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I have Wiley to where he will down if I am in front of him. He won't do it at a distance or if im behind him. I have to get his attention then ask for it. Am I asking for too much too soon ?

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I have Wiley to where he will down if I am in front of him. He won't do it at a distance or if im behind him. I have to get his attention then ask for it. Am I asking for too much too soon ?

He's still quite a youngster and also heading into adolescence. Remember the three Ds - distance, duration, distraction. Start with minimums of all, and very gradually increase each D as your youngster become solid and steady at the level he is at.

 

There was a recent thread concerning downing at a distance, and you might want to read that as there were some pretty good information and training tips there.

 

Best wishes!

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I have Wiley to where he will down if I am in front of him. He won't do it at a distance or if im behind him. I have to get his attention then ask for it. Am I asking for too much too soon ?

 

That depends on the pup and how much pressure he can take. He is quite young so you need to be sure that you are not putting more pressure on him than he can handle. You can do your "lie down" training with the pup while you have him out on sheep with a long line on him. Good opportunity to get the recall in also while training the lie down. The "lie down" should be started when the pup is about 3 months old in the same way that you would bring a baby along through it's training into adulthood. Very slow with lots of encouragement over a long period of time. Lots of praise but with firmness at the same time. The more the pup knows, the firmer you get. If you bring your pup along slowly from the time it is 3 months until about 8 or 9 months then it is highly unlikely that you will put too much pressure on the pup. If you start drilling the pup when it has had no foundation laid, then you will run into trouble. This is a stock dog and you are not training a competiteve obedience dog so keep things loose but firm. When you walk out into the field with the sheep present, keep the pup close to you (about 10 yards) on the line and when he reacts to the sheep and starts to go for them or what ever he does, tell him quietly to "lie down" and give a jerk on the line. Walk to him quickly but quietly and show him what you want by pushing down on his withers and saying "lie down" quitely until he is on the ground. Don't worry about whether he flops over on his back or that kind of thing. The main thing we look for here is him stopping. Most times he will be ahead of you when that happens so that takes care of him stopping with him ahead of you. As far as when he's facing you that is the simple one. Just hold both your hands up and make yourself big and go towards him telling him to "lie down" and when you get there the same thing - show him what you want and then praise him. The distance comes when you have it at the short distances and then move him out. Make this fun for him but fun doesn't mean not doing as you're told. Keep changing where and when you lie him down or stop him so he doesn't get habitual and starts to work on anticipation because he has done the same thing in the same place so many times. Mix it up and keep it interesting for him. Sometimes on sheep and sometimes not, but work with sheep around as much as possible. That is the situation he will be working in most of his working life. When you are doing theser exerecizes with the long line on, every now and then after you have laid the dog down or stopped him, then call him back to you. You will call the dogs name to get his attention and then turn and start to walk away from him fast calling "here Wiley, that'll do" etc.and patting your leg or stomach inducing him to come to you. If he doesn't turn around right away and start coming to you then give a little tug on the line and keep calling him to you in that manner. You have to stay happy and encouraging to teach the pup to "WANT" to come to you. That is your job.......Bob If you run into any difficulty just get back to me and we'll take care of it.......Bob

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I'm very sorry - I didn't notice this was in "Ask an Expert" and I apologize for posting.

 

Thats OK you know more than I do so your an expert to me :rolleyes:

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