We drove up north and picked up Poppy last night. However, "Poppy" is now "Jasmine". Poppy is the name I picked. Jasmine is the name the breeder picked for her and it fits this extraordinary, graceful puppy much better.
She and her littermates have learned to sit, stand, and come using clicker training. When I took out the i-click this morning, she began to dance -- she knows it means fun and good times!
Today we worked on recall to her name, free-shaping a sit, and luring a tight left and right turn. (She will need a "come by" and "away to me" for herding and I want her to turn easily to either side.)
Trooper kept lying down nearby, getting up and lying down again as if he was trying to teach her: "Look! This will get you a click and a treat, too!" When he was a little puppy I free-shaped "down" with him and that is his "go to' or default behavior.
It is so much fun having a little puppy again who is eager to explore and learning to learn.
Herding Lessons
On Saturday, Jazzy and I went out to see the sheep again at the farm. Jazzy is 16 weeks old and has not seen sheep since her initial contact at 7 1/2 weeks.
My goal for her at this early age is not to begin herding, but to learn to be calm and obey simple commands around the sheep.
I began by walking her around the property. She seemed confident and comfortable. We walked around the small fields. We watched the sheep. She smelled the sheep from a distance. She smelled the sheep droppings and the shed sheep wool. We gradually worked our way back to the run between the holding pens. We walked up and down the run, watching and smelling. I clicked and treated her for her calm, confident behavior in the run. She showed no fear, only curiosity.
Then we did some sits and downs and recalls in the run with the sheep in pens on either side. I clicked and treated for her quick responses and her focus on me.
We went into the duck pen where there were 5 Cayuga ducks. We walked calmly and quietly behind them on a line. She got to see how she moved caused the ducks to move.
It may be several months before I put her in the round pen with sheep. It is not my goal to teach her HOW to herd at this young age. I already know that she has drive and the herding instinct.
We will go out to the farm as often as we can, weekly if possible, and just be with the sheep.
As I said, my goal at this stage is just to teach her to be calm and confident around the sheep. We will continue to do loose lead walking, sits, downs, stays, and recalls in the small fields and in the run between the holding pens.
I think that Jazzy is going to be a nice little herding dog.
Herding
Hi, I'd love to hear more about clicker training for herding. My three year old Border Collie is a natural, but I'm messing things up for him, as I can't get a "lie down" when he is moving away from me. How can I work on this with the clicker? (He knows the clicker means something good, but he doesn't really do treats). Any advice would be welcome.
Herding
Bernadette,
I hope someone who knows a lot more than me about herding will read your comment and reply. As i said in my other post, I am a real newbie at this and I have a lot to learn. I have an "upright' breed of dog (Australian shepherd) and do not use a "lie down" .
getting a stop
Thanks for replying. Its getting a stop that is the problem. He can work on his feet or lie down, but the stop command is usually given as lie-down when hes out on sheep. Its getting him to stop when he is running away/can't see me thats the problem. Without this, moving on to driving away from me will be very difficult. Good luck with your dog.
Stops
Good to hear from you again. I worked a stop with my German shepherd on a lot of different activities off of the field. We did it while out walking, running the agility course, practicing a moving down for Rally, etc. You can use the clicker in these structured settings and reward with a tennis ball or whatever your dog enjoys playing with. I also had a good natural "stop at the top" when he was "on balance" before I tried to force a stop when he was working sheep. When he could stop in a variety of environments and situations, then I tried it when he was working sheep and I had less control at a distance. He and I just work sheep for fun and because it is the only thing that tires him out mentally and physically. LOL
I hope this helps.
stops
I will try all those things, but I'm still struggling with ideas for stopping him when moving away from me - his balance is excellent - its stopping him before that point is a problem unless he can see me when I say 'lie down'. He will "couche" anytime asked if there are no sheep, and will lie down on command if I have a stick or frizbee, but then he is looking at me.
On our way home from the woods he always stops on the grass outside our gate (passive resistance) so yesterday as he started this ritual I told him to lie down - he looked quite startled but was lying down before he realised! I'm going to try to catch as many habitual lie downs as I can in the same way - you never know, it might work.
stops
That sounds like a good idea.
Performance Puppy
I do not yet know where 9 week old Jazzy will shine. I don't know what activities she will dive into with enthusiasm and talent. So I am just beginning to build basic skills that will be the building blocks of whatever events she will try.
For conformation, she is learning to gait "pretty" on a loose lead on the left and right sides with click and treat for beautiful motion. She stops and stands and I move her feet while baiting her with cheese. I need a partner to click for a pretty stack.
For obedience (and puppy manners), she is learning to walk on the loose lead, come with a sit in front, and down.
For agility, she has learned to walk on unstable surfaces and run through the puppy tunnel.
For disk dog, she chases the Frisbee, takes it in her mouth and gets rewarded for moving toward me with it. (She would prefer to run away with it.)
For herding, we are playing turning games and circling both to the left and the right.
The new skill I want to introduce is the hand target (to be transferred to an object target) for tracking. She is already using her nose to track down the cat's hiding places so she should be a good little tracker.
We will not be using the target stick, as the herder's staff has a completely different connotation and looks too much like a target stick.
I know there are many people who buy a puppy for herding, or for agility, or for conformation. I prefer to see where my puppy's strengths are and go with them. And I like having a versatile dog who will try new activities with enthusiasm and confidence. I'm sure I will learn a lot!