Training Sticks- What type?

[5Bordercollies]

Hi guys, another question please.

I'm busy training my two year old on goats at the moment, but she tends to work a bit too close. So I am using a pvc conduit pipe to push her out, but in our extremely dry and hot climate they get brittle very quickly and breaks very easily.

Does anybody have any recommendations for me? Here in RSA we only get metal ones and she doen't seem to "see" it very well. My other one is a pink plastic one, but it's rather short.

Whatever I decide I'll most probably have ot import it, so I can't really afford to make the wrong choice. I've seen some nice looking fibreglass ones at Bordercollics Anonymous, but I also saw a very nice graphite one at Border collies in Action, but not sure they export to South Africa.

[rufftie]

07 22 1

3_0326 by rufftie,

this is the training stick i use. i didn't want to invest to much because i didn't know where my training career would go. i made this with a driveway stick i got at lowes (a home supply store). then i wrapped the handle with tape used to make tennis rackets more comfortable. there's an eraser on the end so i don't poke an eye out :-). overall, it was under $10. works great!

[bcnewe2]

I use a driveway stick too. only I use plumbers tubing for a handle. Probably under 3 bucks total.

[juliepoudrier]

I usually don't even bother with a stick when training, but you could probably find items locally that you can convert for your use, in a manner similar to what's been described above.

 

J.

[Liz P]

I use a lunge whip, the same way you might lunge a horse (flick it at the dog to push them out). I don't want the dog to bend out to the stick since I use it to help pen, shed, etc. Just my personal preference.

[rlwzgd]

I usually don't even bother with a stick when training, but you could probably find items locally that you can convert for your use, in a manner similar to what's been described above.

 

J.

Julie, what do you do instead?

[juliepoudrier]

Just me, the dog, and the sheep. Maybe a long line if I think I might not be able to catch the puppy (this is mainly the case when I'm just starting a youngster). For me, the stick is an extension of my arm when working/trialing. Generally I can use the pressure of my presence to push a dog off/out if need be.

 

I do have sticks--the older kind from Border Collies in Action (I don't know if you can actually find them anymore? The white ones that had black rubber at both ends) and will use one if I think it's needed (though even then it might be more for keeping sheep from running me over), but I really think that for newbies trying to learn and train a dog at the same time it's just one more thing to get in the way and be misused.

 

Just my opinion of course.

 

J.

[bill virginia]

This has worked for me and it costs nothing. Get a stick and several walmart plastic bags. Put plastic bags together and tape them to one end of the stick. When the dog comes in too close i shake the stick(it makes a noise) while making a vocal noise at the same time.

 

bill

[red russel]

Faansie Basson, top trainer and handler in your neck of the woods, rolls a feed bag into a tight roll then duct tapes it to stay. Great tool for working your young dog. Slaps against your leg to put pressure on your dog also works like a regular stick.

 

dave

[Gloria Atwater]

Late to the conversation but I have to ask ... are goats the only thing you have to work your dog on? Is she training to work goats?

The reason I ask is that it's my experience that dogs DO tend to work closer on goats. The goats don't always move off well and they require more push from the dog. If the dog works wide ... the goats are apt to just stand there. So the dog therefore works tight in order to get a response from his stock. Have you tried her on sheep, to see if she works wider?

~ Gloria

 

[5Bordercollies]

Gloria, At the moment I'm sticking to goats. The sheep... What can I say about the sheep? They've only recently stopped running a mile a min in the opposite direction the moment the see a human. They see a dog they run ten times as fast. The dogs got out the other day, saw the sheep and decided to go work them. CHAOS!!! In the worst sense. The goats see a dog, bunch up and head for their kraal double time without ever flat out running scared.

Our sheep was kept on a different farm their whole lives, have never seen a dog, a dog to them is a jackal. Out to eat them. It will take time and a lot of time and patience and even maybe a generation or two before the dogs are able to work them. Some of the ewes are also lambing right now, so for now at least they're out of the equation.

Red RusseI I actually have a rolled up feed bag, Probably the very same one Faansie uses, I suspect we feed our dogs the same food. Except he probably won his at the trails, I buy my at the local do-op. I'm just looking for something with a bit more reach.

[Gloria Atwater]

Understood! I think I replied to your post elsewhere, and if your sheep are used to the threat of being eaten, I completely understand.

I like the Border Collies in Action graphite sticks, as they are light and quick in the hand, but the Bordercolliecs fiberglass ones are probably also good. You can also duct tape some sacking to the end of it to make a "flag" of sorts, to flick at her to encourage her out, and it still won't be tremendously heavy or awkward.

You just don't want something ungainly or awkward to maneuver out of her way, once you've made your correction.

Best of luck!

~ Gloria