So I'm relativelynew to herding; we've been dabbling at it for about a year off and on, but I don’thave my own sheep or easy access to them. (I know, I know, so why herd, right?I adopted a fantastic dog with tons of instinct, and after the initial instincttest I fell in love with it.) We've done some clinics and private lessons, andhad gotten to a point that I'd try my hand at practicing on runner ducks. I cankeep them on my property, and maybe they will help slow Brynn down a little too(a little closer work and more deliberate movements required with ducks, I hadheard).
We're doing alright dabbling with the ducks, and have used them to reinforceflanking commands. But, they are partial, naturally, to the corner of the yardwhere their pen is. So, I have two questions:
1.) When thinking about balance, if I send her on our short little outruns, sheusually has to "balance" them off to one side (like instead of 6 and12, I'm at 6 and she'll be at 2, to compensate for their tendency to run towardtheir pen). So, I'm just wondering, in a trial, is "balance" requiredto be at 6 and 12, or is she "balanced" because she's where she needsto be to hold the stock to and towards me?
2.) How do I keep my dog from turning so completely off (overly squaring?) theducks when circling them? That is, if I move, requiring her to move around theducks to keep balance, she will turn her head way away, but because these guyshave a tendency toward their pen, when she turns off, she loses them a bit. Iguess, I need a mini flank. Is there such a thing? If so, how do you train it?
