Starting a dog

[PennyT]

Difference: Herding Master Certificate or Master Herding Certificate, whichever it is, along with taking the class for credit from some accrediting organization more ephemeral than Titania's shoe box and having fewer supporters in academia than than the University of Phoenix.

 

Difference: Neither Eileen Stein nor Bill Gary also offer life coaching, business planning, and aromatherapy as well.

 

The first difference is significant. It warns me a herding diploma mill has cropped up.

 

You'll find discussion groups with both amateurs and professionals on thousands of subjects on the net that have no relationship to online academies, and just in case you haven't noticed the expert in the inquiry section gives time gratis and rotates.

 

I like Kathy, too. Who said anything about not liking Kathy? When an ornately carved shingle gets hung out, the owner should expect comment based on rational appraisal, not personal feelings.

 

Penny

[Pippin's person]

Well, Karrin, after 12 pages of discussion, I guess I would like to know what conclusions you have drawn. Your questions have been answers by many, including many thoughtful posts by Kathy herself. Do you still feel as if you have been lead down the wrong road? Do you feel that you have wasted your time and money? What will your next step be in the training process? Have you settled upon another instructor more to your liking? I feel that you are echoing our comments with compliments but I do not have the feeling that you are learning from them. Or, I feel that you are trying to keep the discussion going for whatever reason, I do not know. Time to wrap it up, maybe?

 

Check out posts #200 and #209.

[martySQ]

Difference: Herding Master Certificate or Master Herding Certificate, whichever it is, along with taking the class for credit from some accrediting organization more ephemeral than Titania's shoe box and having fewer supporters in academia than than the University of Phoenix.

 

Difference: Neither Eileen Stein nor Bill Gary also offer life coaching, business planning, and aromatherapy as well.

 

The first difference is significant. It warns me a herding diploma mill has cropped up.

 

You'll find discussion groups with both amateurs and professionals on thousands of subjects on the net that have no relationship to online academies, and just in case you haven't noticed the expert in the inquiry section gives time gratis and rotates.

 

I like Kathy, too. Who said anything about not liking Kathy? When an ornately carved shingle gets hung out, the owner should expect comment based on rational appraisal, not personal feelings.

 

Penny

Hmmm, In my county, and my State, I am a Master Gardener a title recieved for education and volunteer hours of service given dedicated to educating people on gardening. Now, I am fond of telling people... I am a Master Gardener... not a Gardening Master... I just know where to go get the info to answer your questions! (I have just as many weeds and ill placed plants as the rest of the world does, if not more because I volunteer and don't take as much time to spend on my own yard as I would like)

What has that to do with the conversation... not much, just the way the wording was caught my mind...

But, this whole discussion is very interesting and timely as I plan on starting Bess in the Fall when it is cooler for the sheep! I'm a little scared of just how much I really don't know, and don't really know enough about it all to know just how much I don't know enough about... if that makes any sense. It has made me think a lot about my purpose for wanting to start her. Why I got her to begin with. Right or wrong, she's here now, the ducks are still here getting in the neighbors yard drilling holes, and wanting to be herded back into their own area and then penned atr night, and I still have a burning desire to learn to teach my dog how to do that for me. Oh the mixed feelings inside of sheer terror! Am I going to screw up? Will I screw up a wonderfully bred dog? Excitement is running high in anticipation. A new book to buy and read up on.

[shysheperdess]

OK, so I am new here and have been following this thread closely. I have only just started working stock with my border collie, he is my first bc and this is my first shot at herding. He is not strongly working bred so we are having ALOT of issues learning to drive. He also doesn't have much eye or push, he would flank all day long but when it comes to driving or coming up on pressure he crumbles!

 

He is such a sensitive dog that I started him without a line, letting him push sheep up a fence line. Or just letting him push sheep anywhere, stopping him here and there to try to encourage him to use his eye, because when he gets the sheep going it just seems like he "follows"and is not directing them anywhere. And he VERY badly wants to come around the side to there heads and fetch them back to me. I would stop him when he tried to slide off to there heads and turn them, and asked for a flank to put him back where he should be. He REALLY doesn't want to flank back there and the stress of arguing with him just causes him to WIG out!!!

 

So I tried putting a line on him and put him in a smaller area, and it has really helped so far. I don't have to argue with him and just help him be where he needs to be for now, he seems much more relaxed and things seem to be progressing? It is also helping him with his inside flanks. But I would welcome anymore sudjestions!!!!

 

Thanks

[PennyT]

Dear Shy...:

 

If you have followed the thread closely, your response makes no sense unless you don't want the dog to head ever or you are trying for the longest thread in the universe.

 

Penny

[Pam Wolf]

I think if Shy will follow this whole long thread they will see that there are some good trainers who use a line and some bad trainers. There are ways to use a line to start a dog and ways to use a line to screw a dog up. As I said before: If you don't understand a method and use it wrong, then, don't blame the method.