A Good Day

Star and Tam

I don't have the ideal sheep for starting pups. More would be my first choice. I only have 6 at the moment, and 2 of them are in with the ram. But, if I had to wait until conditions were right, I'd still be training Price, so I make do with what I have. I compensate in the training, and I look for better opportunities all the time.

Tam made real progress today. We're finished with the round pen, but that means more running for me. In 3 acres my sheep can find lots of ways to evade the puppies, and they do. With Tam on a line, I start him towards his sheep saying "look" and "where's your sheep?" then turn him loose. He has some balance and feel, and will make an attempt to flank around, but once the sheep break and run, it's a foot race with the sheep winning.

If he dives through, (slices) and grips, I give a growl without much intention. It's a fine line between letting him feel my disapproval, and scaring him. He's one that is sensitive to pressure so I'm mindful of how much and when I use it. His first go was a bit of a rodeo, with the sheep escaping, but Tam became very willing to flank away from the pressure of my body, and I used it to help him hold sheep to one end of the field. A couple times they got past him, and I encouraged him to go get them, which meant, in most cases, that he would slice through the middle and stop only 2 or 3. Better that than being afraid to try. When things go hooki-lau Tam's tendency is to lie down, and I don't want that. Better to let him try something, even if it's messy.

After a bit of that, he began to understand that my growls upon his slice meant to widen and bring them all. Once he demonstrated that understanding, I tied him to the fence and worked Nell, another youngster I am starting for a client. Things got pretty when I brought him back out. I firmly believe our dogs will mull over their training and come back better. The smart ones will any way, and Tam is quite smart.

The sheep were in the middle of the field against the fence. I walked him up with me then gave him a shush. He was quite happy to flank around between the sheep and the fence and hold them to me. This time I moved more quickly and used my body to make him flank from side to side and hold the sheep from escaping. A bit of that, and he had them. I could just see the light come one. I moved to the middle of the field, and began for the first time, to put words to the flanks. I also added a "there" where I moved my body to change his direction. That will lead to my being able to remain stationary while I flank the dog and change his direction. I'm laying ground work at this point.

Tam likes to lie down, so I'm careful about asking for it. At this point, I only use it when we're finished. It took 2 attempts, but on the 2nd try, he stayed on his belly, then came to me when I said "that'll do."  I gently led him by the collar until I was sure he'd come unhooked, and we called it a very good day.