Re: Is it me??

[Guest Carol Campion]

Hi

 

Someone recently had a question titled "Is it me?" By the time I went to answer it, it was gone. Could whoever wrote it please ask again if they want help? Maybe the question got lost or something?

[Guest dsb]

I've bought a trained dog, but I'm only able to get to sheep once a week, and it seems that every time we go the lessons are more 'remedial'.

 

Is it my lack of handler/trainer skills, should I look at getting a different dog, or is it just too much to ask that a dog maintain its training with only once a week work?

 

Thanks,

Dave

[Guest Margaret Wheeler]

Hi Dave,

 

I'm so glad you re-posted your question. It's a good one and Carol is wonderfully helpful. She usually responds quite quickly (considering her busy life). She has a lot to catch up with after a long trip so there might be a bit of a wait, but her answers are worth waiting for.

 

<small>[ September 22, 2003, 04:27 PM: Message edited by: Margaret Wheeler ]</small>

[Guest Carol Campion]

Dave

 

I think the main thing you need to ask yourself is whther or not you are enjoying yourself?

 

You don't say how long you have owned this trained dog. You may have in the original post but I can't remember. It takes about a year for a dog to truly switch over to a new owner so don't be too hard on yourself. If you can only get to sheep once a week, you may find problems no matter what level dog you have.

 

I have worked with many people who do not own sheep. Their dogs have been remarkable in how much they have progressed under these circumstances. You need to get with someone who can take an honest look at the dog, tell you what it needs in terms of taining issues and help you learn to address these issues.

 

All dogs have their "issues". Are you feeling that this dog has deteriorated tremendously since you have bought it? If so, it may be more the case that you are not addressing those issues that the previous owner kept current on. So find out what the maintenance issues the previous owner had and have someone else look at the dog to see what else needs addressing.

 

If your weekly sessions are geared toward doing this along with you learning to handle for trials, you will probably make progress. Getting a diferent dog may just shift the problem to another dog.

[Guest dsb]

Thanks Carol,

As far as enjoying myself, well its rather frustrating, but its better than working my barbie collie (rescue).

What _I_ think is happening here is that the dog isn't particularly 'natural' and the trainer I got her from 'put' a lot on her that I'm not able to maintain. She's been with me since June, and she seems like she's very eager to please, and is willing to work as long as I ask her to. She's very intense, sometimes I think she doesn't hear me because she's concentrating so hard on the sheep. I can understand that it takes a while for a dog to take to a handler, and maybe I'm expecting too much.

Is it common for a dog to not outrun for a new handler? I.e I send her and she gets maybe 100 yards stops and looks at me, I send her again and get another 25-50 yards then I have to walk up to get her to go any further.

Is it common for a dog to tighten up with a new handler? She gets wicked tight, to the point of splitting sheep. It seems that the majority of our work time is spent trying to get her back off her sheep.

What about forgeting flanks? She has _no_ clue as to what an inside flank is, I've started from scratch.

This dog ran open for the guy I got her from, and I was hoping to be learning from _her_, but I honestly think I've bitten off more than I can chew.

 

Thanks,

Dave

[Guest Carol Campion]

Hi Dave

 

I guess we have some more serious deeper questions to ask. You need to find out just how far along this dog was when you bought it. I would ask the seller again for more detailed information on what he had to do to gt this dog started and then to get it to trials level. I also would try to find someone else who is reliable and a good judge of dogs who also knows the dog. It would be helpful to get another opinion on this dog.

 

From there you can try to get a bigger picture of what this dog was like to start and just how solid it was on things before you bought it.

 

I also would encourage you to read my article on "Buying a New Dog" and it will answer a lot of questions for you.

 

Briefly, the answer is "yes" to many of your questons. Dogs do forget lots when switching owners. The commands all sound different coming from someone new, your timing is diffrent, etc. Basically you are taking a lot of the foundation out from under a dog when you switch its owners. It is not uncommon for a fully trained successful trial or work dog to run through the middle of the sheep when first asked to do some work. How off the dogs get will vary with each dog. Some have no problem switching.

 

So, find out more about what this previous owner had to go through to train it (it will give you an idea of steps to follow), and then decide if you want to stick with it. If you decide to sell this one, the next may have problems as well—or you might find one that is very adaptable.

 

This is a hard one. I can tell you are disappointed, but this transition phase may be shorter than you think!