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Continuation of walking up


Guest kimkathan
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Guest kimkathan

I have taken the 15 mo that was having problems walking in on sheep and moving them, to some easier to move sheep that stay together too well. My new problem is this, she can move the sheep easily, but is constantly wanting to get to the head. She usually has great balance, but for some reason even with me on that side and the sheep are moving she thinks they are getting away. Also, how can I get her slow down. She seems to have two speeds (fast and faster) and two stops (down and stand there). I've been giving her a drawn out "STEADY" and after no change down her, but I don't know if I should continue with this and turn her off from "DOWN".

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Guest aurdank

This sounds like great progress. She seems to have gained confidence and keenness. Going to head is natural for border collies, as reading the heads of the sheep is the way they actually keep balance. In other words, they are "headers", not heelers, and as such balance naturally only against the movement of the heads of the sheep. This means that they don't naturally balance to the handler (a common myth) and have to be taught to apply their heading instinct to that task. So, it may be that she hasn't quite fully learned this lesson yet, because til now she hasn't had the kind of sheep that have stimulated her to work seriously.

 

The balance exercise I use, which teaches the dog to focus its instinct to balance on the handler, is a series of random square turns punctuated by walking backwards for an interval. You can also use these to stop her from going to head unnecessarily (sometimes going to head can be useful: if the sheep are running and need to be stopped, or the opposite, if they're stationary and reluctant to move and require a "poke in the eye" to get them going). I can describe the exercise to you, but you may be doing it already, from the sound of it (if not, let me know, and I'll elaborate).

 

As you're turning to the right, say, the sheep will also turn and you will flank the dog to cover them and turn them straight on balance to you as you straighten up and walk backwards. Now if the dog in flanking seems to be going too far, that is, to the heads of the sheep instead, you can stop her with a stand (not a lie down, which breaks the action too radically) before she actually gets to head. Your timing has to be good here. You may wish to stand her anyway, just after you flank her, so that she stops along the side of the sheep in their peripheral vision. This might be just enough to turn the sheep anyway, and is where she should stop normally, otherwise she'd be overflanking (the only time overflanking is needed is when the sheep are so dog broken that they resist pressure from the dog and the dog has to therefore go to head to turn them). Then walk her up but use a long drawn-out walk command given softly: "waaallk". If you have her on whistles, you can give a modified stop command, say a hollow sounding version of the stand or a lie-down or stand whistle with a tail sound to it (she'd start going into a stop, hear the tail sound and straighten up instead but in doing so also slow down). The drawn out walk command gets her to start slowly and can be reinforced with a "steady" or the steady whistle command which I just described.

 

To teach the steady command, repeat it a little more firmly; if she doesn't take it after two tries, stand her, make her start slowly again and say "steady" (I agree that excessive use of the lie-down might sour her, because unlike the stand, it takes her away from her stock). Now if she actually knows this command but selectively ignores it, it may not be out of disobedience, but because she's very focused on the stock; so you might need to break her concentration by, say, calling her name after giving the command or by saying "listen" in an admonishing tone. Often this jerks them into obeying the command just given. Sometimes you might have to give the command two or three times in rapid succession for it to register, either on voice or whistle, and once it does register, you can repeat it after a decent interval, even if she's keepoing a steady pace, as a way of reinforcing the command.

 

Instead of the stand command, following the flank, you can tell her "there", which will also turn her in before getting to head and at the right spot in terms of balance (the zone of the sheeps' peripheral vision) and will also slow her down. If fact, on whistles, my "there" command and my steady command are the same. "There" can be preferable to the stand because it allows the action to remain continuous, and this is something that can be used easily enough during balance exercises. These exercises remain most effective, in fact, when handler and dog are working the sheep in as continous a motion as possible, that is, without using the stop command. The stop in this context is really invoked as prelude to a correction and not for its own sake or as routine method of working the dog.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Albion

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Guest kimkathan

I've been working with her now to keep her from flanking to the head, and it is getting better SLOWLY. However, I have a new situation that has arisen, and am unsure if it has anything to do with this. Where she used to go in for a quick nip in the flank and release ( as almost any young dog will do) she has now started to go in for a quick "heel" She has a VERY strong cattle dog line on her sire's side, and as far as a cow dog goes it's perfect, nice, low and quick. Where I'm confused now is weather or not I should repremand her for this at this point. I have a feeling that she is feeling challenged by not letting her to the head adn probably a bit insecure. I have herd also that if a dog goes in for a heel that it is more along the lines of a "kill" technique than the flank. How would you recommend approaching this at this point? Do I let it go like the quick nips before?

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Guest aurdank

Just remember that 15 mos is still young; so I wouldn't make a big deal about the heeling, which is actually better than nipping on the flank. You might give her a mild, cheerful "Nooo" or "Ugh uh", when she does it, if it really disturbs you; but a serious correction might hurt her confidence and take the grip out of her altogether. Later, when she's a little further along and can take more pressure, you can teach her to grip on command (see my post to Lisa Bass), and when to grip if it isn't possible to give her a command. It may be that the sheep that you're using now, although an improvement over the previous ones you used, are still a tad heavy for her. This is probably why she pushes fast and feels impelled to go to head too often, because she's driven there by the relative heaviness of the sheep and her own unsureness; and that of course is why she's now heeling, as you are slowing her down and trying not to allow her to fly to head. So I reckon that this is a real improvement; shows too that she's smart and is looking for different alternatives. But if you make her work the sheep properly (and it sounds like these sheep are manageable, just require getting used to), her confidence will grow. But I don't think that at this stage a little mild heeling will hurt.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Albion

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