Rave and I are working on her driving the sheep in a straight line away from me, instead of bringing them to me which she much prefers to do. We had to pick them up outside their holding pen. Rave had to go around a small ornamental pool where she would loose sight of the sheep to do the pick-up. This confused her as she was sure that way must be blocked. It took several times to convince her to travel around the pool to the sheep but she finally got it.
Then we proceeded out onto the field. I was having trouble with her pushing on the sheep to hard, being to close. These sheep are used to border collies. They are not used to a dog that moves like Rave so they needed more distance between her and them to feel comfortable. At one point a sheep broke off and Rave followed it behind the hay bales but did finally return it to the group with no harm done.
I am really trying to watch the sheep's heads to know when to turn or stop Rave. It is hard for me to get that timing just right. I also need to stay parallel to her when I am driving, not behind her. Staying behind her pushes her up and that is not what we need! Rave is a bit confused by all this new stuff. As the sheep get further in front of her she is convinced that she is going to loose them and takes off to turn them back. Also Rave's outrun has tighened up, become more narrow. It seems we are getting worse instead of better but I know that it is just the learning phase and at some point we will break through. The question is, how long will it take?
Goals, Plans, and Accomplishments
- Work on stop. Stop means stop!
- If I don't want her to stop use another word, slow down, ack, whatever
- Keep relaxed
- Watch the stock's head
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