The Lift

[Guest elayne]

Hi Sam-

 

It's me again!

This is in regards to the lift.

My dog tends to be very cautious on the lift.

Too cautious. We have been timing out because of it. I have tried not saying anything and "letting him work it out for himself". I have also tried to be very upbeat and happy trying to egg him on. Neither ideas are working. It happens both at trials and in training.

Any suggestions??

Thanks again-

Elayne

[Guest tucknjill]

Hey there,

Let me see...some really quick ideas but first a few questions....what really gets your dog going? Mine respond to a whip crack, like a buggy whip..they have a fair bit of eye, but are also quite hot. When they hear the whip pop, they surge forward...if they are getting sticky, I accompany the walk up whistle at very close range with a whip pop so they learn to associate that particular fast walkup whistle with the pop that really excites them and unlocks their eye. THIS ONLY WORKS IF YOUR DOGS RESPONDS WITH THAT REACTION TO THE WHIP...many dogs are turned off by it so you will want to try it first lightly to see what reaction you get. This is a very hard question for me to answer over the computer as it just depends on your dog so I will try to cover a few things I try...putting sheep on grain and working the dog up close pumping them up somehow (you have to determine what gets your dog riled up) get them powering into the sheep and lifting them. (practice at very close range..key is not to allow them to ignore the walk up whistle. No matter the reason it is still a form of disobedience...however the way you deal with it depends on the dog and the reason they are doing it.) Make sure to put a seperate or different variation of your walkup whistle to it. You might want to give them a kill command that if you give it, they just blow into sheep, but that is a bit more sophisticated manuver as you have to have an immediate down to use it in a trial situation..ie in training let them blast the sheep... at the trial, just get them moving and then stop them before contact...but get someone to help you with that first...Gene should be able to show you how...(I think that is who you train with..sorry if not!) Another thing you can try is flanking them back and forth a bit to try to get the sheep moving. (I dont like this but can work as a last resort)

 

Sorry this seems so rushed, my family is in town and I am playing real person this week..I actually went to a mall...perish the thought. Hope some of it helps, let me know more specifics or if you have anymore questions...Best Sam

 

PS some other thoughts, I dont know if your dog is doing this due to eye, lack of confidence, lack of power etc...there are just so many variables...the answers I outlined are best for too much eye and with a hot dog. (except maybe the flanking back and forth thing) If you believe your dog is other than that, let me know and I will see if I can help you..Nite!

[Guest elayne]

Hi Sam-

Here is some additional info that might help. The whip is totally out. Someone, somewhere must have used it with him. He is motivated by vacum cleaners and lawn mowers, thats about it.. I am not sure if it is eye, confidence or a combination. Someone once observed that once he gets them going he often tries to buzz them on the fetch.

Thanks for your help-stay out of Malls!

Elayne

[Guest tucknjill]

Well I would at least start with working him up close (Like 40 feet...very close!) Put some sheep on corn, but not really heavy ones. Even if you have to get him to buzz them at first, get him blasting in a bit...you can then smooth it out later..also, try the little flanks back and forth... This is sam signing off and out of malls...back at the vet this afternoon at least that is back in my element!