Guest SkyHighMeadows Posted May 3, 2003 Report Share Posted May 3, 2003 Like Melanie, I will be giving nov/nov a try this season but would like to drive in preparation to someday move up. While teaching my young bitch to drive she will look back at me when she looses confidence in pushing the sheep. Are we going to far too fast? Are there exercises we should work on to prevent the looking back? Should we just skip driving in the trials until we both have a better handle on driving? Any advice will be appreciated! Mary Ann (with Gyp) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tucknjill Posted May 4, 2003 Report Share Posted May 4, 2003 Hi Mary Anne Lets see here, first thing...My advice would be to get with a qualified instructor as it is kind of hard for me to tell WHY your bitch is looking back at you via email...somethings I can tell you to try without seeing your dog. Try crossdriving isntead of driving..that way your dog can see you in his peripheral vision and might not be so inclined to look at you. Also, how old is your bitch? You might be going to far to fast...? Also, you really need someone watching you to see if your timing is right, etc. Not downing you or your training, but driving is very important and can be tricky and I dont want to give you bad advice without having a better handle on what the problem might be...can you give me some details and are you working with anyone. More later, just in from a trip so off to sleep! Let me know more and I will see if I can come up with anything else. Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SkyHighMeadows Posted May 5, 2003 Report Share Posted May 5, 2003 Thankfully, we do work with a great instructor. Gyp is 2 years old and does much better when practing and training crossdriving. It is the drive away that is giving us trouble. I have not been giving her any flank commands, just adjusting my position to not let her slide. I have been walking behind and trying to let drving become as natural as possible. We are the littlest of little hats. She is my first dog to trial and train to give SDTs a try. We are having a very good time learning together. I would like to progess to the next level but have tons of patience and enjoy the training process. We need all the help we can get! Mary Ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tucknjill Posted May 6, 2003 Report Share Posted May 6, 2003 Well Mary Ann, Sounds like you are on the right track! For me, I like to do as you say, get them driving and holding a line on their own, I dont like alot of left right and stop straight away, though I do like getting the dog to come in between me and the sheep fairly soon. If I was you, I would keep on with the cross driving, avoid getting her to far away from you at this point. Take a mental check on the sheep you are using...are they too heavy for her, could this be causing her insecurity? Do they run and get too far away from her? This might also cause her stress? Are you calling her name too much? Too many commands will also cause this problem...if you feel comfortable with all your answers to the above questions, could be that she is just young and learning. Work on the cross driving, you can also walk with her while doing driving away from you. Make a note as her trainer. What causes her to look back? Then try to structure the situation so she doesnt do it.... sorry not more specifics, yours is a hard one without me seeing the dog...good luck btw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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