Cookie Cutter Training

Must every dog fit into the mold of of the chosen training pattern or can we adjust the training to fit the chosen dog?


It's been a herding roller coaster these past two days. Does that even make sense? Yeah ok, sheep are not a funpark ride, but we are certainly down and up, left and right, high and low. I think I might have whiplash, and it's not the good kind.

Monday it seemed like everything was wrong. Wrong dog, wrong trainer, wrong handler, wrong sheep. It was a tough session and I spent the rest of the day frustrated but more so than that, I spent it confused. Self doubt is the mother of all evils when it comes to herding, I have decided. As for doubting your dog, well, that's just pure Hell.

The moment you have to decide just how far you want your dog to go and just how much training you are willing to invest on this journey can be very overwhelming. In order to get JohnnyCash competing in Open Trials I would have to change his entire lifestyle, our entire lifestyle together.
The first time I disciplined him for being himself and he seemed so hurt I didn't feel like I was doing the right thing. This is a young energetic dog with so many future possibilities in all dog sports; would I wreck his chances of being a succesful agility dog by molding him into a farm dog? Probably not, but my mind was out of whack from all the deliberating I had been doing.

So, I resolved that I was not going to fight against his core being and that I would talk to our instructor about altering our exercises to more suit our needs. Maybe JC and I will only ever trial on Novice courses and maybe he only ever remains a mediocre herding dog, but I will work with the dog I've chosen and together we'll go as far as he can take us.



Of course, as soon as I made this decision to stand firm by dog, he rewarded me with a fantastic training session the very next day. In fact, the class was spent working on my shortcomings as a handler which was absolutely wonderful!

Possible first place in a Novice Division herding trial, here we come!

Just a quick note

Lola has inspired more art

Counting Sheep

Because their early work was to gather sheep from the hills, Border Collies are, by nature, gatherers rather than drovers or tenders. They can, nevertheless, be taught to drive stock away from the shepherd and even to keep their charges within certain boundaries. They are also sensitive to commands from their handlers and can distinguish slight variations in the many whistles they understand, responding appropriately to each tone.

Shepherds look for exceptional athletic ability, a biddable nature, and superior livestock sense. In general, a dog that is light on its feet, flowing in its movement, quick to cover its stock, and has great endurance is the most valued. The dog's temperament must be sensitive enough to bend its will when asked, tough enough to stand up to the pressures of training, eager to learn, with enough confidence and determination to carry on with its work without constant guidance. Some Border Collies are reserved rather than outgoing, but they must love to work with and for the master. While innate livestock sense is bred into all good working collies, their working style can vary. Most people admire a dog that works with its head low to the ground, with its hindquarters high and its tail tucked between its hind legs. They can run as fast as the wind, yet stop in an instant or switch directions without stopping. They don't take their eyes off their sheep. Their intense gaze is focused on the stock, willing them to obey, to go where the dog directs them, to stop if the dog blocks their path. The stock aren't rushed or afraid, but they certainly respect the dog. A good Border Collie's obsession is its livestock, and this is as it should be.

It's always two steps forward one step back when it comes to herding I've determined. Now it seems that JC is not keeping an eye on his sheep as much as he should be. So, since JC has exceptional athletic ability and a highly biddable nature, obviously he is going to lack the superior livestock sense. Such is the drama of my foray into herding.
His instructor claims that he is predisposed to watch me (See my New World vs Old World blog) and that is an unfavorable trait in a dog working livestock. The consummate herding dog has to breathe, eat, and sleep sheep. Wait, maybe not eat really, but he's got to watch the sheep!


So how do I teach a border collie to keep that famous eye on the sheep?

Brainwash him?

Trick him? Reward him?






Meh, I'm sure he'll be fine once he figures out what I want. Or even once he figures out what he wants.

Divide and Conquer (the dogs have taken over)

I have become lazy and in doing so, I've allowed two highly intelligent brains to take over the household. Normally this wouldn't be an issue but the takeover has begun to filter into our sports. Or maybe it was always present but I've only just noticed it and now I need a plan of action.



This past weekend, Lola earned her second Gamble run Q and moves up from Starters to Advanced. I'm very proud of her but honestly, the Gamble is a spastic run where she basically plots her own course as I try to keep up with her and grab her attention in the final seconds to get over the three last jumps. Now Lola thinks that every run should be a gamble and her stubborn streak(remember the one that made herding unbearable?) has begun filtering into every other type of course. Watching back the videos from some of our last runs it's so obvious that she runs independently of me and that I'm struggling to keep her away from the obstacles she wants to take. So, no more Gambles for us.


If this wasn't bad enough, the little one, the light of life, my heart dog, has been a brat during his last couple of herding classes. while JohnnyCash is far from stubborn, his problem right now is that he remains in a childlike state of mind. Yes, all of his good collie qualities are still there, eager to please, good judgment, natural instinct, but his work ethic isn't maturing and at this point we need to move forward. So, no more babying the baby.




The dogs are spoiled, I admit it. Obedience isn't so much a part of our household routine mainly because these are two very sweet, and for the most part, well behaved dogs. But I have allowed a certain lack of structure and now that I see it affecting their performances in sport, I have to re evaluate my approach to some of our issues.
From now on: Lola crying to be picked up and put on the bed? Too bad. No jumping up, no bed for you. JC pulling the entire way to the park? One more tug and no park for you! Both dogs getting carrots just for being cute?? No more carrots! EVER!

Ok, I'm kidding. I'm not going to be an extremist and my dogs will always be coddled and at times, overindulged, but I am going to shake it up a bit. I did make a list of some changes I would like to see and I believe those changes are best achieved by working one on one with each dog and having them become less dependent on each other and more willing to work for me. I started yesterday by leaving one dog crated and spending quality time with the other and then visa versa.






I better go. I have to put Lola away and take JC out for a bikeride and then work on walking with him to the park without him pulling, then I want to play some crate games with him before leaving him alone to take Lola for a run and then do some distraction work with her and maybe even teach her a new trick to keep her from getting bored and this all has to take place before my scheduled workshift.

Or I could just take them to the park and throw the frisbee for 20 minutes knowing that will knock them out for the rest of the day...hhhmm...

8 Days A Week

is not enough to show I care

It's Tuesday and I have this overwhelming feeling that I've not done anything productive with either dog since last Thursday at least. Horrible! Or maybe I have been doing stuff with them but I'm not disciplined enough to actually sit down and blog about it every night.

Let me think.

Did I mention that in a sudden attack of cone envy, Lola licked herself a hotspot and got to wear the cone for night? Her pitiful Lola face made the situation all the more ironic.




Lola's sad face is also what caused her to get attacked (twice!) at the dogpark last week. I'm sure I must have blogged about that. I force Lola to go to the dogpark the way my mom made us take swimming lessons every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am in the city pool. Actually Lola's distaste of the dogpark would make for a great blog entry.
NOTE TO SELF: BLOG ABOUT LOLA'S FEAR OF THE DOGPARK
Anyway, there was this crotchety nine year old (overweight) Border collie there who wanted desperately to herd or control all the younger dogs. They were all off and running though, so the only dog left to pick on is, of course, timid little Lola who is not running with the pack but hanging back by me. We have not been to the dog park since.

Then of course there's the unveiling of Mondy's latest painting, inspired by my border collies. She is planning on displaying it at her next art show and had it up for sale. WHAT?? I can't have my beautiful doggies hanging on someone else's wall! I must have this painting.



I am certain that I blogged about that.


There's a trial this weekend and Lola is signed up for four runs. I wish I had more free time from work to prepare but we only have Thursday evening to train. Since the last trial we have worked out some of our previous issues. I went back to basics last week and retrained her contacts with the help of tasty chicken livers. I feel confident that we'll do great and have a good time. It's inconceivable that I would not have blogged about our training sessions these past two weeks.



Either there's something wrong with my computer or there just isn't enough time in the day.