olivillocriollo

Thanks for your answer. I put off the idea and I´m back on sheep. Days are getting longer and some days I try to put two short sessions. All the best Paul

Hi Pam Very interesting reply and thanks for your advice. I am starting three bitch pups, they are stopping and know their sides. Starting to drive. I also dont have daily access to sheep but was thinking of buying three indian runners for doing complementary work the days I cant train on sheep. I only have a small yard, 20 by 20 meters. Do you think it would bake a difference? The sheep I train are from a friend, very light and fast, broke but good for young dogs Thanks for your advice Paul Walker

Thanks!! yes we`ve done a bit of traveling! All the best Paul

Hello, our news from Ireland. Jack is very well, we are competing in opens and he is starting to do some nice things, being myself the factor that mostly needs more training now. But getting better slowly. I started a new dog, his name is Tango, he is one year and a half, here are two videos of him, he completed his first open yesterday. All the best Paul Walker https://youtu.be/bTXqxffkMI0 https://youtu.be/0_qO_9fgvJc

Happy new year!!!

Thanks Gloria, it has been a long road, I still enjoy working with him and feel and see he never stops learning and trying. We are now in the nurseries, Jack is off age but we are running on the farmers class, which is very competitive here. Has had some good results here. I have other dogs but Jack is the most advanced and I like him because he shows courage always, much more than technique or experience, his heart is always there. This is a video of him the other morning (days here are very short, and wet and windy) https://youtu.be/FKdlpJXB1lc i am working his flanks because he is sometimes tight, so we are working normal flanks, extenden and out

Yes, I came here with the dream of learning more about dogs, then got a job with horses, training and preparing them to be exported to England for cross country and sports. Beside our house, I have a big field and a friend lent me 4 sheep. It is very cheap to go to trials, there are every weekend and everything is relatively close. Sheep are tricky in most places, but that is what it is all about here. I bought two pups and am starting some dogs out of a breeder. And Jack is doing fine, I made a click and realised I had schooled him too much, I am trying to go back to letting him work and think by himself, it has been a great learning experience. He always tries, can finish an open trial, not very precisely but does the job. I have realised the value of good training and also that on the breeding you can select much easier dogs, as they say here good sheepdogs are bred not made.

Hello, its been a long time. Finally I am living in Ireland, working with horses, training Jack and starting some pups. Ive been to 7 trials, have 4 sheep and a field. This is my latest video of Jack on a flock of a friend. Hope you enjoy it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K6bXmoDPZ4

Thanks TEC, I hope all goes well.. I will send another video in some time meanwhile... I wish you all a happy Christmas and best start for 2015.. Paul www.amansepatagonia.com

Hello. I corrected him to correct his line, because I am practicing control in different places of the circle. The command I gave isn't correct, I should say walk up (not cup) and in a smooth way, not harsh. It is much easier to control on this side of the circle, much less pressure and the dog knows you are near... Greetings Paul

Hello Tec. Thanks for your words and for all the help you gave me. What is an inside flank? The excersise is like this... the dog is behind you, you are between him and the sheep, facing the sheep. You flank the dog to your right (away) and you can stop him any place between yourself and 3. If he is in a good distance you can make him push and walk with him, because your distance to the sheep will be the distance he will be at on the next flank. If your dog nows well his flanks, you can give him the other flank, come bye, and the dog should come back to you, pass behind you and go on traveling and you can stop him on anyplace before 9. If he goes in front of you, between you and the sheep , no problem, call him back to you and start again, also he can push if he is ok. If not, give him another flank and so on. If he doesn't know his flanks, call him to you, give him the walk behind command, and send him to the other side.. The dog should finish flanking relaxed and independent of your position. Once he is relaxed and listening, you can allow him to travel more towards 12, but after. This is the basic one... you can do 10 or 15 minutes, then a long drive, call him out, an outrun, let him rest and do it again. On the drive, you are to his side, at a short distance at first. Say you want to correct his line, you give him a flank, and he will want to go back to you (he understood this was his place), but as you are out of the circle he will want to stay with the sheep, or you can stop him where you want. The same to the other flank, he will do it at the same distance. If he starts cutting in, you can go back to the basics. Gradually go increasing the distance.. The triangle is sheep in front, you to the side, between dog and sheep, more near to the dog than the sheep. Walking and maintaining the position. Please feel free to ask if it isn't clear.. tomorrow I will train and maybe film. Italy isnt the best place to find sheep or a job with sheep, so we are doing what we can. Best regards Paul

First I taught him off sheep to walk behind with a command. For the first runs behind I called his name, then said the command to walk behind, and then the flank, stoping him before he arrived to other side of the half of the circle. The idea is that the dog must learn to flank and stop independent to your position. The half circle can go moving around the sheep, can also move through the field and can be done between short outruns or other exercises. You can stop the dog much easier than when he is in the other half of the circle. Later when driving, you give a flank command and the dog tries to go back behind you but as you have a distance between yourself and the sheep, he obeys the flank but stays driving, on his half of the circle. It helped me, Jack is still very raw but understood the idea. As he works very little in the week, the first runs are difficult because he only wants to work and work, but as he relaxes he does it better and starts to listen. I hope this helps..

Hello This is what I did... when I arrived here I went to a trainer that told me jack was too tight and didn't know how to balance, which was right, He relied too much on my commands and got desperate if I let him alone or to think by himself. I did 3 or 4 sessions of short outruns, no commands, stoping him at 12 and letting him bring the sheep alone, then doing 8s and making him think. He eventually progress a bit on this. Then I went to a 15 day job in a farm in france, did two sessions, the first one, he was tight, fast and didn't understand very well what he had to do. The second one, I met someone who told me a very famous trainer from Ireland does this, making him flank behind me, not letting him pass further than 3 or 9, stoping him and letting him push when he is in a good distance. This way he learned to keep distance from the sheep, after three sessions, to open his flanks, and to stop well, because on this side of the circle he is easier to control. Slowly I am increasing the distance on the drives, always walking in a triangle. I live two hours from sheep, can do only one session per week, but feel that Jack is learning well, even though would do much better with more work. his first 30 or 40 minutes are a bit intense...then he relaxes. I appreciate any opinion... All the best and thanks Paul Walker

Here is another video of today... http://youtu.be/dv28-ep8DME and another one http://youtu.be/LyQ6Ol_lTkM Cheers Paul

Thank you very much!!! I finally made a video of Jack, I hadnt read your comments when I filmed him, but this is the stage he is now, plus doing outruns, driving... Not very easy in Italy, lots of traveling by train and working sheep in diferent places, but Im lucky that Jack remembers his lessons very well, and doesnt need a lot of training to progress. I would love to work him every day but cant now... He has had 2 and a half months here in europe training one time per week, sometimes I get to two. I hope you can see the video well... greetings.. Paul http://youtu.be/3G_iGcLJc2Y