What a great start to the Easter Long weekend. Robert was kind enough to come back to do some working dog education.
We had some repeat customers and new beginners this weekend which was a great mix. Included were people working on larger stock properties, weekend warriors and hobby farmers. Predominantly Kelpies this weekend although there were some Koolies and one Cattle Dog that attended.
Robert went through how he sees the difference between Nature and Temperament of a dog, and what he looks for. We had some interesting discussions on breeding.
When people come to Roberts weekend’s I do tell them to be prepared as he has a different mindset to most when working with dogs. Things that I noted on what was covered.
All work with a dog is to be a call to you not a push. The difference in how the dog behaves was demonstrated using both.
Your dog needs to understand at the get go how to be careful. A dog also needs to be able to present itself to you. It was demonstrated how different a dog will work with you if it knows how to do this.
A recall and a come to you command are 2 different things. This was a bit mind blowing for some.
A soft start gives a soft end. Something that is particularly important when you start to get your dog out on big casts.
Protect your sheep at all times. Your dog needs to understand that they are yours and not his. This comes in line with the be careful.
Weening dogs of your blocking tool. This was demonstrated as well as when you start to get a young dog out of the smaller practice yard.
How to start a young dog to back, untie a knot in the mod, getting a dog to push between sheep and panels in yard, starting sides, looking for sheep that may have split from the mob.
We also had 2 dogs that where reactive at the school. One which I thought was going to prove to be a big issue. Robert had in hand within minutes. Jess behaved over all really well and her owner was really happy with her being around so many dogs and that she started to work.
The other dog was an unexpected can you help Robert; I’ve got one that is dog and people aggressive. And he sure did. It was a bit emotional for Bow’s owner to watch Robert get bitten and still work through the dog’s fear. By the end of the weekend this little 5-year-old Kelpie had been walked and patted by just about everyone. She showed what a good little worker she was and even started to actually look around instead of hiding from what was going on around her. Robert left her owner with some sound tips to take away to continue to help Bow.
DCs Madra 