By Lori Cunningham
There are many different methods for starting young dogs. Some trainers use “puppy sheep” or work youngsters in round paddocks, or use much smaller pens packed with sheep. To each their own! I start my youngsters along a fence line . I don’t keep “puppy sheep” so the sheep my youngsters start on are appropriately reactive to both the dog and to me.
I introduce balance work with my back to the fence and let the young dog learn to cover breaking sheep. When the pup is balancing thoughtfully, I back into the open field and let him bring the sheep off the fence to me.
My pup’s first “outruns” are to the open field side, the fetch along the fence line. Very short. If the youngster is rash and not feeling his sheep, I walk quietly but with authority towards him along the fence line, meeting him as he fetches towards me. I want the pup to “feel” the pressure of my approach. Once the youngster understands the attitude adjustment, I back off and let him cast again to the open field side. The youngster learns the proper shape of a small cast and more importantly, reinforcement that the right attitude is rewarded with more work. Be close enough to protect stock if necessary. I believe working in a bigger space, a field versus a small area, allows a youngster to feel the concept of “taking pressure off” and relax.
Mixing up these short works provides the pup a good foundation on proper casts, stops, respectful lifts and also a good comfort level of calmly scooping sheep off fences and out of corners. He learns impulse control and we both learn to read each other better. Teaching these lessons early allows me to expand the pup’s experiences at home and also take him away from home with more confidence that he will be mannerly with other people’s stock.
Lori, photo by Werner Reitboeck