JBlackburn Posted May 25, 2010 Report Share Posted May 25, 2010 I am just starting my 2 year old adopted BC on herding. No official lessons yet, but I've been letting her move our rope cattle, up the return lane, and working on getting control of her in a controlled space. She moves the cattle by "nipping" at their back feet, but when she nips low on the foot, they kick her...as she hasn't learned to "duck/drop" yet. So now she's nipping high on the hind legs, above the hocks. I believe they are supposed to stay below the hocks, but not sure how to teach her to nip lower. Nor do I know how to teach her to duck or drop. When I ask for a down, I get a sit. (ok...she's half Aussie...I admit it!) Can you give me some pointers until I can get to a trainer? I am having trouble finding one in the L.A. area. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMSBORDERCOLLIES Posted May 27, 2010 Report Share Posted May 27, 2010 I am just starting my 2 year old adopted BC on herding. No official lessons yet, but I've been letting her move our rope cattle, up the return lane, and working on getting control of her in a controlled space. She moves the cattle by "nipping" at their back feet, but when she nips low on the foot, they kick her...as she hasn't learned to "duck/drop" yet. So now she's nipping high on the hind legs, above the hocks. I believe they are supposed to stay below the hocks, but not sure how to teach her to nip lower. Nor do I know how to teach her to duck or drop. When I ask for a down, I get a sit. (ok...she's half Aussie...I admit it!) Can you give me some pointers until I can get to a trainer? I am having trouble finding one in the L.A. area. Thanks! Hi there. I have always found that some dogs start out biting a little on the high side and it is pretty well a bred in thing to have a good low biter. Teaching them to bite low is not really teaching them. They just learn by getting smacked a few times when they bite too high. You just need to work her a little more on broke cattle for a while until she learns how to bite low and get out of the way. Bobby Dykes is in your area and I believe that Anna Guthrie is close also. Anna is on this list so could probably let you know who is available down there. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBlackburn Posted May 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2010 Hi there. I have always found that some dogs start out biting a little on the high side and it is pretty well a bred in thing to have a good low biter. Teaching them to bite low is not really teaching them. They just learn by getting smacked a few times when they bite too high. You just need to work her a little more on broke cattle for a while until she learns how to bite low and get out of the way. Bobby Dykes is in your area and I believe that Anna Guthrie is close also. Anna is on this list so could probably let you know who is available down there. Bob Thanks Bob. Is the "drop" also a bred in thing? Or maybe learned from being kicked? I don't have a very good down on her yet, at a distance...would it help me to work on that? Maybe save a few teeth? I'll try to track down Bobby and Anna. Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMSBORDERCOLLIES Posted May 28, 2010 Report Share Posted May 28, 2010 Thanks Bob. Is the "drop" also a bred in thing? Or maybe learned from being kicked? I don't have a very good down on her yet, at a distance...would it help me to work on that? Maybe save a few teeth? I'll try to track down Bobby and Anna. Julie I have always said that if you can't stop a dog you can't run him. So that pretty well says what I think about that. In my opinion the stop is the most important command in your repertoire. Good lateral movement is a bit of genetics and a bit of training also although I believe that a dog that has it from birth will be better at it than those that are trained to do it. Never quite the same. It's not necessary to get your dog to lie down and, on cattle, I believe they are better on their feet than on their belly. You usually need every drop of presence you can get when working on cattle and they present themselves with much more confidence on their feet than on their belly. Work on your stop and your flanks and let the dog figure out where to be by moving yourself around a lot changing the balance point all the time so he becomes very aware of where it is all the time. The drop you are talking about is really a learned trait and more a duck to avoid getting kicked than a drop. Work on broke cattle until he gets his confidence set well and learns how to protect himself. If he can move the cows without biting that is more desireable than the dog that has to keep heeling to keep the cattle moving. He needs to know how to heel but also when is more important. A dog that can stand to the cattle's head when they are coming towards him is what you are looking for. He needs to be able to approach the cattle, and keep approaching them until they turn and then walk into them driving them away with, preferably, no biting. If biting is needed then it should be on the face, nose preferably and no more severe than needed to get the cow to turn and walk away. I don't like dogs that slash at the side of the face or the belly or shoulder. That form of contact usually results from some form of fear and really never accomplishes anything as it will just get a cow on the prod and make her worse. Good luck and have fun with your dog........Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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