Maja,Here is a new vid with Bonnie.
Feel free to post my response to this video--I don't have a copy.
J.
Posted 22 June 2010 - 09:01 AM
Maja,Here is a new vid with Bonnie.
I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of stars makes me dream.
~Vincent van Gogh
Posted 22 June 2010 - 09:12 AM
Hey Maja,
I would say overall I see a lot of improvement. She's staying behind her sheep and walking at a good pace. When she feels comfortable that things are truly under control, she'll probably start giving more space behind the sheep on her own. The whole busting and splitting thing is something a young dog will do sometimes, as you noted, so no big deal. Probably if you had gotten up while telling her to stay (assuming she would have listened), then that wouldn't have happened.
Since you asked about voice and commands, I did note that at one point you were saying "stop" I think or something that sounded like that, but you were saying it very rapidly and at a higher pitch. Those kind of tones will get you the opposite of what you wanted--rapid-fire delivery of commands tends to speed a dog up, and often tighten it as well. I've been working on this very thing with a student of mine who is taking lessons using one of my open trial dogs. It's hard to remember to do sometimes, but a slow, calm voice will result in a slower, calmer dog.
When working a dog, if you want it to speed up, you usually use a set of quick, repeating whistles, or "hurry, hurry, hurry" or something similar said quickly and with urgency. So when you were saying "stop, stop, stop" (or whatever it was), the way you were saying it was actually having the *opposite* effect on Bonnie than you intended.
The "time" command works because it sounds a lot like the first part of the lie down. But in other situations where you want to slow a dog, try to remember to keep your voice lower and slower, if that makes sense. (Any dog will read you and react to you, and tone of voice and delivery can have a huge effect on how the dog responds.)
The only other thing that really jumped out at me on the video is that you tend to ask her to lie down when she's not on balance and so she ignores your command, unless you get really forceful with her. Try waiting to ask for the lie down until you are sure she's on balance or close to it. Otherwise, by repeating the lie down, you are in effect teaching her that she can ignore the command the first couple of times you say it. While many of us become much more lax with that with our trained dogs--allowing them to interpret what we really want when we say lie down--when it comes to a youngster you're just starting, it's better to not ask for the lie down unless you're sure the dog is in a position where it will be willing to take the command. That way, lying down feels right to the dog and it will comply on your first request. I've seen lots of dogs who have learned that the command for lie down is "lie down, lie down, lie down" and they never actually stop until the handler has said that third lie down....
You can experiment with what works for Bonnie, and certainly during a training session try to do some of your work without giving her any commands, just letting her work and figure out some things for herself. I do this a lot with a young dog and also have students do the same thing. If we've had a short session where we've been demanding obedience (lie down or time, usually), then I give the dog a break from that by just doing some wearing around without saying anything to the dog.
Let me know if I actually answered the question you were asking!
Julie
"Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds" - Prov. 27-23
Posted 22 June 2010 - 11:26 AM
"Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds" - Prov. 27-23
Posted 22 June 2010 - 12:00 PM
"Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds" - Prov. 27-23
Posted 25 June 2010 - 09:38 AM
"Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds" - Prov. 27-23
Posted 25 June 2010 - 12:34 PM
Posted 25 June 2010 - 01:06 PM
Love the fact you have a coat on; it is hot here in AZ,USA. Nice sheep and pasture. You are so lucky to be able to work.
"Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds" - Prov. 27-23
Posted 28 June 2010 - 12:48 PM
"Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds" - Prov. 27-23
Posted 01 July 2010 - 12:31 PM
"Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds" - Prov. 27-23
Posted 01 July 2010 - 03:39 PM
I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of stars makes me dream.
~Vincent van Gogh
Posted 03 July 2010 - 02:19 AM
"Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds" - Prov. 27-23
Posted 03 July 2010 - 06:13 AM
Posted 03 July 2010 - 06:42 AM
I agree that it is definitely possible, and indeed it was the reason earlier, but later she stopped weaving and now she started again. It's still holds true about the distance in some cases, but not all in my opinion and that's why I wrote about it to see your opinions and see what I should try out. The reason why I think distance is not the reason now is because (1) she can walk perfectly straight at a smaller distance, (2) increasing distance does not seem help the weaving (3) increasing pressure from me seems to increase the weaving. That's what I think. I think that as soon as she gets to walk straight I have been trying to force her to increase the distance, so she rarely gets the chance to walk behind the sheep without pressure from me and hence she concluded that I don't like her there. But maybe I am wrong, so thank you for your inputBonnie is weaving because she is too close to the sheep. She has no where to go, but side to side. Before you disagree with me, please know that this is the same behavior I saw in my BC pup, at the same age, and once we got him to stay off the sheep, this behaviour stopped.
"Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds" - Prov. 27-23
Posted 07 July 2010 - 01:12 PM
"Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds" - Prov. 27-23
Posted 07 July 2010 - 01:57 PM
Posted 08 July 2010 - 01:38 AM
"Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds" - Prov. 27-23
Posted 14 July 2010 - 01:17 PM
"Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds" - Prov. 27-23
Posted 14 July 2010 - 09:25 PM
Posted 15 July 2010 - 05:47 AM
Posted 15 July 2010 - 06:17 AM
"Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds" - Prov. 27-23
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