Can you train a sheepdog who’s aggressive to sheep?
Our three-part video series covers the basic training of Max, a dog who was determined to attack sheep at every opportunity. We should stress that we considered Max’s problem as largely a lack of confidence and self-control, rather than straightforward aggression. Max was never a risk to people or other dogs – he was, in fact, an affectionate dog who loved praise and attention.
Part One – Max’s first lesson
Part One shows our first encounter with Max, and our first session with him at home.
This tutorial shows you how to approach training such a challenging dog, especially the importance of recognising the pattern to his behaviour and how to slow down the action to give you a better chance of staying one step ahead.
Part Two – making progress
In Part Two (this was Max’s next training session) he has made a little progress, and we try to build some trust with him.
The tutorial shows that there’s no “quick fix” for a dog with Max’s temperament. We also see that rewarding the dog is just as important as correcting him when we’re trying to develop a relationship.
Part Three finds Max taking his sheep out of the ring, and bringing them back again.
This is a simple, but very useful, technique to use with young dogs. This new challenge for the trainee dog relieves the boredom of repetitive work inside the ring, and gives us a glimpse into the dog’s improving sheep control. (It’s described and explained in detail in the “Coming Out” tutorial.)
Building trust
At last, a marked improvement in Max’s flanks means he keeps the sheep together. His reduced biting and increased willingness to come away from the sheep made training Max more rewarding and, dare we say it, fun?
The “Training Max – the Gripper” series has been amongst our most popular tutorials to date.
We’ve been completely honest about gripping dogs. Dogs that grip are not easy to work with, they offer a real challenge to an inexperienced handler as well as representing a potential danger to livestock. BUT, if you keep your temper and your wits about you, even a hard dog like Max can be “tamed” to become a really useful herding dog. Max went on to primarily work with cattle, and became a valued and much-loved member of a farming family.
CLEAR, AFFORDABLE SHEEP AND CATTLE DOG TRAINING INSTRUCTION
Over 70 clearly explained, easy to follow sheep and cattle dog training videos for first time sheepdog trainers, farmers, and shepherds. Just £12 per month or £120 per year (choice of currencies for payment). Watch the preview here!
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