Posts Tagged ‘stockdog clinics’

Jerry Rowe Clinic Part 1

Aug 30th, 10 / 0 Comments

First off, if you ever get the chance to go to one of Jerry’s clinics or attend one of the camps he and Sharon host at their farm, do it.  Not only are Jerry and Sharon the salt of the earth but they put on an awesome clinic.  I admit to having some reservations going in to the clinic as I know Jerry starts with driving and works with a line.  I’m not big on working dogs on lines but I was missing the one final piece to the Quinn puzzle so I was willing to be open minded and give it a try. 

Each day began with Jerry showing us one of his videos and talking a bit about theory so that we all knew where he was coming from.  He readily admits to doing things a bit differently than most trainers but I like different so it was okay with me.  We talked a lot about prey drive and a predator’s ability to turn it off and on.  A large portion of discussion Friday morning was not only on prey drive but the bubble (flight zone) and how sheep react when a predator enters that bubble.  How the weak ones will roll to the back leaving the leader exposed until the leader will eventually leave, taking the rest of the group with it.  Once you can control the leader you can control the group.  And controlling the stock from a distance is what it was all about, teaching our dogs to control the stock from a distance instead of chasing them with their noses up their backsides.  I should mention that going into this your dog needs a reliable down and a recall.  Jerry talked a lot about respect and not allowing your dog to lead you to “the hunt” which means your dog should walk beside or behind you to the pen, lie down at the gate, allow you to go in first, lie down inside while you chain the gate.

We had a range of dogs in the clinic, most barely started, one or two ready to work on driving.  Day one the dogs all started out on the long line.  Jerry had sorted sheep before I could get out there and a group of five yearlings had volunteered.  I was a little worried.  My yearlings on their own can be a wee bit flighty.  But because we were working the edge of their bubble it not only trained the dogs but my yearlings as well and kept them calm and honest.  We asked our dogs to walk up and paid attention to them because, without exception, every one would signal in some manner when they reached the edge of the bubble.  Usually it was by lowering their head, sniffing the ground, averting their eyes, acting as if they were suddenly disinterested in the stock.  It was here we had them lie down, still on the edge of the bubble, then called them back off.  A couple times and the next step was to walk them into the bubble, positioning them to get the sheep moving, guiding them with the line so they could learn what it was we wanted.

Right about here I know a lot of you are thinking, “sure, if you tug the dog around on a line they’ll do what you want but how much are they really learning?”  From my experience over the course of the weekend…loads.  And so did their handlers.

We were working on the three “R’s” (release – reposition – reapply) and learning how to work the edge of the bubble to move the stock from corner to corner to corner.  Even the rowdiest, most enthusiastic dog started to get it.  Quinn, who’s modus operandi is walk up, hit the bubble, burst the bubble and go head-hunting, became a new dog without me having to chase him down and fight him off.  Because I could show him, on line, exactly what he needed to do.  It was amazing.  With him I was able to drop the line the first day and just grab it up when I needed it.  I also was told he is “passive dominant” in the sense that he doesn’t push on me until I push on him and then it becomes a battle.  And oh, have we had the battles!  But when I “showed” him what I wanted, instead of forcing him into doing it by chasing him down, yelling, banging the boogie bottle, I got a much better response.

There is way too much that went on over the course of the weekend to cram into one post so I’ll try for more during the week as time allows.  My personal highlight of the weekend had to do with switching on and off a dog’s prey drive and how that could affect the stock.  Jerry had told us how a dog (or in the wild, a predator) could actually bring prey closer in by turning off its prey drive.  He gave us a demo of this with his dog Jim.  He was working a group of mainly yearlings with one of tougher ewes known as Mother (and not for her motherly tendencies).  Jim had walked up on the group and Jerry stopped him and just had him stand there.  In a little while Mother, leader of the group, began coming toward Jim until she was standing right in front of him.  She got even closer and nuzzled Jim’s ear.  Then Jerry, very quietly, told Jim to “watch ‘em”.  For those of us observing this Jim gave no external cue there had been a change in his demeanor but Mother suddenly backed off a few steps, head up, and stomped a hoof at Jim.  He continued to just stand there and she moved off.  Sunday morning I was working Quinn on a group that included Marge, one of my stickier ewes.  I got myself out of position and she came to me so I called Quinn up to move her off.  He did so nicely and stopped several feet in front of me where I told him to lie down.  That’s when I thought I’d try playing with the prey drive so I just stood there, behind Quinn, who just laid there, paws crossed.  Marge walked slowly up to him, bent her head down to sniff him and Quinn continued to lay there.  “Watch ‘em” I told him.  And suddenly, even though he hadn’t moved or changed his expression, Marge jerked her head up, backed away a few steps, then turned and left with the group.  All the while Quinn remained right where he was.

I’ve always known that dogs can release pressure on stock by looking away from them but this had bumped it up a notch.  And to see it in my own dog, a dog who thinks putting pressure on stock is almost as much fun as catching them when they split, was simply amazing.

Dogs

Gonna Go ‘Round in Circles ~ Steve Shope Clinic con.

May 18th, 10 / 0 Comments

One of the training exercises Steve introduced us to at the clinic is what he calls The Circle Game.  It’s what he likes to start a lot of his working sessions with.  I’ve actually done a variation of this game with my dogs and have had my students do it with theirs.  However, lacking the solid foundation mentioned in yesterday’s post, it wasn’t quite the same nor quite as effective in the long run.  I used it mainly to solidify verbal and visual flanking cues as well as get my dog comfortable dropping anywhere on the circle.  Which, with Quinn, meant a lot of pushing out and arguing about downing.  The pushing out that I thought was him giving to me but was really avoidance.

Steve’s version of the circle game assumes your dog has a down, a get back, and an understanding of what moving off your pressure is all about.  The Foundation.  The dog starts in a down, is given a get back (Steve uses “go” but since my dogs are already somewhat accustomed to “get back” I’ll continue to use that), there, down, and then a flank.  At any point in the game if the dog starts pushing, you push back.  Just remember to keep praising your dog when they are right and use the opportunity to repeat the verbal flanking cue as your dog is circling.  In the beginning you’ll use verbal, visual, and body language to cue your dog.  As the dog starts to get it, you start dropping one cue at a time until the dog is working only on verbal.  If the dog is wrong, tell them no, lie them down, start it again.

From this exercise you can then start working on fetching and the basics of driving.  The real benefit of The Circle Game as I see it is that you are solidifying some very basic commands that will be the basis of everything you do going forward.  The down, get back, and your flanks, combined with a steady or easy gives you just about every command you’ll need while working.  If your dog knows to give to your pressure, getting them to steady up as they approach the stock becomes a much simpler process.  Especially when they have firmly grasped the visual cue for the get back.  If they know that cue is a raised stick and you’ve proofed them on it, as you drop into a fetch and feel the dog pushing a bit you can simply raise your stick to get him to slow down.

This will be the next step in my re-training of Quinn.  As we progress from the alleyway we’ll start playing The Circle Game to solidify our foundation.

Dogs

Steve Shope Clinic ~ Building on a Strong Foundation

May 17th, 10 / 0 Comments

Foundation: By definition a basis upon which something stands or is supported.  An underlying base or support.  A body or ground upon which something is built up or overlaid.

By definition, a pretty import piece of any endeavor.

There are very good reasons to have a firm foundation.  Without one, whatever is built on that spot figuratively or literally, will be precarious at best.  Which begs the question why, in dog training, so many people (myself included) skimp on the foundation work?  Or skip it altogether?

The importance of a truly solid foundation was just one of the take-aways from the clinic with Steve Shope this past weekend.  I would highly recommend anyone who can get to one of Steve’s clinics, do it.  Even if you’re just able to audit, it would be worth your while.

I went into the clinic with one goal: get the answer to what had short-circuited between Quinn and I.  I wasn’t expecting a miracle.  But I did need some guidance as to how to get back to where we worked as a team and he wasn’t always pushing on me.  This has been an on-going problem and I thought we were making strides in the right direction until the first time in the pen with him Saturday morning.  It wasn’t horrendous but it took Steve only a matter of minutes to figure out what I couldn’t see for myself and had no one else to tell me.  Quinn has absolutely no idea that he should be giving to my pressure.  Where I thought he was finally giving because he was turning away and working wider was only avoidance.

We had apparently skipped a critical foundation step.

Truth be told, when I started Quinn the only foundation I had on him was a down and a recall.

His down has become something of a slow motion maneuver which was only one of several indicators that Quinn (dubbed “the player”) has gradually trained me.  He would give me just so much and I would accept it.  I have been accepting it.  Sort of like this.  I’d ask for a down and he’d stop.  I’d repeat my command and he’d start to crouch.  I’d step toward him and threaten and he’d crouch a little lower.  One more threat and he’d finally, grudgingly lie down.  And give to me?  To my pressure?  Yeah, not so much.

We weren’t the only team in the clinic with that issue so we set up a narrow alleyway using my weave poles and some duck arena panels and Steve started teaching us how to show our dogs what we wanted when we asked them to “get back”.  What we expected when we showed them some pressure.  This is one of the foundation pieces Steve believes in teaching his dogs before they ever get on stock. 

Here’s a picture of the alleyway we set up.  It is roughly 3’x20’ with the back end blocked so the dog can’t just run out.  The object is to stand at the mouth of the alley, show your dog the cue, and have him turn and go to the back of the alley.  Then have him lie down.  Obviously it happens gradually and Steve made a point of making sure everyone understood this wasn’t something to work on for more than a few minutes a day.  You can do the same thing in a hallway in the house although this alley works well because I can have sheep in the picture by putting them in the pen at the mouth of the alley and making the dog get back away from the prize.

This is a picture of the eventual goal, or at least my eventual goal. 

To get your dog to give to your pressure and get back down the length of this alleyway.  Then up the stakes one more time, put sheep behind me and get him to get back off my pressure and away from the stock.

This exercise, this foundation piece, is only one of a handful that Steve discussed with us.  All building up to more control when starting to work stock.  It’s the first foundation piece I’m going to work on with Quinn.  He already began getting it on Sunday.  I didn’t take him back into the arena Sunday.  I had Steve coach me on the alleyway exercise to ensure I had the concept down pat.  Quinn won’t be going back on stock until his down, and his get back are firm.  There is just no sense to it.  To work him without those foundation pieces is just building on sand and I’ve done enough of that.

I plan to video the progression and will post clips as I get them.

Oh, and SBSDC, start planning a trip to New Mexico!

Dogs