This complete training session shows the importance of good timing when you’re training a sheepdog.
Handlers who are new to sheepdog training can find it difficult to recognise:
- What their dog is doing and what it means
- The appropriate action to correct the dog at the right time
Good timing is very important, and yours will improve with practice. We recommend watching some complete training sessions such as “Educating Gloria”. They can help you to get a better “feel” for sheepdog training.
Watch carefully, and concentrate on what the dog is doing, and how the handler can influence the dog’s behaviour.
You’ll also see mistakes being made, and probably begin to come to your own conclusions as to how they can be put right. Watching another trainee dog and handler is just as useful, if not more useful, than the time you spend with the tutor. If nothing else, the pressure’s off you!
What’s the next best thing?
You’ll be very fortunate if you find a local sheepdog trainer who gives lessons or holds clinics, so the next best thing is to watch someone else’s entire training session. The Working Sheepdog Website includes many full training sessions, with a variety of dogs, for members to watch and learn from.
Educating Gloria
This was nine-month old Gloria’s fourth training session; she’s headstrong and excited, but not uncontrollable. This tutorial shows the complete lesson twice, first at half-speed and then at its actual speed – demonstrating why new handlers often feel everything’s happening too fast and their timing is far too slow.
Don’t worry. You can’t hope to get it right first time, every time, but with patience, and calm persistence, you and your dog will progress.
The importance of good timing, and much more
This complete training session shows the importance of timing; setting the dog up for a good start; use of the stick and body position to impose and maintain control; discipline (and when to back off); how the handler’s attitude influences the dog; establishing a good working distance from the sheep, despite the dog’s best efforts; typical ways the dog may evade the stop command; and why you should guard against forming patterns in your commands.
Remember: encourage the best and, with timing, make the best of the rest.
For the highs and lows of a typical early lesson, with a typical trainee dog, watch Educating Gloria. And for an explanation of the words and phrases we use in sheepdog training, see our Terminology page.
`To watch the tutorials you’ll need to be logged in as a paid member, and if you need more help, leave a comment or question on the tutorial page.
WE CAN HELP YOU TRAIN YOUR DOG TO WORK SHEEP, CATTLE OR OTHER LIVESTOCK
If you’re interested in training a dog to work sheep, cattle, or other livestock, we can help you – whether you’re a complete beginner, or just wanting to improve.
For French, Spanish or English SUBTITLES click “CC” on player.
For a very small monthly (or annual) subscription, watch many hours of expertly presented sheepdog training lessons. Not just theory – we show you what should happen, and what to do when things go wrong. Signup now. It’s easy to cancel payments at any time and you can continue to watch for the period you paid for.
Find out how members can send videos for our assessment and advice on their dog’s progress.
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