Yard Dog Trials At The 2011 Goulburn Show

[4Kelpies]

all that Jesomil and cry123 said

Glad everyone liked the photos. It was a really interesting day. Most interesting parts for me were:

1. Complete lack of treats. Dogs worked for the pleasure of herding the sheep and also for pats at the end from handler. I only ever saw a dog lose focus once and that was when his handler basically took over and shut him out of the process. The dog seemed to say "screw this", leapt out of the yard and didn't want to come back. For the rest of the dogs, they were totally attentive and torn between staring at their handler and at the sheep.

I use treats when teaching things like sit, drop, shake hands etc. but wouldn't dream of trying to give my dogs a treat when they're around sheep. They probably wouldn't see it if I did try to offer one, they would be far too focused on the sheep. Some dogs will jump out as a response to pressure - either from the handler, the sheep or both.

2. The distance work - I was impressed by how far away the dogs were when responding to commands.

Once the dog accepts the handler as part of the team (as opposed to the person who opens gates and lets them play with sheep as Tia tends to think of me) distance isn't a great problem. In yard trials you are usually fairly close to the dog especially when compared with 3 sheep or field trials.

3. Some handlers used 'right' and 'left' and some used 'come by', 'over' and other commands to get their dogs to go certain places.

You'll find a whole range of commands. It really doesn't matter what you say as long as you are consistent. It can get confusing if you get a dog that has already been trained with different commands. I use one different command to my dogs' breeder. He uses "here" for anti clockwise while I use "go back." I got Holly when she was 5 so I have to remember to use "here" with her. I usually use her name first and that helps me remember. It helps that she usually knows what she is doing and will put herself in the right place even if I use the wrong word.

4. I noticed that when the handlers said 'sit', very very rarely did the dog actually sit. Usually the dog would drop. I'm wondering if 'sit' is just a way to tell the dog to stop what it's doing and the handlers don't care if the dog sits or drops as long as it stops - but there was also the 'stop' command

5. One handler's 'speak' command seemed to be 'spooks' when he wanted the dog to bark and rush the last sheep into the pen so that he could close the gate. For the most part the dogs were not barky but did occasionally bark to get a sheep through the gate. I saw no nipping - there was one dog that got overexcited and accidentally slammed a sheep into the fence - he ended up being disqualified shortly after because he just wasn't making any progress with the sheep.

You won't hear many nicely rounded vowels or clear enunciation during a sheep dog trial. When I went to my first 3 sheep trial it sounded as if the handlers were saying "Bjorn! Ear! Ear! Bjorn!" Translation "Behind! Here! Here! Behind!" I asked Greg Prince who this Swedish man was and what he had to do with the trial. He still calls me Bjorn whenever he sees me.

6. I wasn't sure if the sheep backing was always compulsory i.e. necessary to pass or if it's something that just happened every session. I got quite nervous for the dogs when they slipped from the sheep backs and ended up at the feet of the sheep :D

Occasionally a judge will ask to see the dogs back, but usually if you can move the sheep without backing it's considered good work and unnecessary backing is considered overworking. I can remember once at a trial when the judge asked competitors to get their dogs to bark at the back of the race to show tail end force before they asked them to back. Backing looks scary but if the dogs know what they are doing, they will stay well to the side and won't get hurt. Young dogs can get excited and try to come back down the centre of the race or go under sheep and that's when they get stepped one. I used to have my heart in my mouth whenever one of my dogs disappeared but these days I trust them to do the right thing and don't worry so much.

7. For me, the divide between dog intitiative and handler instruction wasn't entirely clear. To be honest, for the good dogs - it looks as if the dog was doing almost all of the hard work with just a little bit of guidance from the handler. For some sessions, the handlers were calling out a lot of instructions and I couldn't tell if the dog was actually 'disobeying' the instructions of 'showing initative' because it thought that it knew better. For instance, often the handler would tell the dog to sit and it would keep going.

You'll see more precise obedience at arena trials. In yard trials the dogs are working closer to the sheep and things can happen very quickly. You might ask a dog to go a certain way but if it knows that a sheep is about to break, or the sheep breaks quickly the dog will over ride the handler and use its own initiative. If the dog waited for the handler to react to the sheep breaking, give a command and then respond, the sheep would be long gone. Usually the handler is happy that the dog will disobey at times in order to do the right thing, especially if it works. Some dogs will be just plain arrogant and like to make their own decisions. They are often the best farm dogs but not always the best trial dogs.

8. Loved the Kelpies leaping over the yard fence to get in and out of the yard - so graceful and athletic.

There were two sessions and we weren't entirely sure why they were different. The first was that the handler stood very far away and was not permitted to handle the dog or the sheep. In the second set of sessions, they actually walked around with the sheep, used their arms to push and shoo the sheep sometimes.

Again they were probably different levels of competition, but the handler would be losing points if they tried to influence or handle the sheep. You start off with 100 point and then points are deducted for faults around the course. If you dog is having major problems you will keep on having points deducted to each break etc. so sometimes especially with an inexperienced dog, it is better to step in and handle a sheep to turn it the right way in the race and make things easier for the dog. You won't win any trials doing that but it can help a young dog's confidence.

4kelpies - you're right. I heard the names Karana and Capree thrown around a lot. This dog (which performed very well) was an Eveready Kelpie.

I haven't heard that name before but doesn't it suit Kelpies.

Can someone tell me how to use a number of quotes? I tried a few different things but gave up and just went with bold for my replies.

Edited March 29, 2011 by 4Kelpies

[bedazzledx2]

Family just don't get it sometimes...what another dog thing? and your going training..again???

Wonderful photos KB, so clear for action shots. What camera did you use & what settings?

I've taken Tilba to sheep herding lessons twice & no family member would come with me to take photos to record a major milestone in her life.

[luvsdogs]

Family just don't get it sometimes...what another dog thing? and your going training..again???

Wonderful photos KB, so clear for action shots. What camera did you use & what settings?

I've taken Tilba to sheep herding lessons twice & no family member would come with me to take photos to record a major milestone in her life.

That's about spot on bedazzled2.