superminty Posted September 13, 2012 Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 Sorry Dova, I think you will find that the border is closed now... Just kidding! You did so well and scooping the pool was just a bonus :-) Us Victorians were lucky to get a look in! And good on the both of you for getting the one and only cattle pass of the weekend - you had the only dog that told those cows where to go :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dova Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Sorry Dova, I think you will find that the border is closed now... Just kidding! You did so well and scooping the pool was just a bonus :-) Us Victorians were lucky to get a look in! And good on the both of you for getting the one and only cattle pass of the weekend - you had the only dog that told those cows where to go :laugh: I had a great time, you Victorians were good fun to trial with looking forward to coming back, even if I have to disguise myself to get over the border . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superminty Posted September 23, 2012 Author Share Posted September 23, 2012 Cash got his Intermediate A Sheep title yesterday at the Rottie Club trial Just scraped through the Y chute thanks to some selective deafness on the dog's part (stop? what is this word, stop?) but he picked up his game and got round the rest of the course in nice fashion. Now on to Advanced! Got the summer to work out how on earth to do the cross drive... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 Well done Superminty!! Great way to end the year. I had hoped to have another crack at inter in our last trail for the year but Jazz has come into season early putting that plan to rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superminty Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 Thanks piper, it is always nice to finish a title by year end rather than have it drag over til next season. I never expected him to get any of the passes he did, am feeling a bit more confident in my training now :) Shame about Jazz coming into season, gee they can have terrible timing :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn! Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Afternoon Guys! So my Aussie Shepherd "Finn" is only a baby at the moment at just 14 weeks but he's already herding our chooks around the yard. He loves it so much he sits out in the heat the silly bugger. Problem is he won't let them go where he thinks they shouldn't :laugh: Anyway, to the point. Does anybody know how to actually get into training for herding? What age is preferable and where to go etc? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superminty Posted September 26, 2012 Author Share Posted September 26, 2012 Hi Finn, I don't know specifics of where to go in QLD, but as for some general info - we put pups on stock (calm, steady stock) at 3, 6 and 9 months, just for a look and a play, and to test their instinct levels and get their confidence up. At 12 months we test to see if they can take some pressure (i.e. be re-directed, accept pressure from a stock stick to turn their eyes away from the stock - called "eyes out") and if so, training can start. Some dogs won't be ready for training til a bit later - in my experience of Aussies, they generally need a bit more time, so you might 18 months to 2 years for serious training to begin. But there's plenty you can do in the meantime - basic obedience, working on confidence around stock, recall etc. And every dog is different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janba Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I just got my email from Dogs NSW - I'm now a licensed Judge for tests and all levels A & B courses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Awesome news Janba!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superminty Posted November 3, 2012 Author Share Posted November 3, 2012 Congrats Janba! I will have to make a trip interstate some year and meet all you guys. We have our first Advanced A sheep run next weekend - I have done no preparation at all so it wil be very much a "try and see" kind of run, but I am looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superminty Posted November 10, 2012 Author Share Posted November 10, 2012 (edited) OK, well, apparently "try and see" is a pretty good strategy when it comes to moving up classes for me. Today Cash and I had our first Advanced A sheep run and we got a pass! Score of 71 - it was not a pretty run but he got around and now I know what to work on i.e. flanking off a drive away and how on earth you do the cross drive... Given that our total training on on Advanced course is nil (I train skills, not courses, and hadn't even thought about how to do the cross drive as I know he's not quite ready), I was pretty pleased with the effort. Second run was pretty nice until - you guessed it - the cross drive - when he took the wrong flank three times in a row I decided to call it. Kelpie brain properly exploded by then :laugh: Edited November 10, 2012 by superminty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Are You Serious Jo Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Yeah, cross drive sounds like a pretty hard thing to master but congrats on the pass I have a question. Been working on getting Leo to keep off the sheep more by using out, which he understands. But is it ok to use out when he is moving sheep or keeping them still and only use my cast commands (get over for clockwise and go bye for anticlockwise) when actually getting him to cast from near me? I don't want to confuse him and it seems ok so far, but when giving the out command he might be going in the same direction that I would have used the cast command for, except he is a lot further away from me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superminty Posted November 10, 2012 Author Share Posted November 10, 2012 Yeah, cross drive sounds like a pretty hard thing to master but congrats on the pass I have a question. Been working on getting Leo to keep off the sheep more by using out, which he understands. But is it ok to use out when he is moving sheep or keeping them still and only use my cast commands (get over for clockwise and go bye for anticlockwise) when actually getting him to cast from near me? I don't want to confuse him and it seems ok so far, but when giving the out command he might be going in the same direction that I would have used the cast command for, except he is a lot further away from me. For me, "out" means "release your stock". This might mean move further out from them i.e. he's in or about to hit the flight zone, or take your eyes off them - if he is being pushy and staring at them as he flanks. I use it in a few ways: * as a generic "go": his main job when casting is to find and stay out of the flight zone til he hits balance, but he gets to choose the direction if I use "out" * to re-direct out of the flight zone, in which case he needs to release his stock (eyes out) to re-position * as a correction: if I say "out" while the dog is working, he is too tight and needs to release his stock. I use pressure to make it uncomfortable for him when I use it in this way, because I want him to seek to avoid that pressure next time, and do it right without a re-direction. It seems like it means lots of different things when I write it out like that, but it really simply means "find and stay out of the flight zone". Cast commands (I call them flanks) should have an inbuilt "out" i.e. what a flank command means is "release your stock and move in a particular direction". Or, if it makes more sense "move in a particular direction around the flight zone". Of course this doesn't occur automatically, so I see no problem using the "out" to help the dog understand what a flank command really means, during the process of training flanks. It's a reminder that the dog has two jobs - 1. go in a particular direction, and 2. find and stay out of the flight zone. The way I would use "out" with a flank/cast command is (assuming the dog understands what you want him to do when you say "out") give my flank command, let him start out that way, and if he is running narrow, help him get the shape right by saying "out". It's a tool to use when things aren't going perfect, but you want to fade it asap, so the dog learns to find the flight zone on their own, without you telling them when they're narrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Are You Serious Jo Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 That all makes sense and it is how I'm using it now. When he impinges on the flight zone I say out and he moves back well. Because he is still a noob really he tends to think he needs to stay close to them in case they get out of control so this is really helping him learn the right distance. Thanks, just want to double check these things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superminty Posted December 26, 2012 Author Share Posted December 26, 2012 Thought I'd rescue this thread from page 3 :laugh: Posted this in the kelpie thread but non-kelpie people may not venture in there very often :D Here is a short video of Cash and I practising outruns today - he has always run very tight on his outruns but this is starting to really come along now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superminty Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 (edited) Where have all my herding buddies gone Luckily, being an only child, I play well on my own Edited December 29, 2012 by superminty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 :laugh: too hot to herd over here Too hot to go outside even the last few days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Thought I'd rescue this thread from page 3 :laugh: Posted this in the kelpie thread but non-kelpie people may not venture in there very often :D Here is a short video of Cash and I practising outruns today - he has always run very tight on his outruns but this is starting to really come along now. Nice. Have you got your own sheepies now? I haven't been herding for nearly a year. Poppy wasn't a happy camper last time I went so I haven't been again. I found out the other day that there is someone right near me doing sessions. Would like to try Amber again. She has by far the most annoying herdy type behaviors of any border collie I've owned. I'm constantly getting a sharp little nose to the backs of my legs :laugh: And she will not cross in front of me which is funny. If she gets in front on the lead and wants to come back to the left she comes behind me, so I keep having to switch the lead! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Are You Serious Jo Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 I'm only doing minimal training, mainly to move my lambs around. I'll be over in Canberra for about 5 weeks soon though so I hope to go to some training days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superminty Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 Have you got your own sheepies now? I haven't been herding for nearly a year. Poppy wasn't a happy camper last time I went so I haven't been again. I found out the other day that there is someone right near me doing sessions. Would like to try Amber again. She has by far the most annoying herdy type behaviors of any border collie I've owned. I'm constantly getting a sharp little nose to the backs of my legs :laugh: And she will not cross in front of me which is funny. If she gets in front on the lead and wants to come back to the left she comes behind me, so I keep having to switch the lead! Yep, got 10 of Kate's in Mickleham on a vacant house block. It's pretty cool, I'm definitely getting much faster progress now! Surprise surprise. That's a pretty typical kelpie habit too, the switching sides behind you thing. You end up all wrapped up in the lead! How's Amber going anyway? Healthy again I hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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