We will be doing the Second Annual Wool Festival on Sunday! It’s the ONLY event of it’s kind in So Calif. Shearing, wool classing, spinning, sheepdog demos; kids and families welcome. Great chance to watch REAL FARMING! Parking fee $3; everything else free!
Also:
Animal Planet coming to shoot a segment on Tuesday!!
I have spent several columns on the techniques for training your dogs. However, I neglected the most important aspect of this exercise
HANDLER’S MENTAL ATTITUDE.
This training stuff is not easy. It takes concentration, perception and consistency. The more mistakes you allow the dog to make, the less reliable he will be. You are creating a TOOL; one that will be an incredible labor-saving device, if done properly. Your ability to grow as a handler will only be to the degree the dog lets you handle. If your dog misses 50% of his commands, how do you know if you were correct or not? Better you give the WRONG command, dog obeys and you realize you goofed than dog blows you off and you NEVER find out if it was a correct call or not. So, you need a dog to do what he is told.
This takes up back to the necessity of proper training. It’s BORING, BORING and REPETITIVE. Dogs don’t like it and neither do people. This is where herding is NOT FUN!! In any endeavor that demands excellence, there is a period of time when it is NOT FUN!! Think of school, sports, jobs. What got you through it? MENTAL DETERMINATION.
I have a number of clients who successfully completed their Started titles and are moving into Intermediate. In USBCHA, they are ready for ProNovice. The jump from Beginner to Intermediate is HUGE! The dog needs to be worked in a whole different manner. Both dog and handler have become comfortable w/ walking around a course, letting the dog “do it’s thing”. Not so in the higher levels. Handler becomes a “puppeteer” not a magnet. Dog must be placed in EXACTLY the correct location to move the sheep to the desired obstacle. Dog must be looking at the sheep, not at the handler. Suddenly all terminology is about the sheep and handler is trapped in concrete shoes. The only way this is accomplished is when the dog is obedient.
Sadly, some dogs don’t always have the drive to work through this. Ironically, I see more people give up than dogs. It has become difficult and repetitive and BORING. Hours are needed to teach these dogs the lingo to match the behavior. You will spend 80% of your training just reinforcing commands. You can be sure if the dog misses 1 out of 4 commands in training, the number become 1 out 3 in trials. Or worse. You will not get those pretty blue ribbons with numbers like that. Trialing is expensive and each run should count for something. I had one missed command cost me $500 at a trial. My dog didn’t take my first “Go Bye” at the drive panel so I had to give a 2nd one. The delay allowed the sheep to go around the panel, throwing me into 2nd place. $500 was the difference between 1st and 2nd. Needless to say, I went home and worked DRILLS.
This is actually one of the most interesting parts of training for me. This is when I see the dog begin to LEARN the commands and respond. I watch little light bulbs come on, snap,snap, snap. I LOVE when the dog asks ” Is THIS what you want”? I can’t sculpt or paint. Taking a active, silly dog and making him a well-oiled tool is the closest I get to ART! As the dogs learn, they achieve confidence and they LIKE it. The want our approval and they want to work sheep. The better they obey, the more sheep they get and they figure that out! This is the groundwork for the “team” you and your dog become.
I am going to digress from the usual column about training and handling to discuss a VERY IMPORTANT subject:
SPORTSMANSHIP…..GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP
In a world where everyone wants everything equitable, I have some unwelcome news for you.
SHEEP DON’T PLAY FAIR.
They play to win, or in their minds, to survive. EVERYTHING eats lambs so from the time they are born, survival instinct is strong.
I was just at a trial where the sheep NEVER get worked by dogs and are surrounded by coyotes. We flushed a couple brazen varmints out of the camping area. The sheep were completely unafraid of our dogs and proceeded to beat the crap out of them. Over half of the scores were RT/DQ as dogs were unable to bring them down the field. That’s USBCHA trials.
When you are at an AKC or AHBA trial, the organizers HAVE to use “dog broke, course-trained” sheep. These sheep-devils are machiavellian schemers who rid themselves of dog pursuit by racing to exhaust pens or safety corners. AFter a few miserable attempts to bring the sheep back on course, handlers are called off and sheep put away. Sheep – 1; dog – 0.
There are sheep that just won’t let you WIN. However, if you and the dog are a good team, you can get around a course. THESE are the runs that will live in memory as achievements.
Many years ago one of my clients remarked, “Never have I spent so much time and so much money to attain such humiliation”.
That sums up dog trialing.
Let me emphasize it is NOT always the sheep’s fault. They are reacting to the behavior of the dog working them. If, in the sheep’s mind, the dog is chasing, they will escape. It’s imperative to give the sheep the sense that the dog is QUIETLY in control, not boisterously rousting them up. The most difficult of sheep will react positively to the respectful behavior of the dog & handler.
So train your dog well, handle your sheep quietly and you will have more success. However, be aware the surly, cantankerous sheep can WRECK your day ……so smile 
The question is: can this dog be your pet AND your tool/partner in the field of herding.
The answer is “Yes” but there ARE limitations.
My first trial dog “Blaze”, was a freaking handful! He lived in the house ( I lived at the beach in a duplex), slept where he wanted, babysat my kids (infant & 2 yr old) and went everywhere w/ me. I was actively herding and he DQ’d every trial. He blatantly disregarded what I told him and merrily tore into sheep at Mach 9. I took him up to the gentleman who bred him to get some lessons and he told me two things:
1. These dogs can’t be pets
2. Women can’t train these dogs, they don’t have doggy voices.
HMMM, since my living situation was such, he HAD to be a pet and I wasn’t up for sex change operation, so it just needed to worked around. So I took to heart the lesson on training, came home and worked on the dog. However, I was starting to observe w/ a jaundice eye how Blaze liked to dictate some terms. That had to stop. He started being kicked outside MUCH more and allowed to join up w/ the pack on MY terms.
A short time later, I took him to a Ralph Pulfer clinic (this gentleman became my mentor) and he introduced me to rubber hoses. Now, don’t let your deviant little minds run to the gutter, but these articles can FLY briskly through the air and nail a dog about misbehave on sheep.
Suddenly, I was WINNING trials!!
Also, Blaze and I started San Pasqual Stockdog Training Facility, so he was worked almost daily. Cattle, sheep, ducks, goats, all stock needed to make this endeavor succeed.
The ability to live with the pet dog and achieve success as a herder depends on the keenness of the dog and the authority of the handler. If the dog is not interested in herding to the degree necessary to accept the training, then the dog will prefer the life of a pet. If the dog is keen to work, then home life isn’t as fun as herding and the dog will therefore prefer herding.
I’ve only seen one dog ruined by its home environment. A Border Collie w/ tremendous talent just up and quit herding after less than a year of training. She had NO restrictions or rules at home. The only time she was disciplined (i.e. corrected) was while herding. I could see her just looking at her mom and saying “screw you! I’m going home to play” .
The importance of herding to a dog is reflected in how important it is to the handler! Again, another anecdote…
A young man brought an Aus Shepherd to me for lessons years ago. This dog was WORTHLESS!! I suggested this guy give up and do something else. He wanted to herd. Not the dog. The adventure went on for an eternity (it seemed to me) but they were making progress. One day, it dawned on me this dog was working to PLEASE his owner. They eventually progressed to the point that he could enter a trial.
Another individual started raising sheep on a large property in Nor. Calif and wanted to use her Rottie. I love Rotties as herders but this dog was NOT keen. She informed me she was NOT getting a BC so he just had to do it. EVERYDAY this dog did chores and became one of the first Herding Champions in the USA.
The importance of teamwork is not to be underestimated. Dogs are PACK animals and want the approval of the Alpha. Be the Alpha, make herding important, don’t spoil them too much at home, and you can have a herding PET!
Hello to All!
I have exciting news! Action K9 Sports is starting a BLOG!
I don’t want to use the blog to share with all of you the mundane details of my day-to-day life. Instead, I want this blog to serve as a knowledge base where we can discuss tips, tricks, and insights into Sheep Herding, working dogs, and livestock management.
To get things started, I am looking to you, my readers, for inspiration! I’m seeking questions, comments, etc. on all Sheep Herding subjects. So think of the most interesting, curious, or informative questions that you may have, and attach them to this blog post in the form of a comment. After a week or so, I will review the comments and select the top 2 or 3 to answer, and I’ll write separate posts to answer them. I will attempt to provide clear answers, suggestions and directions in an effort to make the sport of Sheep Herding more enjoyable and SUCCESSFUL!
Other subjects to be entertained will be behavioral training for the high energy, workaholic dog, livestock management or anything else related to this enterprise.
So please take a minute to think of a great question, and write it in the comment section below!
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