Get Along Little Doggie

Today dawned a beautiful white with snow continuing to fall into the mid afternoon. We had our regular lesson out at Dianne's and since the conditions where poor we worked in the indoor arena. We have been very fortunate this winter and have not had any bad weather on lesson days so this was a treat. Especially as it was decided to work cattle since we where indoors. Well Rave was thrilled! We haven't worked cattle since November. I was pleasantly surprised by the work we did. Rave was defiantly 'up' and heeled, her favorite thing to do, sometimes when it wasn't necessary. I overreacted again, but maybe not as bad as in the past. A couple of times I gave her verbal corrections for heeling when she should have been heeling. Got to work on that if I want to keep her trust. I also have to remember to give corrections, not harsher commands. I was doing a bit better on that today although I have a lot of improving still to do and Rave responded very well. I was very happy with how she stopped when asked. I have been really working on trying to be consistent with that one. Successfully to greater and lesser extents. I am becoming more aware of it which is helping my consistency. We where to hold the cattle on the wall as we drove. I have been working on not holding tight on the fence in our driving sheep at home working towards open field driving so there was a bit of confusion there but Rave started doing much better as she understood I wanted them on the wall. She also liked to take a steely eyed bead on the last steer in line, sizing up a heel and letting the lead steer drift out. As she got some corrections for that she got better at paying attention to the whole group. The other thing I was very please with was how well she was squaring her come bye flanks. Her away flanks are still not square. Maybe a bit better but as she works close if she is going to flank without speeding up her stock she is going to have to do it much crisper. She had to walk into the steers heads a few times. I had to insist that she not slide out and she did much better than last fall, turning the steers without a lot of hullabaloo. Overall a very fun lesson. A good break from the more precise working on the sheep. Rave was grinning from ear to ear when we where done.

Holland Revisited

I am off on a trip with my husband. He is doing business. I am having fun! I decided to dig out an old book I have to take with me. Herding Dogs Progressive Training by Vergil S. Holland. I bought this book many years ago when I first tried working stock with my old dogs Tika and Tanis. I read it then and didn't understand most of it. And it got put away. Now years have past. I have had a few lessons, I have a dog that knows more naturally than I ever will so I decided to try the book again. Yes it does make much more sense now.

Most of these I have since learned from teachers, clinics, other reading material. But hearing them again, worded slightly different is always enlightening. A good reminder of what I am or more likely am not doing and should be. I find it so easy to forget what I once knew! So what words of wisdom have I found in this reading? Some of these things I have never done, some I did in the past and need to revisit.

Get Out exercise

• Position yourself between dog and sheep and demand a 'get out'. Make sure the dog turns 90 degrees or better. If the dog does not kick out you are not being forceful enough
• Commands are given quiet and with authority. Project quiet power with your voice
• Commands are not reprimands! Even a reprimand does not need to be loud to be effective
• For every command there is a counter command.
• Don't be afraid to praise
• Don't nitpick
• "A failure is not always a mistake; it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying." B.F. Skinner

Call in exercise

• Have the set up of dog-sheep-handler. Call dog straight to you using name and here. Dog's eye and attention should be on handler, not sheep. Firmly cradle head so the dog looks at you and praise.

Go back or Get back

• Initially stand directly in front of the dog. First time the dog turns around immediately lay down and praise. Gradually work on the dog going further back. Make sure they go back straight. Important they realize this is a command not a reprimand
• Get aggressive on corrections then quit when there is a response. Don't allow the dog to beat you. The dog must respond
• On get out, watch the dog's countenance. If the dog kicks out immediately hiss her along to get the dog feeling good about themselves as soon as possible
• Promote a Good Attitude. Make a reprimand or correction severe enough to work, then make the dog feel good about themselves
• Dog knows when our verbal messages and body language are not congruent
• Do off balance outrun work to help dog break concentration on sheep as she moves around. To set up off balance call dog around behind you and then send around sheep. You stand slightly off to side you want dog to go

Square Flank Exercise

• Handler between sheep and dog, dog-handler-sheep. Direct a get back and then stop dog where you want it to be. Direct it to flank, or swing, side to side in arcs of about 180 degrees. Maintain original distance from sheep. If the dog cuts in slap crook on ground. At first stop the dog before changing directions. When the dog gets good at this you can change direction without stopping. After you are doing well move to the opposite side of the sheep. So it is now dog-sheep-handler
• Do not allow the dog to go directly from a dive into a gather during beginning and intermediate driving. Always break up drive and gather by stopping dog and calling her off and then sending on the outrun.
• You can not force confidence-you need to stay close enough to help your dog and keep things from falling apart

Flanking while driving

• Pushing the dog away or outside flank. Walk parallel to and approximately opposite your dog. Say command for direction. Get out may be used with the directional command. Don't let her bring them back. Inside flank-walk parallel and approximately even to dog. Say dog's name and here to call the dog to you and then when the dog turns give direction. This will help keep the flank square. Make sure the dog turns and looks a little in response to here before before giving flank command. Don't allow the dog to swing all the way around and bring you the sheep.
• If sheep start to split when driving stop the dog and allow the sheep to drift ahead allowing dog to gain perspective. Then you can command to correct it
• Remember this is a partnership. Be patient, help your dog as long as it takes for her to gain confidence
• Make sure the dog will slow down on command without body language
• Work off balance
• Never correct with anger
• Your dog needs to learn to slow down as the sheep speed up and not to keep crowding them
• Practice having the dog stop and letting the sheep run a short distance. Then walk dog in slowly and steadily
• Practice pulling the dog toward the front of the sheep just enough to keep them from running
• Drive in a square or oval. You on the inside
• Do the swing in an arc without moving forward exercise when driving. Stop before changing directions at first.
• Tell and help dog to stay out. Use here if pulling in towards sheep. Helps for handler to move a little in the same direction as flank at first
• Inside square flank when driving-here, here, get out, come bye (or away as the case may be)
• Persevere. It is possible to achieve all things if you stick to it.
• Get out comes before direction command
• The dog's uncomfortable side will resurface when flanking while driving

More Advanced

• When dog is between you and sheep integrate get out command. Pull dog toward you and flank around sheep. Here, here, Get Out, Come bye. The dog has to learn to kick out away from sheep and toward handler.
• As outrun lengthens do not let the dog push the sheep faster when fetching to you. Dog must learn to drop back as sheep speed up
• Encourage self-sufficiency. Decrease the amount of verbal direction. It is important to read your dog and know whether she needs help
• If the dog doesn't stop at the top of the outrun set the outrun up and then run right through sheep and meet the dog and blow her out. After the dog blows back have her stop, leave her, walk back to where you started and have the dog bring the sheep slowly. Then set it up and do again

Penning

• Fenceline penning: Handler backs up to fence with sheep between handler and dog. Handler has dog swing around sheep causing them to bolt. Handler quickly commands dog to cover and return sheep to handler. Repeat until dog can read sheep and hold to handler while maintaining comfort zone
• Fenceline with a gate: Let sheep through one at a time. Do not let dog fly through gate. Shut gate and that'll do praise so the dog knows that you wanted them in the pen. You may hold gate closed and bring dog to close so sheep blow by. This creates an opportunity for dog to catch and regroup, holding the working radius
• Penning is a partnership Stand at gate of pen. Try to have dog head the sheep toward the hinge of the gate. Hold your side. When sheep at the mouth this is the most critical. Read the sheep! Dog should slowly push sheep into pen. A good 'go back' is important to back dog off sheep at pen if in to tight. Once sheep are in pen close the gate most of the way. Call dog into the gate and stop at the mouth to prevent sheep coming out and praise dog
• Relaxed Sheep will move more willingly into pen
• When unloading a trailer have dog stop 1/5 to 1/4 along the side. The sheep passed by the dog will move off trailer. Remaining sheep will come by in small bunches preventing injuries.
• Practice dog going to end of trailer and back to the front and push the sheep back where they started

Dog must learn to do what you ask. The dog doesn't get to decide what to do.

Whistles

• Get them right before using on the dog to teach say verbal, then whistle, then repeat verbal
• Quick sharp whistles tend to bring dog closer to sheep. Longer drawn out whistles for flanks and to slow dog down

During your training program set it up so the first one is the right one

• You need your dog under control from the time you walk onto the field to the time you walk off
• When your dog is far enough along in training to take it practice giving a lot of commands very fast for 10 to 30 seconds. Give a break and then repeat
• Split off some sheep from your flock and work around the other sheep in the field without letting them rejoin
• Find different places to work different sheep

Wrong Word?

Hmmm. I have been using shusssssh to speed Rave up on her outruns/flanks when needed. I have been using pussshh when I want her to move into the sheep to speed the sheep up on the drive. Both have sssh sound. So does Rave try to slip around on the push because she doesn't want to go into the bubble (probably) or because she associates that sound with going around? I am going to try just telling her to walk up. Saying it quickly and in rapid succession and see if that makes any difference.

To Close, To Close

Worked at Dianne's yesterday. I think I have a new mantra running through my mind. To close for comfort. To close driving. To close penning.

Our first go was better, the sheep stayed pretty smooth on her drive and Rave kept her pace pretty well. Second go she was much to close, the sheep became habituated to her and didn't move smoothly. I tried doing the bump and run. Rave push into the sheep making them move off smartly and stopping Rave until a nice distance opened up and starting the walk up again. Only problem is that she was sliding off the side of the bubble instead of pushing straight in which changed our line. Then we would have to try to correct the line. And by the way I have a dept perception thing that makes holding the line hard. I don't see when we move off it. Got to get much better at that. We had a bit of a problem penning these easily penned sheep. Rave was much to close so we lost them around the back circling the pen instead of a nice easy flow into the pen. I should have been handling her more in the approach. I kind of was asleep at the switch as I thought they would go right in. My mistake!

Second run we had more trouble with our driving. She also cut in on her outrun and crossed over which she rarely does. Not the cutting in, she is to narrow on her outrun, but the cross over. She had to pass under the irrigation pipes that are up on high wheels to get to the sheep and I think the visual threw us both off. Anyway we called her back and reset up the outrun. I should have insisted that she widen out more at the beginning but didn't. She started coming in tight as she got abreast of the sheep but I was able to yell her back so at least the lift was better. I really need to quit being so indecisive in my corrections. If I am wrong she is just going to have to deal with it. L.P. said in his clinic that if the thought comes across our minds that they are wrong they probably are and correct!

Our second pen was much better although she was still pushing to close and tight. If the sheep had not been so pen broke we would have been in a bit of trouble there but as they where they went in. And we called it a day.

Accomplishments, Plans and Goals

*We are working in a big field and not loosing our minds ;-)

*Need to be consistent on my stop. DO NOT say stop when I mean slow down. This is a repeating theme

*Work for a better outrun. Rave is capable of going wider than I am accepting

*Continue to work on squaring flanks. Do more outside flanks and insist on it being square. Work half moons on the fence making sure she squares and doesn't move in on the flank

*Work the drill where we set the sheep up to want to go into a pen or exhaust, using the other sheep or food as a draw and have Rave push them back

The Art of Working Sheep

We went out to Dianne's to work in the field on Sunday. It was a foggy morning. We had a good time working on our driving which is coming along. Our outrun still needs to widen out. I wonder if I need to shorten the distance until we get a more rounded outrun. My good friend took a quick clip of video but realized it was to far and foggy to turn out well, but she sent me a snapshot from it. By the time I cropped it down and then did an auto fix it turned into a Monet!

Working in Winter

Rave loves working no matter what the weather or conditions. Sheep don't like it so much. They hate to get their feet wet!