My dog surprised me.

[borderlicious]

My neighbor's horses got out today while Dakota and I were practicing some long distance commands outside. All of them went crazy and started running like fools in the desert, having a complete blast but freaking the owner out. Dakota saw them running and took off after them, but I gave him an emergency down command and he went down so fast, he skidded and wound up going face first in a pile of loose dirt. LOL. +1 for emergency down. It has now become my second most important command to keep up.

 

My neighbor asked if I could help her get her crazy, happy horses (gawd they were thrilled to be out of their pen!) and the entire time we were getting them, Dakota stayed down. It wasn't until one of the colts broke free and started running away that Dakota budged - he caught up with the colt at a gallop, ran in front of it and did the BC eye. It brought that horse to a screeching halt, and he HELD it there. If the horse took a sideways step, so did Dakota. The entire time he stayed low to the ground, with his eyes widened as far as they could go. He moved very carefully and although he was quick, he didn't spook the colt. He's NEVER done "the eye" on animals for more than about 10 seconds before, but he held this colt for about 2-3 minutes while we got the other horses calmed down. That colt was totally mesmerized by it, his eyes didn't leave Dakota's until Lisa snapped a line onto his halter.

 

As we walked the 1/2 mile or so back to their pen, Dakota was moving like a real sheepdog. Low to the ground, tail almost tucked, ears pricked as far as they can go. It was such a cool thing to see from him, since despite his work as a goose dog, he never really tried to control one that ran off (he was supposed to run them off) He gets to herd goats when we visit a friend's house, but the goats aren't very responsive and eventually stop moving entirely. Maybe I should see how he does on sheep, after all.

 

Just a pointless brag from a pet owner, lol!

[Alicia]

That's great! That had to be cool to see ;D

[Lunar]

That is really wonderful to hear. It's great when you see your training work paying off, like with his emergency down.

[hoku's mum]

That is so cool, you are my role model, borderlicious! Yeah Dakota! You both deserve a big cookie!

 

Kristin, Hoku and Gussy

[IMarkMeanings]

borderlicous,

 

Please excuse my extreme ignorance, but can you describe in detail what an "emergency down" command is and what you did to teach this to Dakota?

 

TIA,

 

IMM

[borderlicious]

IMM,

 

An emergency down is a highly-conditioned IMMEDIATE drop command that is, you guessed it, used only in emergencies. He has an emergency recall as well, which I taught in more or less the same way. Dakota does a lot off-lead, and in the Arizona desert we have countless rabbits, lizards, ground squirrels and the occasional escapee horses that Dakota tends to chase after. I liken his emergency down to an emergency brake - if I need to stop him IMMEDIATELY, I use this command. In this case I didn't want him to get trampled by crazy horses, so I stopped him before he could get too close.

 

I taught it to Dakota by giving him a new phrase to associate with the "down" command (I use "hit the deck" and a whistle command for long distances) Once he was reliably giving the correct response to those words, I began reinforcing only for the speediest of responses. I only gave this command once or twice a day, at completely random times. Once he perfected it, I stopped giving it so often. Now he gets a practice ED command once or twice a week, just so I can keep his response sharp.

 

Reinforcement was (IS - this is a command that requires a bit of upkeep) a BIG deal. I made sure that every time he responded to the command, he got a full 60+ seconds of enthusiastic praise, treats and/or tug, then he got to do whatever he wanted. He learned that this command is the signal for a "jackpot" of fun, and would go down and STAY down until I approached him to give him his reward. I always made sure to go TO him to release him, rather than calling him off, that way he doesn't anticipate a recall and break his stay before I'm ready or before it's safe. In several "close call" situations I've released him by giving a recall command, but in practice I never do.

 

Hope that made sense . . . I love training but I'm terrible at explaining things.

 

Licious

[shelb'smum]

Will you come and train mine please

I love training but am horriable at it LOL

[WyoBC]

I love training, and I'm ok at. I just need a dog that will learn. There's nothing better than seeing your training pay off right there. Great job to the both of you!

[Allie Oop]

Sounds like a wonderful moment to me! Congratulations!

[borderlicious]

Shelb'smum,

 

I'd love to Hopefully someday I will be able to do this for a living. Training all day = heaven.

 

WyoBC,

 

You have the right breed then Any dog can learn and be obedient with the right motivation, but there really is something special about these Border Collies. I'll never be without one again.