Do you wonder how top handlers seem so in sync with their dogs?
Do you struggle to get your dog to bend? To stop? To recall? Without fighting?
Do you have a young dog and want to start off on the right foot?
It all starts with a solid foundation.
If you are inexperienced, the speed with which everything is happening when you are trying to work your dog on stock can make it challenging for you to develop a good working relationship. This can lead to slicing, chasing, and gripping.
By teaching specific exercises to your dog OFF sheep, you can make things clearer, and easier when you do work your dog ON sheep.
The course will also teach you WHY these exercises work, so that you can expand on them, and use your new skills as you and your dog progress on your herding journey!
https://www.iherdonline.com
An example of how I apply the foundation exercises from Herding Starts Here to 2 year old Moss. Scroll down for an explanation of how I apply the skills I started teaching him before he ever went to sheep.Register here https://www.iherdonline.com/herding-starts-here
This work clip of Moss shows a number of examples where I use both my verbal correction and pressure to correct him in a calm manner.
I use a quick "ah" to stop him from creeping forward on his "stay there".
I use a more pronounced "ah, ah, ah" when I stop him to bend him out. I also lean towards him. I give the flank when he bends his head away, and release the pressure.
He gets another ah, on his come bye flank as he was going to come up short of the point of balance.
Once your dog has a good foundation, you can speak to it in a calm manner. I save the shouting for when things go terribly sideways, and because we have a good foundation, that doesn't happen very often.
5 month old Ted showing a great example of how well pressure and release works, and how quickly dogs learn this way. He has been here 8 days and this was from his 3rd training session. What a good boy!
Believe it or not, teaching your dog to wait politely to be let out, can help you when you take your dog to sheep. I love any opportunity where I can (nicely) insist until I get a desired behaviour. I hope this quick video gives you some ideas, or something to think about - a way to integrate training into your day to day life. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have. 🙂
Introducing the 2 new students at iHerd! Want to join in? Show me pics of your dogs and tell me your plans for them this year. 🙂
A bit of a catch up. Also, I’ve picked up 2 new young dogs (more about them later!) and thought I’d talk a bit about what I’m doing with them - and what I do with any new dog.
3 things I think about and work on when I don’t have regular ability (or access) to work sheep. What are you working on to help make 2025 a success? Comment below!
Moss the other day. Showing that a bit of patience will get things moving better than flying in and creating a bigger problem. Also at the end, see how the release of pressure (everyone talks about applying pressure - we should spend more time talking about when and how to release pressure) when I stop him, allows the ewe to turn and move away. Oh, and a cool looking sky!
This is how I work dogs in the winter, once we have a lot of snow. I’ll post a picture in the comment area of what the set up looks like. It took maybe an hour total to clear the entire field, which will give me a nice area to work in. #workingsheepdogsinsnow #herdinginalbertawinter #iherd #workingbordercollies
This is Star’s daughter Kate. She’s one heck of a working Border Collie…but she’s got another talent. She can sing! 😆
I do let my Border Collies get excited- they LOVE chasing squirrels! However, I don’t actually do anything with them on purpose, to excite them. When we aren’t working (now that it’s winter, there won’t be much work at all), we (sound like a dating profile) take long walks in the woods, read by the fire, watch movies and just hang out. They have NO complaints. 🙂more info on training herding dogs @ iHerd.ca
Found some old video of Kate. She does a great job showing how a Border Collie is able to read their sheep, cover and hold them, all on their own. Could have turned it into a cute reel, but decided to leave it the way it was for people who are interested in how a well trained Border Collie works. #iherd #workingbordercollie #sheepdog
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