Posts Tagged ‘flanks’

FLANKS & DRIVING

Friday, May 21st, 2010

I have promised my web genius, Tim, that I would produce a new blog each Friday.  He is also making it possible for me to add video links so readers can SEE what I am describing.  This should make this blog a GREAT teaching tool for all of you!  Keep your eyes pealed on Fridays!

Continuing the discussion of flanks:  how to turn those big circles into a simple “left, right” turn for the dog. Most of my discussion has involved making the flanks bigger, wider for gathering.  However, the same commands are used to produce the drive.   Most of my students think the challenge is getting the dog to push the sheep away from the handler to achieve the drive.  It’s not.  STEERING the sheep is the tough part.  Just like you don’t drive in your lane on the freeway by slinging the steering wheel left and right, the dog shouldn’t be wearing big circles.  Small movements are what keep the sheep in a straight line. How do we take those wide, beautiful circles into little, precise movements?  Read and learn…

The other problem w/ teaching the drive is the dog doesn’t even KNOW THE COMMANDS! Most beginners use their body/stick to produce the turns, not realizing the dog is DEPENDENT on the body language.  Therefore, as the dog begins moving sheep away, his back is to the handler and can’t see the cues.  This causes the dog to turn around and look for direction; some dogs go all the way back to the handler.  Makes it difficult to take sheep on a jaunt around the course.

The training for this is EASY but requires attention to your every movement.

First, when introducing flanks to the dog, REPEAT THE COMMANDS AS LONG AS THE DOG IS DOING IT!! ” Here it, do it” is the motto for good herding dogs.  Once you think the dog recognizes the word, give one cue w/ the first command and then duct tape your arms to your side and keep repeating it.  I guarantee the dog will stop as soon as you stop moving.  You need your dog to take the command w/out moving your body.  That’s the first step.

Next, start making the flanks of varying distances.  Full circles, half circles, quarter circles; dog should be turning to HIS right and left.  He should NOT angle toward the sheep or toward the handler.  When this is accomplished, it’s EASY getting the dog to go toward the sheep.  Don’t expect the “walk up” to always be STRAIGHT; sometimes the dog bends.  I will address how this can be amended in upcoming blogs.

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Outrun training

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Earlier I discussed the importance of “flanks” in your herding training.  They should be wide enough to let the stock know the dog is there but not within the “flight zone” so that the dog can get into proper position to illicit movement desired.

The end result of this is the “Outrun”.

The outrun is a GIANT flank that allows the dog to get around the stock and begin the gather.  Border Collies should have a natural cast to acheive the outrun but other breeds can be trained to do it.  It takes more work, lots of chasing the dog wider but I have seen Aussies, Rotties, Aus. Cattle dogs, GSD, etc go in excess of 100 yds to do the gather.  Having a great outrun will allow the handler and dog go to any trial and do well.  I routinely train my clients and their dogs to prepare for a Border Collie novice trial, even if they are not a BC.

When pushing the dog to go wider, they usually look at their handler as if they are CRAZY.  I mean, seriously WHY so wide???  Frequently the dog is looking WHERE to go, as in a geographical location,  rather than AWAY from the stock.   If there is a hill near the lift point, the dog will not want to go up it or around it.  This is a GREAT opportunity to teach the dogs that terrain is NOT a barrier.  MAKE them go around it.  When you go do a trial with a tree trunk, small hill, rocks, whatever on the outrun path, the dog will not see it as a barrier and go TOWARD the sheep.  From your training, you can indicate to the dog to go AROUND it, thus not getting too close to the stock.  If you have done your FLANK training properly, the dog will know to go wider on the command.

You will NEVER be able to train a good outrun in a fenced, small area.  The dog needs to learn the sheep can GET AWAY.  I start ALL dogs in outrun training in an open field and yet when we first go into an arena, the dog almost always runs too tight.  The fence puts pressure on them and they want to get tighter.  However, it’s so much easier to get them to widen out if they have learned it in the field.

The outrun is the technique needed to get the dog into position for the “lift”.  I will be discussing the importance of the “lift” in the next blog.


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DRILLING CLINIC

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

Since I use this blog to illustrate what I teach in my regular lessons, I thought I would give you all an update on the results of my “drilling lesson” a couple of weeks ago.

After ONE week of 2 – 3 times schooling on their dogs, the results were amazing!  I took several to the big field in Valley Center and the dogs obeyed better than ever.  Less hesitation in their responses (both dog AND handler), whistle quality was improved, dogs ran the course  with more precision.

The format for drilling is as follows:  5 minutes of flanks, stop, walk-up w/out moving sheep.  If PERFECT, the dog gets to move sheep.  If not, drill continues for another 5 minutes.  Rest briefly and try again.  The dogs caught on immediately and w/in one minute of the drilling started REALLY listening and not guessing or anticipating owner’s commands.  Now that my students understand how to drill, the results are apparent.

I will be teaching another one in the next couple of weeks, as some couldn’t make the last one.

At the AKC trial one of my students placed 1st in Adv A.  She is running for CH points so this was a great achievement. The other person finished her title and jumped to Adv w/ a 3rd place ribbon.  (The trial closed earlier that expected and only these two got in on time)

Drilling WORKS!!

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NO FLAKY FLANKS

Monday, September 14th, 2009

Soooo, I hope the importance of the flanks in your dog was branded into your brain from the last blog.  However, what about your dog’s brain??

I am teaching a schooling lesson on Thursday to demonstrate HOW to train these flanks.  It’s not enough that the dogs have a rudimentary understanding of clockwise/counterc.w.  There has to be NO hesitation in their obedience to the directions given by YOU.  You will never learn to handle sheep until you WATCH THEM.  Watching to see if your dog is obeying your instructions doesn’t allow you to focus on the sheep.   Your timing is off, lines askew, panels missed, all because you weren’t seeing what your sheep were planning.

Sheep are devious, wooly bastards.  The more they are worked, the smarter they get.

The handler’s job is to prevent the wreck, limit the chaos.  That is the definition of herding trials.  The quicker YOU are in circumventing their plan, the more they have to take the correct path.  If you are busy seeing whether your dog took the flank correctly or whether he took the “stop”, the less you are seeing the sheep.  How do you ensure your dog’s fidelilty to instruction?

School, School, School.  It’s hours of mindless training to get your dog’s mind in a receptive state.  Muscle memory (ever danced?).  Repetitive steps till they flow w/out hesitation.  That’s what the dogs have to do.  It’s good for handlers, too.  The drilling makes the whistles more spontaneous and clear.  I had four dogs on different sets of whistles.  How did I keep them straight?

Drilling.

I would see the dog and hear the whistles in my head.  Hours of schooling.  The dog would have to hear the command and respond REGARDLESS of what the sheep are doing.  Hours, hours of training.

Unfortunately, the instant gratification we have come to expect in our life isn’t pertinent here.  I found I must have a small clinic to address this as my clients thought if they worked whistles for five minutes, drove sheep around, played w/ sorting, penning  they would make a trial dog.  No, it’s much hard work w/ monotonous, jaw-breaking, hyperventilating effort.

Oh, yes and much running around.

For my Intermediate/Advanced clients the rule is: for every 1/2 hr lesson, they need one hour of drilling.

I have been speaking more to BC owners than the other breeds.  However, even they need this schooling.  They can’t take as much as a BC in terms of pressure but they need the drilling, too.  When these dogs get to trials, they need to be under more control that most BCs.  It’s more difficult to get them to respond w/ speed but having them obedient is even more important.  If the dog has any drive to work, the drill sessions are for them.

Hear It, Do It:  That’s the successful  handler’s motto.

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Importance of “Flanks”

Friday, September 4th, 2009

One of the purposes of this Blog is for educating herding enthusiasts on the aspects of training necessary for success.  In this regard, I am filming a DVD to illustrate the first 6 – 8 sessions of training.

It’s all about the “flank”.

“Flank” is the technique enabling the dog to get around the sheep and establish control.  It should not be within the “flight zone” of the sheep enough to produce a chasing response.  It needs to just close enough to cut off all paths of escape, allowing the sheep to go in one direction only.  Sounds easy?  NOT!!  It is the most difficult training technique to get across to both dog and handler.  That’s why I am doing a training DVD on this only.

Most dogs want to make the sheep run.  The more they run, the keener the dog becomes, the faster the sheep run, the keener the dog….you get the picture.  In fact, most of the breeds of dogs we train here are “prey drive” dogs and the herding is only a by-product of that.  If too much “chase” is taken away from the dog, the less happy they are in a herding situation.  However, without a proper flank, the dog will NEVER CONTROL THE SHEEP!  You can have the BEST stop on a dog and it won’t work to stop sheep.

The flank is also the premise for an outrun.  It’s just much wider on sheep and farther away from you.  The outrun should allow the dog to “sneak up” on sheep and initiate a calm, introduction (lift).  This will set the tone for the relationship between prey and predator.

How do you achieve a good flank on your dog?  Alas, a great deal of running on your part and chasing the dog away.  The dog does NOT get the sheep until they are calmly moving the direction handler desires.   Suffice to say, the dog doesn’t understand WHY he is being chased away so don’t be surprised at a lack of enthusiasm.   However, if he is allowed the sheep again when he is NOT engaged in a chase behavior, the light bulb will turn on pretty fast.

Much more difficult teaching people this discipline.  Most people just don’t want to use intimidation to make the dog move away from the sheep.  They are hoping they get it.  No so.  Handler must FORCE the dog away from the sheep, wider and wider.  When the SHEEP feel the dog is a safe distance, that is the contact point.  Each dog and different sheep will make that  distance a constant changing position.

We pride ourselves  at this facility for producing the best flanking and outrunning dogs, of all breeds, in trialing today.  That is the key to their success in gaining titles (AKC, AHBA) at a rate not seen at many facilities. Over two dozen of our clients have achieved Advanced titles, many becoming Champions.  I have trained that number to aspire to the United Border Collie Handler’s National Finals and compete.  I think our emphasis on the Flank Training is a key to this.

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