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New Book by Julie Hill, "The Natural Way"


TEC
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Julie Simpson-Hill has rewritten her book, "The Natural Way", and it is available through the Border Collies in Action site. Here is what the website says about it:

 

Julie Hill has over thirty years experience as a shepherd and sheepdog trainer. She is, also, the only woman to have won both the prestigious Supreme International and International Brace Championships. Julie developed the pressure/release techniques that underpin The Natural Way by watching and interacting with her pack of Border Collies. Her Training method has enabled her to develop strong bonds with her canine companions that are based on mutual trust, loyalty and respect. Throughout this book Julie explains the intricacies of communication between man, dog and sheep. She shows the advantages of building a good foundation from a pup and why communicating using the dogs own language benefits your relationship with your dog. Soft cover. 197 pages. Color illustrations and photos.

Check out the companion DVD ~ The Natural Way.

I briefly flipped through the new edition, and based on that will order it soon. Her book is full of color photos, excellent diagrams, anecdotes, and complete explanations. I read her original published many years ago, and was extremely impressed. This new edition seems to be a total rewrite and update. Here is a link to Border Collies in Action. -- TEC

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TEC,

there is another thread on this board about Julie Hill's new book http://www.bordercollie.org/boards/index.php?showtopic=36938

In that thread on post #8, I gave a list of the contents and a slighter longer description of the book contents than the details you have posted.

It may also help people decide whether they want to purchase it as It is more expensive than the other available texts

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Thanks for posting the link. I remembered the thread, and hoped that knowing the book could be obtained locally would encourage reading. Like you, I have no financial interest in the publication. I think it is an excellent book worthy of being in a handler's library. I continue to utilize several of the strategies set-forth in Hill's first edition. -- TEC

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I guess that for completeness I should add a couple of comments to my previous review on the other thread.

 

1. Ms Hill makes clear that she believes in pack hierarchy, dominance-submission and that she needs to be leader of the pack in order to gain her dogs' respect. She says that she bases her ideas and pressure - release training methods on having watched & worked with her pack of 10-20 unneutered border collies for over 30 years. From reading the comments on this board and elsewhere, I know that some (many) people do not subscribe to some of these notions and I would not like these individuals to believe that my other comments have mislead them in any way

 

Importantly she also makes clear that there are many different ways of being a leader and in one of the 'fact boxes' she writes "I think the pack runs smoother with the calmer, fairer leadership of Bill and Tess (2 of her dogs) and so I also rule in this manner"

 

2. I have a 5.5 month pup of my own to train and so am currently re-reading sections of her book. On my re-read, there are a few comments that she makes that certainly make me squirm a bit and I'm not certain of all her interepretations. But these are minor points compared to the vast majority of content.

 

Like TEC, I like her overall philosophy. I also like the design, layout and style of writing of these new edition. In my mind it is infinitely better and much more detailed than the 1st edition (which unlike TEC, I found very frustrating) ...but I fully appreciate that writing style etc are very much personal preferences.

 

I certainly try to use some of the same strategies that Ms Hill advocates when training my own dogs. Things like consistency, fairness, pressure and release, a graduated scale of intensity when using pressure. They work for me partly because they are so adaptable when considering different types of dog (sensitive, stubborn, anxious etc).

 

But personally, I think a very important part of this approach is being able to 'read' your dog and also your sheep. No matter how good the pictures & descriptions, I don't believe that you can really learn this from any book.

 

IMHO, I think you need to spend hours analysing what you see and work out strategies of how you would deal with a similar situaion if it arose again. If/when it does, you then test your idea & if that works then great. But if it doesn't then you have to go back to the drawing board & reconsider, re-interpret what you are seeing and adapt your approach accordingly.

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I certainly try to use some of the same strategies that Ms Hill advocates when training my own dogs. Things like consistency, fairness, pressure and release, a graduated scale of intensity when using pressure. They work for me partly because they are so adaptable when considering different types of dog (sensitive, stubborn etc).

I have considered buying this book, but frankly, this is not really revolutionary...And what I read in this thread,and the other one (many personal anecdotes, dominance principle etc) made me decide not to spend what is a more than an average price for another book about stockwork. Though I do get the impression it is not a bad book in itself.

I´ll probably go for Derek Scrimgeour´s instead, that one has been on my list for some time.

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I have purchased her book and find it very helpful and totally agree with her methods, cannot argue with her success and I am not just referring to trial wins. She is working her dogs in the very element for which they were bred. The book has much to offer and sometimes you have to know alot to know what you don't know.

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I actually bought the book from ISDS at great expense - I live in RSA, import fees are a pest. I like the book. Here and there I've found a few things that I don't totally agree with e.g she claims a dog who jumps on his handler or pulls on a lead is being disrespectful. To me that's just a sign he hasn't been taught better manners.

Pack theory is a very controversial subject, I know popular science today has "debunked" it, but then please tell me why do some of my dogs submit to others? Why would Meg grovel in front of her father if he wasn't higher in status than her? It's not as if she gets anything out of it.

Pressure and release is pretty much natures way. Natural Horsemanship people have been using it successfully on horses for years and years. I do have a clicker and i like to use it to teach my dogs new behaviours, it's a quick and efficient way to tell them yes! But I've tried taking a clicker with me to the goats while training my pup. Didn't really work.

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^^ this is what I was trying to say in my earlier post. Don't get me wrong,. I like most of the book a lot and would stll strongly recommend it to others (despite the high price). However, I don't necessarily agree with all Ms. Hill's comments . Also some of her interpretations (pack hierarchy) are controversial and this may stop some people reading beyond the 1st chapter.

What I really do like is the way she emphasises the importance of body language (both positive and negative), energy and intent behind an action.-.and also how subtle these can be. The pictures and their captions throughout the book are very helpful here.

 

If used properly, the pressure/release techniques she advocates are a very humane and successful approach when training a sheepdog.

I also think the 'from the clinic' boxes (where Ms. Hill describes how she helped clients sort out specific training issues) and the problems sections at the end of each chapter are both also extremely helpful...as long as you can identify what the real underlying issue is with your own dog... which is why I definitely think it is vital to be able to read your own dog & sheep properly ..but the book pictures & captions may also probably help here because they show & describe different behaviours and attitudes.

 

Added in edit. Ms. Hill also continually restates in her book that if you wish to solve a problem then you need to analyse the situation to determine the underlying issue. She also says that to do this, it is important to be able read your dog and sheep correctly. So my comments on this aspect should not count as a negative criticism of the book.

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