piper Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 Jules, A simple piece of advice for your PT that I was given - just keep walking! If Poppy is a strong gathering dog and constantly moves the sheep to you wherever you are just walk. You can walk through the gates and they are 4m wide so put yourself on the fenceline and walk and she should keep them to you. That only leaves you needing to think about the stop and the pen. Of course this is not always fool proof but it certainly helps, especially if you have nice quiet sheep. With quiet sheep and a dog that balances to you you should be able to walk most of th PT without needing side/flank commands. I am currently contemplating entering Jazz in our next trial but not 100% about it yet. She is such a lovely worker but works soooo wide that I may have hassles if the sheep stick at the obstacles as she is not confident on her walk up yet. Poor girl is probably not confident on her flank commands anymore either after I spent 10 mins getting fed up with her constantly taking wrong sides on the weekend and stopping her and resending her only to realise I had my commands around the wrong way Luckily she is a forgiving little thing, I need to put more faith in her the only times I can think of her taking her flank commands wrong it was me that had made the error and she was going the direction I had told her to, just it wasn't the direction I wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted June 11, 2009 Author Share Posted June 11, 2009 Thanks Piper! It is the penning bit that I would have liked more practice at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted June 13, 2009 Author Share Posted June 13, 2009 Trial was today and.... 2 passes in PT so PT title Also got awarded Most Promising Dog, so pretty happy. Poppy was a good girl. I found PT easier than HT as I knew were I was going, lol. Now going to start working towards doing Started Have a clinic next weekend, so I am probably officially going a bit nuts on the herding . Again there was a great atmosphere at the trial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dova Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Next weekend! I have only had 1 lesson doing PT stuff so don't hold out much hope. Think I will view it as a training day rather than a trial. So what happened to you viewing the trial as a training day , PT & most promising dog , WOOHOO congratulations knew you could do it . Know what you mean about going nuts on the herding, I'm doing two working dog schools in July, one in Melrose on the 18th & 19th the other in Millicent on the 25th & 26th. Now all I have to do is stop sweating about doing our PT , & it's three weeks away still . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 about the going nuts about herding. I am thinking I need to go back for more lessons but there aren't enough hours in the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dova Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 about the going nuts about herding. I am thinking I need to go back for more lessons but there aren't enough hours in the week. We're going Thursday, did you enjoy Saturday, I did & I was only watching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Awwww jealous - yep had a good time. Thought Kenzie did well and she was even keener after lunch . Think it will be good for her confidence. Cass thought it was worth putting the effort in to her if I wanted to. Not like her bigger sister who is going back on the couch in retirement mode . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted June 15, 2009 Author Share Posted June 15, 2009 So what happened to you viewing the trial as a training day . Well during the judges talk at the beginning of the day she said that it wasn't a training day but a trial! So I got scared and figured I had better think of it like a trial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dova Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 (edited) So what happened to you viewing the trial as a training day . Well during the judges talk at the beginning of the day she said that it wasn't a training day but a trial! So I got scared and figured I had better think of it like a trial. One smart judge . Just had to add this, WOOHOO I've just booked my spot for the 18th & 19th working dog school, now I'll spend the next month doing the , excited, , nervous, thing, might need some tranquilisers to calm down . Edited June 17, 2009 by Dova Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted June 20, 2009 Author Share Posted June 20, 2009 Just back from today's clinic and I am soooo stuffed. All I can say about started is O...M....G....! Going to take a lot of training before I go anywhere near a trial for a while. Actually I was ok when the sheepies were moving. Ran into a bit of trouble when the sheepies decided not to move and Poppy thought that was marvelous! Picture Poppy in one end a Z shute and the sheep in the other end! Stalemate. Homework is working on getting her to walk up. Need sheepies for that though as she does it well minus the sheep. Also met SuperMinty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janba Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Just back from today's clinic and I am soooo stuffed. All I can say about started is O...M....G....! Going to take a lot of training before I go anywhere near a trial for a while. Actually I was ok when the sheepies were moving. Ran into a bit of trouble when the sheepies decided not to move and Poppy thought that was marvelous! Picture Poppy in one end a Z shute and the sheep in the other end! Stalemate. Homework is working on getting her to walk up. Need sheepies for that though as she does it well minus the sheep. Also met SuperMinty! The walk up is something I think we teach our dogs far too late but if you do a bit each time you see sheep it will soon happen. If you can get the sheep into a race or long narrow area it is easier to teach and you can also teach them to back up as well. It is also easier if you get stuck to keep in front of the sheep walking away from them (if that makes sense) so they have some one to draw to. Poppy will also get more confident about pushing her sheep once she has more experience. Today Cole and I got our first intermediate pass and that involved a lot of walking up and an owner who needs to destress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 Congrats on your pass Janba. Don't think it is a confidence thing with Poppy. Her aim is to get the sheep not moving. The sheepies yesterday didn't want to follow me. I got them moving in the end. This is when it would be good to have your own sheepies, so you can have a play around with stuff. I am always aware of time at clinics and don't want to be a sheep hog! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dova Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Well this time next week we'll be going for our PT & with the way Izzi & Pebbles are working they should get it, as long as I don't stuff up of course . We had a lesson yesterday & brought the sheep home today, ready to take them to the trial, I'm all excited . I'm going to a mock obedience trial tomorrow & a real one next Sunday, what was I thinking entering an obedience trial the day after a herding trial, only live once I guess . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share Posted June 28, 2009 Good luck for next weekend! Remember keep with your sheep but keep walking once they are with you! I have a clinic next weekend so more started stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 (edited) Dova is going to bribe the sheep during the week . I said to her could she please just have words to them to not stick in the corners of the pen during Kenzie's instinct test so she has some hope of showing enough to pass this time . Edited June 28, 2009 by ness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dova Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Dova is going to bribe the sheep during the week . I said to her could she please just have words to them to not stick in the corners of the pen during Kenzie's instinct test so she has some hope of showing enough to pass this time . I'm shocked that you'd think I'd bribe the sheep, I'm just making sure they're well fed & happy . You'll pass no worries . Thanks Jules, if I can stop my brain from feezing my feet will keep moving. Since I've sorted my problem with Pebbles I'm feeling more confident about it all & having the sheep here I can do a bit more work during the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 - awwwwwwwwwww yep you will look after them really well and tell them bed time stories about how to let everybody pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 Ness there shouldn't be any corners in the instinct pen, they are supposed to round any corners out so that sheepies can't get stuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Ness there shouldn't be any corners in the instinct pen, they are supposed to round any corners out so that sheepies can't get stuck. We place panels across the corners but in the past we have been known to have recalcitrant sheep that will push hard into the fence and be buggers to move. It is actually less of an issue for instinct IMO than HT as in HT you need to show controlled movement - instinct is just looking for that sustained interest without intent to eat Ness the judges are there to help for the test levels and if need be you can ask for help to move the sheep if they stick on the fence and don't want to move. As the rules state the test levels do not require the stock handling skills to be able to move recalcitrant sheep or peel them off of fences so you can ask, or in many cases the judge will just get in there and offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 (edited) LOL its all good Piper I am sure it will be ok and if not there is always the next one . I am just having a dig at Dova more than anything . Off to deliver entries tonight . Pretty sure there is no chance that midget dog will decide to eat sheep, although I might not feed her lamb for breakfast on the day of the test . Edited June 29, 2009 by ness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now