Someone's a Big Boy

Last week Jax was starting to have a difficult time working far away from me in the big field. If I sent him on a fetch without being very close, things got a little messy (as you can see in the photo). This week our goal was to work on getting him to maintain his outrun, as our trainer said "an outrun is a mindset", that when Jax goes to collect the sheep he has to get the whole group and not just run willy nilly at them until the all fled in various directions. Messy.

The partnering with the trainer (and a rather long pole to keep Jax out of the flock) we'd work on sending Jax to fetch the flock with me at a distance. If he got to close, the trainer could push him out and force him to gather the sheep and not split them apart. 

 Still ever so focused...... I send him out with the trainer and sheep behind me. 

 Jax has obviously come in to close, the trainer ready to fend him off and force him to follow along and go around the entire flock of sheep. 

 Here Jax is going on an 'away to me', getting sent outside the sheep. You'll notice he does have quite a bit more independence now and we are moving further away from each other. The goal being to eventually just be standing at the fence line and he does the work in the field without so much guidance. 

This is the kind of distance we are working with, putting pressure on him to have the confidence to go around the sheep and use what we call his "toolkit". In that kit he has "lie down", "steady", "walk up", "away to me", "come by", as well as a range of stylistic moves that he uses on his own when the timing is right. 

Here I've sent Jax to fetch the sheep and I've asked him to lie down behind them. The next move is asking him to "walk up" and bring the sheep towards me.... What you call a "fetch" in the biz. 

A little messy here, bit still working on getting it together. 

By the end of the day we were able to have more confidence as a team working in bigger spaces. I have learned how to set my dog up for success and get the most out of the situation. If I set him up in a sticky situation, there is bound to be trouble and I know that. I need to help him make the most of his abilities as well as the tools to use. With the sheep huddled against the trees, we were in a rough spot to pull them off the fence line and bring them towards me and fetch them. We walked in close and set it up quietly and firmly, no yelling or panicking from either of us. 

Getting geared up in the big field

I initially considered writing "Don't chase the sheep, that's what the dog is for", but I'll save that one as it makes me look bad when I run after the ewes when &$%# isn't going my way.

Well, you know progress is happening when you can let your dog work in a big field instead of the round pen. Initially that would have been a recipe for disaster (or mutton). As Jax becomes more confident and I start to relax and trust that he'll follow the commands I give him, we have really taken big steps forward in with him fetching the sheep from farther away and in large spaces. 

When it comes to herding breeds, the border collie is skilled at being sent out in massive acreage to collect the sheep from afar. Eventually Jax will be whistle trained, when my voice just wont carry the distance for him to hear my commands. Other breeds are better working close, but I'm hoping to get have a dog that can be strong and quiet in close quarters but confident when he's hundreds of yards away from me. Right now we are giving him the tools to be able to solve the problem on his own, and have the confidence in himself that he can get the job done.

So what are these tools to get the job done? Well, we are really hammering down on a few. Up until a few weeks ago things were still along the lines of basic skills. But in the past few weeks we've been really getting solid on lie down and walk up. Now approaching the sheep and not just flocking them. It's nice to be able to keep them in a circle, but you really need to move them from point A to point B. 

 

 

Jax is getting a lot better at listening and being ready for the next command. Before it was an effort in trying to catch his attention before he makes his next move on his own... now he cocks his ear and is ready for the next step. By telling Jax "steady" he's starting to learn that it's coming to the next command and he needs to listen. It usually is followed up by a "lie down", which he needs to have some advanced notice if he's in a full on sprint.

 We were definitely getting styled up really nicely, with Jax fetching the sheep to me and taking it nice and easy. With the help of my trainer I'm also learning to take things quietly and learning to not yell my commands but to ask for them quietly. Wow what a difference! The softer spoken I am the better he responds.

 

I cant help but smile seeing these photos. This is what I mean when I say "style" when it comes to my dog. It's when he knows the next step before I ask him and he frames himself up to be there. I've told him "there" in this shot, asked him to stop flanking the sheep and start coming in and walking up. 

Again, coming in nicely.

Next step is what to do when you are sent on a long outrun. Within a certain distance we are doing pretty well. But when Jax goes a greater distance and is asked to fetch the sheep off the fence with me far away, he is tending to split the flock rather than collect them. He hasnt quite gotten the confidence to know what to do yet. This will likely be the next thing we work on, how to handle ourselves as the distances increase. 

This is better, nice and quiet as he goes in behind and pulls them off the fence.

 A little rough here too... But at the end of it all we both learned a lot and are working closer as a team. And, we both enjoyed having muddy feet.