Training: Looking for Sheep

I try very hard to have a consistent program when i train dogs, training in a manner from the start that makes later training a little easier for the dog to understand, based on early cues and body language. For example, if i step sideways away from my dog, that's his cue to leave my side and go around the sheep. If i walk forward towards sheep, i expect my dog to move forward and make contact with the sheep with me. I am very consistent in these cues right from the very first sessions.

By using this consistent system, I begin teaching that blind 600 yard outrun the first time a dog is on sheep! Actually, i even start this earlier with some of my own puppies. If i'm sitting at a trial with a little pup on my lap and he notices the sheep on the field, i'm making a little sss sss noise so he starts associating that noise with sheep. I've had puppies as young as 8 weeks watching sheep at the top of the Open course, and you can bet i'm trying to take advantage of that, as well as let the pup know i like that he's looking for sheep!

I use three signals to help my dog find sheep when they are out of sight, and i begin using them immediately upon starting a dog.

I always approach the sheep with my dog by walking straight forward towards them, making a little sss sss sound with my mouth, almost like a very, very quiet version of a walk up whistle. The dog learns two things - that i walk straight towards where sheep are, and if i make that sss sss noise, sheep are directly in front of me. The dogs love that sss sss noise, because it *always* means sheep are around, where i do occasionally walk around without going towards sheep. :-) When the dog is a little further along in his training, and being sent for sheep that are a little further away (but still in sight if the dog looks for them), i'll walk forward, make my sss sss, and when i see the dog lock in on the sheep, i'll add a "there". Then when the dog is even a little further along, and being sent for sheep that are out of sight, i'll again use all of my cues, and when the dog looks in the right direction, i'll use my "there" as a way of saying "yes, you're looking at the right spot, sheep are out there right where you're looking". Over time, i need to walk forward less and less, and the dog learns that i'm facing where the sheep are, but i have that walking forward to fall back on if my dog is confused. Eventually, i can stand still, facing sheep anywhere, give my dog a little sss sss under my breath, and see the dog start scanning the field with his eyes looking for sheep. And when he faces those unseen sheep 600 yards away, i can give him a quiet "there" and he knows exactly where he should be finding the sheep on his outrun.

A Few Pictures

I put up a few pictures on my Pbase site of Gael and Bart from a few days ago, and some of Julie working one of her pups from today
http://www.pbase.com/robinfrench/2008_06_14
It was a fun day. Julie, Laura, Joan and Kate came over and we worked dogs (a little), snacked on good foods (a lot) and everyone chilled out under the shade trees. Nice!

Training: What is a Correction?

I think corrections are one of the most seriously misunderstood parts of sheepdog training for novice trainers/handlers. There's a lot to a proper correction - timing, pressure, reaction, etc. It might be helpful to stop and think about what a correction actually is. The purpose of correcting a dog is to change behavior. For example, if i correct a dog for inappropriate gripping, he should not only stop the actual in-progress bite, he should think twice about doing it again because what he was doing didn't get him what he wanted - to work unimpeded. He should also let go of the sheep and *do something different* or offer another behavior so he can start to learn a new, more appropriate pattern or habit. Many times we see ineffective corrections, where the trainer repeatedly yells "get out of that" (or some other magic phrase), and the dog just keeps on doing what he was doing, effectively teaching the dog to tune out his handler's corrections. Bad idea there (and a topic for another day)! We also see overdone corrections, where the severity of the correction is too much for the infraction - the dog shuts down instead of offering a different behavior.

What your dog does after a correction will tell you if you're correcting effectively, so read your dog. Are you getting all three of the things you need to see in a good correction:
1. The inappropriate action stops immediately
2. The dog offers a different behavior immediately
3. The dog offers a different behavior over time

Corrections should be instructive for your dog. It may even help to think of them as *constructive* criticism.

Is It Monday Yet?

Hi, my name is Robin and i'm a workaholic. A weekend workaholic to be exact. Seriously, i think the reason i like dog trials so much is i can actually just hang out and not kill myself working around the house and farm. You'd never know it to look at me, but i'm just not capable of sitting around and not doing something - anything. I started the weekend off on friday evening by shearing about 6 or 8 sheep. That was fun, i've never sheared a sheep before and i enjoyed it alot. Not so sure the sheep would agree but they're definitely cooler and after the first one they don't even look too bad. Saturday morning bright and early, i was off to Kate's to shear a few more sheep, until we ran out of sharp blades. Then i loaded the new truck up with a bunch of stuff from the farm to take to the dump. Back home and i handwashed the camper, the van and the new truck, and then mowed the backyard. This is the point where i should have stopped but noooooo...i loaded the dogs up to go to the farm "so they could run and play". Hah. They ran and played and swam for about 30 minutes then spent about 3 hours watching me weedeating thistles in the sun. I ran by my folks' house afterwards and in a fit of perfect timing, walked in the door as dinner hit the table. Yum. :-) Home to a shower and about the 5th change of clothes of the day, and i watched Juno (and even kept my eyes open till the end). This morning i got the front yard mowed (about an acre) and washed 4 dogs by 10:30. At this point i did manage to hang out in the house and just chill for awhile. Okay, that's not entirely true. Someone called and i chatted on the phone for about an hour. :-) Finally, i couldn't stand it any more and was outside again. Five hours later my dog pens look wonderful from the pressure washing and cleaning. Another shower and yet another change of clothes, and i'm trying really hard to just stay here on the couch! But it's still daylight out there......and i hate to waste daylight.....

Seriously, someone needs to save me from myself. I mean, it's 102 degrees out there.

I think we might just have to have a Shoofly Day next weekend. Everybody grab your dogs and a dish, and come over and work dogs and eat and visit! So i can rest. ;-)

Dogs and Sheep

There sure are a lot of folks out there looking for young trained dogs these days. I could probably sell 5 or 6 Mosses. Wish i had them to sell since i'm keeping the original! Unfortunately the only dog i'd let go right now is probably Spottie, but no one is beating down my door looking for a 10 year old Open dog. :-) I actually am looking for the perfect retirement home for her. She's still got a couple of good years running trials in her and she could teach a novice handler a lot. It'll take a perfect home for me to let her go since she has some issues - like staring at cats and obsessing on small dogs - otherwise she'll stay right here with me. She's done so much for me, she deserves a happy, spoiled-dog retirement.

It's also time to move along some sheep. I'll be selling a few nicely broke hairsheep that are perfect for starting dogs on. I sold similar ones last year and they were a big hit with their new owners. I try to price them very reasonably for dog people, so let me know if you'd like on the list by emailing me.

Now that things are settling down with the dogs and the farm and trucks and all, i'll try to get back on track with training articles in the next week or two.

Stay cool!

Trucks

Okay, so we didn't buy the black truck in the last post. But we did buy this gray one! :-)

I had a 4WD Nissan way back pre-dogs and I've always wanted another one, and today i got it (I just couldn't make myself buy the oh-so-practical minivan!). Gael was an excellent assistant shopper, accompanying me on 3 test drives and through numerous offices at the dealership. She finished up her shopping by placing 4 wet feet right on the front seat to break the new truck in for dogs and permanently called "shotgun!".

Latest Gael Lab tests

Good news! I just got the numbers on Gael as of this morning and her alkaline phosphatase is now 1542 (was over 6000 to start, then 4500 last week) and her ALT is now 463 (was 1528 to start, 1428 last week) and REALLY good news is her bilirubin is back in the normal range. So, she's still pretty high on the enzymes but they're moving in the right direction, YAY!!!! She'll stay on the drug and supplement regimen she's on and we'll test her again in 2 weeks. She feels really good and was practically bouncing off the walls last night. Whew!!!!

To celebrate, she and i went and test drove this (Gael looked extremely stylish in the back seat):