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Teaching a grip


Guest Lisa Bass
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Guest Lisa Bass

Hi Albion -

 

I have an 18-month-old bitch who is not terribly confident, and is pretty soft and sensitive as well (I wrote about her in an earlier post).

 

My trainer and I both think it might be a good idea to teach her to grip on command, to increase her confidence and give her an additional "weapon." But of course this is going less smoothly than I'd like.

 

I have been putting her in a very tiny space with one sheep, and trying to get her excited enough to try a little grip, but no joy. She will stare the sheep down, but she will not grip no matter what I do to encourage her. What I am doing is backing the ewe into a corner, kneeling in front of her with the dog, and tapping her on the nose to show the dog where to grip... but my dog just looks at me as if to say, "Uh, no, I don't think so."

 

Short of balancing a tiny piece of steak on the ewe's nose, I am at a loss. Do you have any advice for teaching a grip?

 

Lisa

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Guest aurdank

If you have one sheep standing in a corner facing the dog, there is then a lot of pressure on the dog, even with you standing nearby to help. So if your dog is timid, this approach may actually undermine her confidence rather than build it. And/or it may be that she has a bit of "eye" and that this is encouraging her further to "stick". So, you have to be careful.

 

First, wear gloves to protect your hands. Then straddle the ewe (again in a confined area) and lift its head up in a firm grip, which will immobilize it. Then with the dog in front, slap with some vigor, the the ewe's nose or face, and say "bite" or whatever command you choose. This will excite the dog and will encourage it to imitate the slap by biting, and it will learn with repetition to associate the action of biting with the word "bite". It will also teach it the proper place to bite; if the dog bites anywhere else, say "no, here", and slap the nose again, followed when she does it with a "good girl." If the dog is a little soft, it will take comfort from the fact that the ewe can't move, and also it won't be facing the ewe's glare directly and so won't feel threathened by that pressure. Do this a few times and if the dog responds, fine, but don't over-do the exercise. If the dog doesn't respond after a few tries, then maybe teaching it to bite as a way to build its confidence would not be the approach to take.

 

Once the dog can bite in this context, you then have to teach it to bite on command when the ewe is free, which is the bigger challenge. Here you need to use several sheep, and preferably ones that are not overly dog broken but at the same time not too fierce. Reasonably well worked Barbs would probably do.

 

I would take the sheep into a corner of my pasture, where two ends of the fence meet, and stand behind the sheep with the dog placed in front of them (you can also do this in a round pen, as long as there are some nooks or notches in the fencing into which you place yourself). Here, they are reasonably confined but may still escape to one side or another. Walk the dog up directly into the pressure and when the sheep break, say "watch 'em, watch 'em" in a low but intense sounding voice. This will encourage her to cover them, to prevent their breaking away, which she may try to do automatically, but in any case it will also teach her the "watch 'em" command (which can be useful down the road in wearing after the shed). This incidentally will build her confidence even if she doesn't bite, which I don't think yours would be inclinded to do, though others would be tempted, and they might do it inappropriately (not on the nose).

 

Then I'd try the same thing in a narrow chute where the sheep can't escape (the door of the chute should be closed but should be made mainly of stock fencing material, so that if the sheep get past the dog and crash into it, they won't get hurt). When they break, if the dog doesn't move immediately to cover, say "watch em" followed by a "bite". You might put the dog initially on a short leash as she approaches the sheep with you nearby, but be prepared to drop the leash when the sheep break (you can abandon the use of the leash later, once she gets used to the exercise). Now if they don't break but bunch up at the end of the chute walk with the dog (still on leash) further on to them. They might just twitch and turn but not otherwise react, which would be good because this will build the dog's confidence. Now if they don't break, but one or another lowers its head at the dog defensively, then slap it on the nose and say "bite". So, you're teaching the dog to bite only when the sheep react to its presence and in self-defense, which is the only reason the dog should bite in a trial in the first place. Handlers who have the dog grip on command when the sheep simply decline to move but are not offering a challenge are having the dog grip out out of weakness, and in my view, should be DQ'd when they do it.

 

You can also do this sort of exercise by placing sheep in a trailer and having the dog "get in" with them, leaving the mouth of the trailer open. When they try to escape, or if they lower their heads at the dog, tell her "bite" at the strategic moment. But your dog might be too soft for this, at least right now.

 

If you find that your dog is indeed too soft for all of this, you might wish to back up and try to build her confidence more gradually. For instance, apart from the "watch 'em" exercie described above, you might simply place the sheep in a mild pressure situation, stand the dog opposite from the direction they want to go in, have her walk up slowly, and when the sheep turn their heads and start walking backward, let the dog wear them a little in that direct, and give effusive praise. You should also be standing next to her as she does this and gradually increase your distance from her as her confidence grows. Here, too, you need to use sheep that won't challenge her. She will learn that she can successfully move sheep against the pressure and do it in a workmanlike fashion, which will builds confidence. Perhaps later then, you can teach her to grip when necessary and appropriately, when confronted by the need to defend herself and not just on command.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Albion

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Guest Lisa Bass

Hi Albion -

 

Sorry to have not responded earlier - I've been down with the flu for several days. But I wanted to tell you, you'll be happy to know it worked! I straddled the ewe just as you said, and swatted her on the snout, and my dog actually gripped!

 

It was actually kinda comical - you have never seen such a polite little nip. I'm not sure the ewe even noticed. But in my book, it was big progress. She has never been overly blessed with confidence so any display of even minor fierceness and courage is a fine thing.

 

I'll keep doing this until I get her to do it on command and then we'll move on to the more difficult exercises.

 

As always, your advice is excellent. Thank you!

 

Lisa

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Guest aurdank

Hi Lisa,

 

My pleasure; glad it worked. You should also remember too that your dog is still young, at 18 mos. So her confidence should grow naturally with experience, if you do all of the right things.

 

Ever,

 

albion

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