Training new herding cues without sheep

[dsmbc]

I am a total newbie, so may not be interpreting this correctly, but someone recently explained to me that you can train commands off stock, but essentially they mean something different and aren't really helping the dog figure out what they need to on stock.

 

She gave me the example of a lie down. She said when your dog is away from stock and you ask them to lie down, you are just asking them to drop to the ground. But when your dog is on stock, asking for a lie down, it means 'hey take the pressure off' or 'slow the pace', etc. You are not just wanting them to drop to the ground but to learn the impact the act of dropping to the ground (or just slowing down) has on the sheep.

 

the same with the walk up, it is not about walking in a straight line to me. it is about the dog figuring out how to put the right amount of pressure at a desirable pace to move the stock where you want them.

 

Anyway, just my way of saying, those same commands mean something very different on stock and it is just as important for you the handler to know the difference as the dog.