Jack The Sheepdog

[Mooper]

After talking about it for months, I finally took Jack out to Binalong (between Yass and Harden, NSW) this weekend for sheepdog school.

Perrys Mum was there with Perry the coolie ... I'm not sure if there were any other DOLers?

Anyway, I wasn't sure how Jack would react to the sheep. At 6 years of age, he'd never been with sheep to my knowledge. Although he had licked a ram through the fence at our local high school! I was hopeful that wasn't a taste test.

On his first run on Saturday with Robert instructing, he was already showing promise and we had a blast. He barked constantly at this stage. By the second run, he'd worked out that he could barge his way through along the fenceline and get the sheep (seven of them) out of any corner. And by the third run, his barking had pretty much stopped, he was crouching a bit, and he was really steady. I was so proud!

Of course, my OH had the camera at work that day

On Sunday we had Jenny working with us. Like Robert, she liked Jack but insisted he show me more respect. So we worked a lot on getting him to walk calmly just behind me for several laps of the yard, while ignoring the sheep. She then had me put him in sit/stay in the opposite corner to the sheep while I walked over to them. When I turned around, it felt like ages before she told me I could release the boofer, but he sat like a statue! Then he came to me when called. I was thrilled -- so many other dogs (we were all pretty much beginners) had completely ignored their handler and hooned straight up to the sheep.

For the second run on Sunday, I had to handle Jack myself and damnit, that was so much harder than having Robert or Jenny do it! But I was pleased that I could read most of Jack's intentions and stop him from crossing between me and the sheep etc.

I had the camera this time, but forgot about it on the first two runs, then lined someone up for the third run and we ran out of time to do it! D'oh. So the only pics I have are of Jack watching other dogs with the sheep.

All in all, it was great to see some instinct awakened in Jack and I hope we get the chance to work him again soon. Jenny said he would make a great worker based on drive and instinct, but that he needed to still show more respect and to shed some kilos

Exciting as all of that was, the best part for me was seeing Jack's improvement over the weekend.

When we arrived on Saturday, he was a barking loony and he set off all the other dogs. The excitement of another dog working the sheep was too much for him. But at 'Binalong Boot Camp' they didn't tolerate that, and he got to know that the plastic bag on the end of the stick means business! He responded really well to a swoosh of the bag, and as you'll see in the pics in a sec, he calmed right down.

He had a great time watching his new mate, Spotty (CDC-goers may recognise him). I've known Spotty's owner for 12 years but we only caught up again recently and found out that our dogs had similar 'issues'.

He showed an interest in the sheep pretty much straight away...

Every so often, he got interested enough to sit up. He found a gap in the fence and kept trying to stick his head through but we three front-rowers at Boot Camp let him know that wasn't on, for his own safety!

Here's evidence of the 'eureka' moment. Here's Jack calmly snoozing while Possum the coolie is working the sheep, and being quite vocal about it. For those who don't know Jack's background, two years ago when we sprung him from DAS he would bark at every dog we passed even if they were behind a fence on the other side of the street. This progress is a HUGE leap for him!

If he started to whine, I softly and calmly told him 'leave it' and when he stopped I told him 'lie down'. And he did it every time. So then he got an equally quiet and calming 'good boy'. Amazing! Who was this dog, and where had my barking boy gone?!

One last pic because it sums up Jack's calm demeanour after a long weekend of great fun. Thanks for reading

[sidoney]

Hey, that's great! Congrats to you and to Jack!!

Looking forward to the piccies of Jack with sheep next time ...

Edited April 3, 2006 by sidoney

[Daisy]

Yay for Jack the boofer. And congratulations Mel, you really have come a long way with him Pats on the back all round

[Mooper]

Maybe you'll have to come along, Sidoney! This crew seemed far more relaxed than Bernard was that time when I was a fence-sitter.

There was even a bulldog (show dog) working the sheep, well, trying to mount them ... and the instructors did a fantastic job keeping his prey drive in check. He's going to be a big, strong boy when he gets out of the gangly puppy stage.

There was one purebred red heeler who was a bundle of energy, and also very vocal as Jack had been at the start.

There were also several border collies, a coolie in our group, a couple of Belgian shepherds, a Bernese Mountain Dog, a maremma and a couple of black kelpies. Oh, and a lovely choc girl

That was all in the beginner's yard. The more advanced folks (where Perrys Mum was) were mostly coolies and kelpies. Maybe one or two border collies, too.

They were all fantastic dogs and the people were very friendly.

[Paula-]

What can I say but YAY JACK!!!!

A huge well done, Mel, I can't wait to see how Jack goes next time :D

[periau]

I dont suppose the ACD- the red one was Jem by any chance? He and Possum the coolie are from CDC they do flyball- they live in the same house!

[Sparty]

Congratulations!!!! it is wonderful for you and jack im very jealous we would love that same opportunity down here (well closer than 3hours away anyway!!) keep us posted on jacks progress

[Mooper]

Yep, Peri, it was Jem and Possum

I loved Jem. Such a character! Very naughty at times, but he knows his dad is boss. Would Jem be the red heeler I'd seen when X-factor were competing at the Canberra Show?

Thanks, Sparty. The ninety minute drive was enough for me ... I don't think I could manage a three-hour one! I'm thinking of staying at Binalong overnight next time as I'm told it's only $70 for a room and dogs are allowed to stay in the car.

Apparently there is herding at Camden, too, but I don't suppose that helps you much in Ballarat!!

[periau]

Yep that would be Jem- he loves his flyball

[Perry's Mum]

The Koolie Club are looking into arranging a herding weekend at Albury or Elmore in the next few months. I will put a notice up when I hear more details.

Jack did really well for his first time.

Perry was ecstatic because she was up with the big dogs and got to work more sheep in a bigger pen, move them from one pen to another, and to start doing race work - although she was not too keen on walking along the backs of moving sheep. The big excitement though was meeting Sue from Armidale who knows the woman who rescued Perry originally and helped her get Perry cleaned up before she came down to live with me.

[Hedds]

Aw YEY Jack! Boofers rule!

What fun you had Moops, thanks so much for sharing, its a great run down of a fab weekend. Jack is so smart. But, we all knew that already.

I cant wait to see a pic of Jack in with the sheep. Dont you dare go to another one without bringing back some pics! Anyone else get any pics of your weekend? :p

[TigerJack]

Congrats on Jack's progress. I am jealous. I was looking forward to attending this clinic as it was so great the last time I went. I had to pull out at the last minute on Friday as I've got Kennel Cough raging at my place. With luck, I'll be there next time.

Jo

[BittyMooPeeb]

Wow - fantastic work Jack and Mooper! I love the bit about Jack needing to show you more respect . Now you can pass on the secret and I wont have to put up with Peebs giving me the hairy eyeball any more

I dont really know anything about herding, but it sounds hard. Did Jack understand basically what he had to do already?

Well done, and next time, it's your turn for the camera

[Mooper]

Thanks for all the nice comments Hope to see you there next time, TigerJack. And Hedds, I still hope to get him to Tullamarine some time. I don't think anyone else got any pics of us

Walking Jack after this weekend is like walking a different dog ... he used to pull excitedly at the start of every walk, then settle down. Yesterday and this morning, it was loose leash all the way, baby. Woo hoo!

I dont really know anything about herding, but it sounds hard. Did Jack understand basically what he had to do already?

I don't really know anything about herding, either, BMP! I get the impression that different instructors have very different methods. The folks at Binalong on the weekend were not at all prescriptive in what the dogs needed to do. They assessed each newbie as an individual, looking for instinct, body language, watching their eyes etc. But, yes, Jack seemed to know straight away that a sheep that strayed had to come back, and he went and told them off!

The instructors talked to me a lot about the energy we radiate from our chest, and applying 'heat' based on my body language and presence. It really is quite powerful. They were so good that they could control a dog like possum through voice and body language alone.

Perrys Mum will know more about what it expected of the dogs in the more advanced group. But for Jack as a beginner, it was more about teaching him that it was OK to show an interest in the sheep, it was OK to round them up, and that going along the fenceline and burrowing down was a good thing. Setting the boundaries, I guess, without being formal about it.

It's verrrry different to obedience training. None of that high-pitched GOOD BOY! stuff. The sheep are exciting enough as it is, and they are a very powerful reward for good behaviour. So everything was calm and low-key. I found Jack worked much better when he'd had some quiet time beforehand.

Jem's dad got into trouble for roughing Jem up before going into the yard. He didn't even realise he did it. Just before taking the lead off, he'd quickly rough up Jem's fur and say 'let's go!' or whatever. That dog was hyped!!

Ahh, so much to learn ... but so much fun!

[Perry's Mum]

Perry and I have only just made it to the advanced group so I don't know a lot. Basically she is at the stage where she is comfortable working the sheep and now we are working on shaping her by teaching her to put them in specific places and hold them there. Some of the more advanced dogs took groups of sheep for a walk across the property.

Many of you will know that Perry had some behavioural and aggression issues as a result of her life of abuse before she came to me and all I can say is that herding with Robert once a month has turned her into a different dog in less than 12 months. Best of all she loves it and no matter how demanding Robert is of her, she thinks he is god.

Of course, she was born to be a sheepdog but all the same there is something wonderful about seeing a dog doing what she was bred to do and doing it well - especially when the farmer who used to have her was going to shoot her for not working . Sheepdog school is just so much fun.

[Sparty]

i get a lot better response from bodie than my other dogs and a lot of it is a side benefit from herding i think. If you are the pack leader at herding a lot of the respect flows on, and if you can get a solid recall off sheep calling him off playing in a group of dogs in the middle of the oval is not a problem!!!

i have seen only benefits so far from working with my dog on sheep

[Guest cloverfdch]

Woohoo way to go Jack and Moops , that is great. Hopefully see you town at Tullamarine oneday. Keep up the good work, Jack sure is coming along in leaps and bounds .

[Mooper]

Jack and I started our second ever weekend of sheep-herding today ... and I remembered to get pics (see here )

What a day! I can't wait to go again tomorrow and see how much of today's good work can continue to be put into practice. :D

I'll try to get some pics of Perrys Mum and her coolie Perry as well. Perry had a *fantastic* day today but I'll leave that story for PM to tell sometime. Perry is a great little worker

[Perry's Mum]

Perry always writes after each sheepdog school to her foster mother, Janine, who rescued her from a farm. Her email is at the bottom of the pictures of Binalong. Perry has been fear aggressive and her behaviour out of the ring has left something to be desired - this weekend Robert decided to let her stay off lead out of the ring and what a difference - she actually initiated playing with other dogs - something I have never seen before. Nobody could be in any doubt that she was happy because her tail was going around in circles. She did pretty well with the sheep too.