Super Duper Herders 2 Be Leaders: Kim Griffin, Kathy Worlein, Tom Blasdell Objectives: Choosing, Raising and Caring for your dog. Beginning training. Stages of training Avoiding bad habits Trial dog/ranch dog Voice commands Different styles/Individual dogs Goal Supplies Chain-14” with 2 swivel snaps at both ends Collar-Nylon or leather with buckles Sorting stick with flag 5’ long Fishing pole (1 piece) with rag at the end of line Trainings Group trainings—See three months at a glance Tips Trainings should be short intervals rather than one long session. Quit while the dog still wants to work. When a dogs tongue curls up and can hold water, take a break. Pasty saliva is a warning of overheating or heat stroke, stop and take a break. The dog should never go between you and the stock. Dogs need to be penned up, don’t let them work stock on their own. Never call the dog to you, tell the dog to “there”, make the dog sit, then touch the dog. Help your friend when it needs help-after all you should be a team. All commands in a CALM voice ( so when the dog mistakes, you can use a deeper voice & it will mean something to the dog) Give time for response to get results. Don’t keep repeating the same command over & over while the dog is doing it. If you said “Go By” and the dog is going, then don’t talk and let the dog do the command asked. CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD RANCH DOG Saves many steps for his master and should be capable to move all stock with the least amount of stress. Fetch stock as well as drive stock. Thinks for himself and also be part of a team. Take commands from other people. Knows when to put pressure on stock as well as knowing when to give stock ground. Maintains good control on his stock at all times and be in command of his stock. Knows how to pace himself. Will be obedient and know his place. Won’t work unless commanded. Stays out of the way when not needed. Works great distances as well as at hand. Works out of sight. Is open-minded. Is able to work all day if needed. Is in top physical condition. Knows when to cool himself off. Respects other animals and people. Has respect for its master. Is an excellent listener. Never quits his master. POOR CHARACTERISTICS Will not listen. Wants to do everything himself. Works wen not wanted to. Won’t let stock alone. Has no bite all the time. Is unable to move stock. Quits when things get tight. Will work to wide and wont come in on his stock? Requires more help from master or other dog. Won’t have patience. Will cheat you. Will cheap-shot the stock. Will not be able to pace himself. Will not go between stock and fences. Works stock from the wrong side of the fence. TRIAL DOG Must first be a good ranch dog. Has a little extra style and power. Moves stock without gripping. Is well paced. Is an excellent listener. Is very bold. Is patient. Is able to take lots of pressure. Is in top physical condition. Is steady. Is able to think on its own. Will know when to put pressure on and when to give ground. Is open-minded. Has good balance. Is able to read stock and judge and able to anticipate the next move. What to look for when choosing your pup: Healthy bright-eyed pup. Straight back legs when walking away from you. No sign of cow hocks, hocks in/toes out. Smooth movement of hips. No over or underbite of jaw. Leg bones should be sound and medium length. Paws should show no sign of soreness and no dewclaws on hind legs. Clean ears. Eyes should be clear, no sign of infection. Investigate living conditions, are they clean? Has the pup been well kept? What are the feeding schedules for the pups? What food are they fed? It is important that the pups have been handled. When was the pup wormed? (2x by 8 weeks) Was the bitch vaccinated? Were the pups vaccinated? What vaccinations have been given? Is the pup from proven parents and guaranteed to work? So you have your pup home: Teach your pup boundaries, play with him and give him lots of attention. Keep a good eye on him, if you cant keep an eye on your pup, put him up. This could give your pup a chance to get hurt, lose confidence or learn bad habits. Be patient with your pup. Don’t scream at him or scare him. Be consistent and kind. Talk to the pup, now is the time the pup is learning variations in voice tone and the will learn when you’re pleased or not with them. Everyone involved with the pup needs to use the same commands/set boundaries. Stay consistent and not confusing. Be sure that the pup has a clean dry place to sleep. Begin training: Teach the pup to come to you using “here” or “come in”. If there is no response, the pup may not be ready, wait a week or so and try again. When training make sure there are no distractions, that there is a calm atmosphere and in a small area. Attach a light lead to puppy and tug lightly, make eye contact and talk firmly. Do this only a few times a day, but be consistent and to it every day. Teach the pup “down”. Press lightly on pup’s back/shoulders and say “down”. Avoid saying it over and over. Teach the pup “down” on first down, not third. Use a calm atmosphere when training. Chaining your pup: Use a light chain with 2 swivels. Don’t fasten to a low fence, uneven ground, tree strangulation can occur. Don’t chain pup up for long periods of time and provide fresh water. Don’t hang around, you don’t want the pup associating you with being chained. Don’t chain in hot or cold weather unless there is appropriate shelter. Never use nylon or leather leads, the pup will chew through them. Chaining helps the pup learn to lead, lets them learn there is and end to the lead. If the pup is used to being chained for short periods, the young dog is unlikely to fight against a lead in the future. BALANCE FLANKING COMMANDS STOP COMMAND QUIT WORK LIFTING FETCHING CIRCLING DRIVING GRIPPING COME IN THERE AND DOWN STAY GET BEHIND GET BACK, GET OUT LOOK BACK GET AROUND GET AHEAD Some dogs have natural balance and others develop it through their training. Balance is the distance the stock dogs needs to stay from the stock to maintain contact and control without upsetting or scattering them. “Go By”(clockwise) and “Away To Me” (counterclockwise) “Down” or “Stand” “That’ll Do” or “OK”(very important command use a calm low voice. Could speed dog up) The dog has completed outrun to the far side of the stock and the stock begins to move forward. As the dog brings up the stock to the handler, he will need to move from side to side in order to keep stock moving in “Straight line”. Dog runs too wide to too close he will lose balance. Relatively easy to keep dogs driving stock toward handler in straight line, more difficult to teach dog to drive away from handler. “Take Hold” “Get-a-holt” The dog is to come to the handler. There- stop Down-To lie on all four legs on the ground. (Say there 1st then down) To remain in the position the handler commanded until another command is given. Walk at either side of the handler in an orderly manner (usually left). Create a wide distance between dog and livestock being worked. Send the dog back around the field to look for additional stock. Send dog out to gather stock (no specific direction given). It is critical that the dog circle wide away from stock, a minimum of 50 feet away at any point, until the dog is well behind and prepared to move up. BRING’ EM UP Dog gathers and fetches the livestock to the handler without directional commands. WALK UP (FOR Move closer to the stock in a straight line. This command should be trained only SORTING) after the dog totally understands a wide outrun and get back command. (Often, dogs are too tight due to their eagerness to work, and the command is mostly used in a penning situation) NEEDS TO BE FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER COMMAND. STEADY, EASY, Commands the dog to settle down. OR TAKE IT EASY UP OR HUP To jump over normal stock fences. Does not matter how the dog accomplishes it (climbing or pushing with feet). GET IN Load up, helpful when you have a busy day or the handler needs the dog to stay in a place out of the way for a long period of time without being tied. The command instruct the dog to stay in the pickup until requested to move. Balance is very important when penning stock. Must develop good balance instinct in dog through training stages. This is very important. To develop a versatile dog he needs to be introduced to many different situations. Training with all kinds of stock is good. The handler always needs to anticipate his own direction/movement, this will teach the dot to anticipate what is expected of him. Avoiding Bad Habits Don’t teach a young stock dog to heal. Don’t let your dog work on his own. Don’t let your dog lie outside stock pens/horse pens and stare for hours on end. This develops “sticky” dog and other problems. Don’t let your pup get into a situation where he is going to want to run back to the barn over any little thing. Be aware of your pup and if he can handle a gruff voice or if you have a pup that is more sensitive. If the pup works on his own he can develop the bad habit of splitting stock and fetching them in two lots. Teach a wider outrun if this occurs. Keep him out when he starts his outrun. Don’t slow your pup too much when first training to bring stock back to you. Try to let the “pace” develop naturally with guidance and time. If your pup grips, it is best to teach it to grip on command then you have control of when he grips. Use “take hold” for the command to grip. When training a young dog on sheep, it is important that he doesn’t leave the flock of sheep you are working and go to another flock unless you give him the command to do so. Finish the task at hand. Young pups need to learn to work in an organized manner. Don’t let him run from one situation to another. He needs to be taught an efficient order. You want to develop a thinking dog that knows after he has brought in the stock that he may have to return to the field to look for strays. Don’t start intermediate training on your young dog if he isn’t physically strong enough/fast enough to get around the stock. He needs to be faster than the stock to start training in an efficient manner. Always remember that all dogs should be dealt with as individuals. One that starts earlier/stronger than another may not mean it will be the better working/adult dog. If a pup is pressured to perform when it is not ready you can end up damaging the dog. Give the dog a little time to mature. Your Dog 12 Your 9 Stock 6 You The Handler 3