when Bonnie was about a year old I think.

 

Pen is also a good place where you can record yourself, since you being tied to that blasted rope and the pen are not going anywhere, so there is no need for a camera-person. And sometimes watching yourself really shows what is the problem.