[jaykay]

Ok, so I tried to bring my in-lamb ewes in last night - what a disaster. I'm at the front with a bucket but no-one is behind. The three 'wild' ones baulk, bolt and the whole lot go back where they came from because the gate is still open. Aarrggghhh!!!

Anyway, though I suspect he may not learn to close gates  what do you think my chances are of teaching my 10 year old BC to follow the flock and keep them coming? He's from working stock and is very keen to work. He and I have a very good relationship - ie we read each other well. But essentially he's a pet and I've never trained him.

I'm thinking if I take him in with the hoggs once my neighbour has helped me move the in-lamb ewes. And call the 'away' and 'come-by' commands when he moves in the right direction anyway. He's bright, I think he'll get that. He'll go down at a distance anyway (well, he would last time I did any work with him, but we'd get that back with a bit of a reminder) and of course he'll come back to me when called and he'll walk to heel.

What else do I want want to try to teach him? He's never going to gather on the fell, out of sight, he'll only ever be in fields with me there.

I could just do with a bit of back-up, now I'm working on my own

[colliewoman]

I did it with mine! he was an older boy by the time I got sheep.
We used to drive the sheep rather than lead them and Tikki would sweep out left or right depending on which way the sheep were trying to break away.
I suspect it wasn't very pretty to watch, but we loved it.
RIP Tikki, you are still sorely missed

[SallyintNorth]

I would think he'll get it and love it.

Good idea to 'put a word to what he's doing', then he'll get the idea. 

Derek's technique for over-enthusiasm (in older dogs who should know better - you don't want to knock a youngster's enthusiasm, you may not get it back!) is to call the "That'll Do" - or in your case, whatever is your recall command - when the dog does his own thing, not what the handler 'suggests'.  Clever dogs (which all BCs are!) soon learn that obeying the handler means staying on the sheep, disobeying means being taken off the sheep.

Of course, we don't know what sort of an 'eye' he has... nor quite how clever those Shetlands of yours are going to be...    and who learns faster !

Even if you only get him to run to the other side of the sheep and lie down and stay there, it'll be useful, huh?

If you can get 'Come Bye', 'Away', 'Lie down', 'Walk on' and 'That'll do', you'll be able to do most things. 

Good luck - let us know how you get on!

[jaykay]

My neighbour came with his dog, to move the in-lamb ewes. And they all ran over to see what this funny black and white sheep was  They needed a bit of back up from Kit waving a stick but between us we've got them in. So - at the weekend I'll separate out the hoggs and take Skye to play. Maybe I'll run him first, to tire him it a bit.

[funkyfish]

It's hard wired in their brain to work! He will love to learn how to use his instincts!

[jaykay]

Oh he definitely wants to work and the few times he has, he's been some use. But that was with big, calm, white sheep not little, mad ones and with another human on hand, now there's just me.

Once when I lost him, I looked up to see all the sheep neatly in one corner. Somehow he'd escaped, rounded them up and was just sitting looking at them, admiring them in their now tidy state. He has what it takes I'd have said and he certainly has the eye and the obsession - if he can't stare at sheep, which he'll do all day given chance, he'll stare at goats or, at a push, laying chooks (ie he sits with his nose through the pop-hole  )

I sent for a DVD, which has arrived today, about the first few times of taking a dog in with sheep when you've got no experience dog on hand. I shall watch it, and then when the snow's gone, we'll go and hassle the hoggs 

[jaykay]

Well, Skye came to help bring in the sheep today and whilst the bucket did most of the job, he was certainly a help rather than a hindrance    He didn't do anything very technical but he went down when told to and stopped the flighty ones disappearing back up the field before I could close the gate 


We'll do some proper work over the summer 

[Mammyshaz]

That's great  well done Skye 

[jaykay]

He's very impressed with himself and came in and told the two girls all about it 

[SallyintNorth]

   Good dog Skye.  A very promising start!