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Another Handling Question


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Hi Carol,

 

Can you give me some tips how to handle the following? Small field with heavy pressure to the exhaust just right and slightly behind the post. The turn around the post is counter clockwise so the sheep are released to the pressure and if not handled right bolt to the exhaust. I know the turn is set up in the fetch, but how should this be handled to get the best turn at the post?

 

Thanks!

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Guest carol campion
Hi Carol,

 

Can you give me some tips how to handle the following? Small field with heavy pressure to the exhaust just right and slightly behind the post. The turn around the post is counter clockwise so the sheep are released to the pressure and if not handled right bolt to the exhaust. I know the turn is set up in the fetch, but how should this be handled to get the best turn at the post?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Hi Deb

 

There are many trials set up this way and it is difficult—more so when the sheep get rerun.

 

The best way is to try to make sure the dog is on the same side of the fetch that the turn will be. Easier said than done because the pressure on the fetch may not allow it. Lots of time is lost when the dog needs to flank from the other side of the fetch to make a tight turn.

 

Also, you ideally would want the dog to bring the sheep to the post quietly so you could stop them at the post and not have them moving past it as they come up. That way the dog could get into a better contact position for a tighter turn.

 

Again, the pressure and the sheep may not allow for this proactive handling. If you end up with a wide turn that allows the sheep to get to the exhaust. I would try to catch them as soon as I could, get them directly back on line and start my drive without too much pausing—so they didn't have an opportunity to get back to the exhaust again. Your timing and contact here would be critical. If they got to the exhaust once, they will try again. So the dog needs to not slip at all off the pressure in order to make the sheep believers —but not push too hard either.

 

Once they get to the exhaust, the dog needs to really be in their faces to turn them. Then it has to be able to let go of that hold once back on line to release the sheep to go on with the drive. Lots of dogs have trouble with this. You need to keep the dog on pressure/line holding the weight of the sheep for the drive rather than "flank—stop—flank—stop" to deal with the pressure. Every time the dog stops, the sheep will fold around him.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Carol

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