Posted 26 December 2012 - 08:28 AM
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Sorry to be tardy with this. I watch every day for weeks and no one asks anything. I look away for a day or two, like over Christmas, and get caught every time.
Start with the Northeast Border Collie Association, (NEBCA) and find some one close to you, hopefully. Make your training sessions easy to do. The instructor should be a successful competitor at a high level, not novice. His or her skill will bring insight into the development you make with your young dog. Chose carefully, sorting by trial successes at the outset.
You will have to get along with your trainer so make no long term commitments at first. See how it goes. Your trainer may not want to keep you either, so get the feel for one another. If you like it, go with it.
Help yourself. Watch trial runs with special attention to the audio track, where the handler gives direction to the dog. This is a resource never available to me when I was starting but a huge advantage to the new handler starting out now. Runs are all over the internet. Dave Imas vimeo is particularly useful--lots of good runners running good dogs for all the world to see. It will help you see where you are headed.
Make sure your dog lies down and comes when it is called and is otherwise a decent canine citizen before you embark on a training program. Being turned loose on sheep can be a liberating epiphany for a young dog. It makes training swifter and easier if it draws upon some basic obedience, to get going.
Be prepared to work. No one ever got good at sheepdogs without a lot of work
quote name='newbcgirl' timestamp='1356148556' post='431707']
Hi,
Cali came into our family when she was she was 8 months old. She is now just over 3 years old and my husband and I would like to add some sheep to our small farm. I would like to find a trainer/mentor nearby to work with us so that Cali and I can work the sheep together.
We live in Upstate NY- Red Creek.
Any information that you could pass along would be greatly appreciated.
If you need/want more info from me, let me know!
Thank you!
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