Michelle K Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 Here are some videos of Bonnie on sheep that I thought I would share... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle K Posted February 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 Ok, I'm not sure if no comments are a good thing or a bad thing when there have been 76 views. Does no one have anything to say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenotri Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I posted a video of my pup too & only had a couple of comments. I'm guessing every one has a different method of starting dogs & different levels of experience in doing so too. My clips are a bit different to yours in terms of what is going on, I'm sure people may look at each of them, see things they may do differently or want to see happen differently & be happier to say nothing since we haven't specifically asked for critique/help (although I would always welcome it, as I'm sure you would). I watched your clips, but as I'm not an experienced handler, didn't comment. Is that her first time? She certainly has some instinct but I wasnt sure about a couple of the things that were happening in the clips. Was that you handling her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle K Posted February 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 I posted a video of my pup too & only had a couple of comments. I'm guessing every one has a different method of starting dogs & different levels of experience in doing so too. My clips are a bit different to yours in terms of what is going on, I'm sure people may look at each of them, see things they may do differently or want to see happen differently & be happier to say nothing since we haven't specifically asked for critique/help (although I would always welcome it, as I'm sure you would). I watched your clips, but as I'm not an experienced handler, didn't comment. Is that her first time? She certainly has some instinct but I wasnt sure about a couple of the things that were happening in the clips. Was that you handling her? Hi! Yes, this was her evaluation, and, no, I wasn't the one handling her. I was the one behind the camera. I did have someone to contact me privately and that has been superb in advice and suggestions. There is another person that the trainer, in the video, had mentioned to me who is about the same distance away. I'm going to try to contact him, since he hosts USBCHA trials (hosting 3 this year). Like you, I welcome any help, because I only want to do right by my girl. I don't want to do anything that is going to be damaging to her or to the breed. That's why I had posted the videos. I know everyone has different views and I feel that we can all learn from each other. I'll have to check out your videos. I haven't had a chance to watch them yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia P Posted February 29, 2012 Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 Michelle, I thought Bonnie did a good job, she is balancing well. Everyone starts dogs a little differently but she shows very good promise. I do lots of little walk abouts, like your trainer was doing, and will throw in a lie down when they are ready. your girl is very upright not showing much eye yet and works closely. The close working is to be expected on a first time. She looks like she would be very easy to work with. Don't "aim" to get your HT with the dog, she can do much better and if you want to have a go with herding she would be a good dog to do that with! Cynthia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 Hi Michelle, I haven't actually watched the videos. I had a problem with my computer (blue screen of near-death) which happened when I was watching a video posted to this forum. I brought my computer back from the brink with the help of my BIL, who is a network engineer, but he suggested I avoid watching videos for the time being, till we can do further diagnostics. Since my computer is my livelihood, I'm taking his advice. J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald McCaig Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 Dear Ms. Michelle. If I were training Bonnie I probably would have pushed her off a tad (she'll take more pressure, if more gracefully applied). I certainly would have tried for a down&release. That said, Bonnie's fine. She should be a good beginner's dog. Donald McCaig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle K Posted March 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 Thank you all so much for your insight! You have no idea how much it is appreciated! Bonnie is a wonderful girl, whether she makes a great herding dog or not, in the end. She and I have become very close. For those that are coming in new, and haven't seen my previous posts about her, she is a 3yr old that I just got from a friend of my husband's. They had to part with her due to unfortunate circumstances. Sadly, nothing had been done with her, prior to coming here. She has some nice dogs behind her, so we want to see what she can do. Julie, I understand all too well about computer issues, so no worries! As a matter of fact, I was typing a response a minute ago, and had it almost completed, when I hit something. Well, I lost my page, so everything got erased. Now I'm trying to remember what I had typed. UGH! As far as the "HT", I'm not a fan of AKC, even moreso now that I've been doing more in-depth research. I'm wanting to stay with the USBCHA trials that are offered around here. We have 2 coming up, locally, in the fall. One is in September and the other is in October. Do you all think it would it be unrealistic to prepare or aim for those with Bonnie, if she's going to be trialing in Novice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald McCaig Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 Dear Ms. Michelle, My Rx to run Bonnie in Novice/novice in October: Bonnie should to be trained at least once and usually twice weekly (not now and again) by a USBCHA open handler. You should learn how to handle a sheepdog at these sessions - not by working Bonnie but by working one of the open handler's retired trained dogs. By late July you can start working Bonnie under supervision. From that time forward only you would work Bonnie. Yes, it can be done. No, it isn't easy or quick. Donald McCaig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle K Posted March 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 Mr. McCaig, thank you so much! I will definitely see what I can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mja Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Here are some videos of Bonnie on sheep that I thought I would share... Hi, Thanks for sharing, your dog is trying hard to do its best, me thinks she will be better served by you finding a different trainer. She does appear to be loose eyed at this stage but I did see her using some eye as she was following the sheep in, so as she settles down she might use her eye more. Let us know how it goes for you and Bonnie and thanks again for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 I couldn't watch all of it, but what I did, she looks good. Definitely wants to work and I bet together you both can learn a lot. Enjoy the ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 I finally was able to view the videos. Bonnie looks like she has some talent. I think I'd spend less time telling her what to do and where to be and just let her figure out what works. In other words, I would discourage her winging around them, but wouldn't tell her "there" continuously to try to put her on balance. Even if she turns out to be loose-eyed, she needs to be able to feel balance on her own and not told where the human thinks it is. She is showing some eye, and may show even more on a smaller group. J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallixBorderCollie Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Oh nice one Bonnie! It would be awesome if you can post more videos as I am just starting to train my BC. So eager here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.