Release Me

Nell and Tam being started together

Working Tam yesterday, I noticed that he was bothered by the long line I had him on. The drag on his collar caused him to turn his body at odd times, slow down and even lie down when he shouldn't have. It occurred to me that we put our pups on a long line at first to gain control of some sort, then are slow to remove it, because we're afraid to give it up.

I didn't like what that long line was doing to him. I'll take messy, and confident over tidy and cautious every time. Even the slightest trepedation at 9 months is no good in my book. So, off it came, and you should have seen him free up. It was a beautiful thing. His speed increased, his flanks opened up and he was more keen to change directions. Good call!

I introduced the fetch today. It took a bit of running on my part, because my sheep are trotty. So I worked them back and forth across the narrower width of my rectangular field asking Tam to find his way directly behind them instead of flanking around. He started lik a pendulum swinging in wide arcs from side to side only changing directions when the pressure of my body caused it. Then, as he tired, and I become more insistent that he line out behind them, he settled in. Once Tam understood the drill and gave me a fairly steady walk up directly behind the sheep without upsetting them, I let him come to a standing stop, said the word "stand," and finished up with flank drills.

I used flank commands today, interspersed with "there," which brings him to a stop and will eventually tell Tam where to stop the flank, to walk up, and where the line is. We didn't do much of this. I could tell Tam was tiring, because he began to lay down on his own. I called him to me, said "that'll do" and he happily walked away with me.

I've seen dogs that wouldn't call off their sheep, and it's sometimes because they've been pressured so much in a training session, and not allowed enough freedom. When a dog is having fun, and doing what comes naturally to them, I've found they're a lot happier to comply with my requests and are far more obedient. It's when commands and obedience don't make sense to them, and counter their natural instincts that the trouble begins.  I see way too many people in training, and on the trial field using a chain saw when only the finest sand paper is needed to teach a dog. I'm remvoing Tam's rough edges as gently as I can, and he likes it.