Sheepdog training tutorial news
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Treat someone special! Take advantage of our special offer on one year tutorial subscriptions now, and get nearly 14 months membership for the price of 12! A one-off 12 month subscription to our online training tutorials makes a super gift for anyone who’s training, or is thinking of training, a sheepdog. Take advantage of our…
Tutorial series – Bronwen and Scylla
A tutorial series where we train litter sisters, clearly demonstrating the differences in young dogs. Even if you breed your own replacements you can’t be entirely sure what you’ll get! It’s partly why training young dogs is so fascinating. How can litter sisters be so different? You might expect that litter sisters would be very…
Training tutorials – the dog and the handler
Sheepdog handler training videos for shepherds and of course, sheep dog trainers. Many sheepdog handlers find the early puppy months very stressful. That’s because new shepherds and sheepdog trainers are anxious to raise the dog in a way that will spark and preserve the all-important working instinct. They also worry about the entirely natural desire…
Starting the Non-Starter
Training a dog which doesn’t want to work. Is there anything you can do to spark the dog’s interest? The short answer is “Yes!” Understanding the possible reasons why the dog won’t work is the start to finding the cure. Most non-starters, that is to say dog’s which don’t want to work stock, can become…
The training area
Improve your sheepdog training area. Find out how a little preparation can have a BIG impact on teaching your dog to work sheep or other livestock. Two factors to keep in mind when you train a sheepdog are: keep the action close to you, and round-off any corners or spaces where the sheep might seek…
Close work with your dog
A useful sheepdog needs to be confident when it’s working sheep in yards and buildings. A huge outrun might be a sheepdog’s most impressive skill, but any working dog is likely to spend more time on yard work – penning, pushing, holding and loading sheep – than it is gathering them. The outrun will save…
Looking at the Point of Balance
Is the point of balance always in the same place? You’ll often hear that the dog MUST stop at 12 o’clock, on the “point of balance”. The theory is that if you imagine the handler is standing at 6 o’clock on a clock face, the dog should be directly opposite the handler – at 12…
Featured tutorials – gripping the sheep
Gripping the sheep isn’t necessary for a confident working sheepdog, and can be counter-productive by upsetting the sheep and causing extra stress. Training a dog that grips can feel like a thankless task; it might seem that you take three steps forward in your training session only to start the next session two steps further…
Flock Work tutorial
Is your dog ready to handle a flock of sheep? Once your dog can control a small number of sheep reasonably well in the training field, it’s natural to start thinking about working a flock of sheep. After all, that’s what the dog’s for, isn’t it! To us humans, flock work seems like a natural…