Herding

[chili]

hi,

just tried my 7 year old kelpie at her first herding clinic. was at 4 paws in diggers rest; which was a great day, but my kelpie just wasn't into it. in fact, she was down right against it! she had her back turned the whole time whilst the others enjoyed their turn and just wanted to get out of there. she seemed almost depressed!

my only explanation i can give it is that she was really anxious (she's one of those bug-eyed anxious kelpies at the best of times!).

does anyone have any suggestions to get her interested and less anxious about the whole thing? the trainers suggested she come back a few times to give her another go, which i will do. but, is there anything i can do at home with her to increase her instinct response to herding? i would really like her to get involved and have a new 'interest' to get that active kelpie brain and body well worked and entertained.

thanks.

[WorkNBCs]

does anyone have any suggestions to get her interested and less anxious about the whole thing? the trainers suggested she come back a few times to give her another go, which i will do. but, is there anything i can do at home with her to increase her instinct response to herding? i would really like her to get involved and have a new 'interest' to get that active kelpie brain and body well worked and entertained.

I have seen a kelpie that sort of age not interested and then heard that she then switched on at her second look at sheep. Some dogs take longer, especially if they have been trained not to chase other animals anyway. It would be too soon to rule her out completely after just one look at stock.

Food for thought though, if she doesnt look as if she will enjoy herding and you do not have regular access to stock, maybe give something else like tracking or Flyball a go instead. If the instinct to herd may be there and emerge later, you are potentially creating a monster with a hunger that cannot be met without regular controlled access to stock.

On the other hand if you really want to get into herding and do either ANKC herding or three sheep or yard and utility trialling then you might be better off getting a dog that is bred to do the job and will give you a great start once it switches on.

Just some food for thought

Cheers