Jump to content
BC Boards

Exercises to increase confidence on driving


Guest BelgBC
 Share

Recommended Posts

Guest BelgBC

I'm looking for some suggestions for set ups or training situations that would help to teach a dog to get a stronger eye on the sheep and increase confidence for pushing sheep, and really take control on a drive. I have two dogs who have been working on driving for about a year (one is three, the other is eight - these are my first herding dogs so my first time teaching this), but they both seem a little worried to really push at sheep, and not real committed to holding a line. One dog will hesitate, then drive in a very loose-eyed manner, almost like he doesn't want to look at the sheep. He does manage to keep them fairly straight, but he just doesn't seem to have a lot of confidence. It looks more like he just blocks all other options and the sheep meander along the only way left and he follows them - he doesn't look to me like he's really taking control and pushing at them. My other dog will just plain refuse to move. I have to give him a flank to get him on his feet, then use a 'there' to stop him and walk him before he flanks more than a step or two. If the sheep are resistant about moving he'll sort of leave a hole and look around them instead of pushing right at the balance point. It gets a lot worse once the sheep figure out he can't make them go. He'll lie there and turn his head away because he's so worried about it. They both do pretty good on very light sheep, but I think that's just because the strategy of covering all other options and then following the sheep as they 'escape' works for light sheep; the dogs don't really have to 'push'.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest aurdank

If the dog lost confidence because of the nature of its training, it might be difficult to rebuild it fully, though not impossible. This may be the case with both of your dogs, perhaps through the teaching of the drive, which for many dogs is counter-intuitive and often involves the application of much pressure. On the other hand, both dogs may lack a basic keeness to work, which is something you can't repair. If they are as lack-luster on the gather, say, as they seem to be on the drive, then it's probably a keeness problem; if not, then there may be hope.

 

To build confidence on the drive, you might wish to start with a parallell drive. Stand next to your dog, at first closely, as he drives the sheep, so that he can draw strength from your presence. And just walk along with him, making small corrections when needed. Gradually widen the distance between you and the dog while remaining parallell with him, and also gradually drop back as his confidence seems to grow, so that you are eventually walking behind him, giving encouragement all the while. Once he is comfortable with you walking behind him, you might have him drive the sheep along a fence line, with him standing on the side rather than directly in back of them. The fence will help him control the stock better, until he gains full confidence that he can do this without the fence, and if he is also working against pressure (say the sheep are drawn to the opposite direction from the fence), this will force him to work to keep the line. You may still need to stand nearby giving him encouragement, as it seems that sensitivity to pressure at present undermines his confidence. Eventually, as you start to have him drive without the aid of a fence, you'll be in a position to teach him to flank on the drive. This you can do from the parallell drive position.

 

If you work 2-3 sheep and use frequent stops to help him keep the line (here I'd use the "stand" not the lie down), you will be able to tighten the eye, if there is indeed some eye there. He may just be loose-eyed and that may be something you might need to accept and work with. At first you really need to stand nearby the dog and every time he turns away from the pressure of the sheep, stop and correct him, and place him back on the pressure, making him walk slowly into it, until he gains the confidence to work the pressure directly. All of this may take some time and will require lots of patience, and so you may wish to evaluate whether it is worth proceeding with either of these dogs. You may wish to acquire a dog already basically trained from whom you may be able to learn moe about handling.

 

Yours,

 

Albion Urdank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest aurdank

Just a further thought. Your first dog may be loose-eyed, but the second dog may actually be reluctant to move, partly because of a lack of confidence [he turns away from the pressure], but also because he is showing strong eye, and is in a sense stuck on the sheep by it. His eye would therefore need to be loosened, while the first dog's eye tightened. To loosen the eye, you need to keep the dog moving as much as possible, even on the drive, and try to keep the line with steady commands rather than stops. You can also try to free him up a bit by having him work a larger flock.

 

Albion

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...