Training a Sheep Beg

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 71, Issue 5, 15 November 1945, Page 451

Training a Sheep Beg

YOUNG farmers, shepherds, and drovers about 1 to start the training of a puppy for stock work will find invaluable suggestions in this article by E. G. Broad. The author describes the training of dogs for particular types of work, and stresses the importance of the trainer imposing discipline on both himself and the pupil. The adoption of the methods he recommends for developing a farm dog would do much , towards retaining the high standard set in New Zealand among sheep dog men. .

TIE art of getting the very best out of a sheep dog by training is given to few. Nevertheless, the sheep dog is essential on a farm, and while many cannot hope to become very expert trainers, practically all farmers are called upon to attempt the training of a dog at some time or another, and if at the outset they can grasp the fact that a sheep dog puppy is trained somewhat on the lines that a child is educated at school, by easy stages, then he ought to be able, with guidance, to make a very useful helpmate of an intelligent puppy.

One’s efforts will only be disappointing unless one is working on good material. The first essential is the selection of a good pup, born of parents both of whom are good workers and whose ancestors were noted for their working ability. A well-bred pup has natural instincts which make his training much more easy, pleasurable, and certain, whereas a puppy of nondescript breeding may be just a source of continual worry and disappointment. In spite of all care in the selection, however, it will be found that the temperament and intelligence will vary even in pups of the same litter.

A trainer, to be successful, must have great patience and determination, and be able to control his temper at all times and be prepared to devote some time to the training. Absolute control at all times, not only of the pupil but by the trainer himself, is essential. To attempt to educate the pup by thrashing, due to loss of temper on the part of the trainer, will simply instill fear into the pup and destroy at one stroke any natural ability to learn that the pup may have had. Too many expect a pup to train himself simply by chasing sheep, and too often farmers say that they have not the time to give to a pup. A badly-trained dog wastes no end of time during his lifetime.

Answering to Name As the puppy grows his elementary training should proceed, and as soon as he can toddle round he should be taught to answer to his name. He will soon learn to do this if every time he is fed he is called by name or whistle. The name or whistle commands used do not matter so long as they are adhered to throughout his training. Care should be taken in his early life always to reward him when he answers and he will soon learn to obey. While he is growing the pup should not be kept on the chain more than is absolutely necessary. Like a little child he loves company and frets when alone. If not allowed to romp and play, he will grow up a surly, youngster, showing little of the happy nature all pups should possess. Of course he will get into mischief, but while trying to correct him it is far better to remove the fowls, ducks, or cats out of his reach, if possible, rather than punish him for playing with them. The time will come when he may have to have a little sterner handling and be kept more on the chain, but this should be delayed as long as possible.

Commands The pup should next be taught to sit down, but he should not be frightened into doing this by threatening him with a stick. For a start he should be just pressed down gently with the hands, bearing in mind that nearly all lessons are better taught by kindness, and using plenty of patience rather than plenty of . stick. Later, when he is old enough to know better, he must not be allowed to disobey. As he begins to understand what is required of him when commanded to “sit down,” teach him to remain “sitting” while you move away from him, and gradually increase the distance as you are satisfied that he understands what is required of ' him. These little lessons, good healthy food, and a snug kennel will be all that he will require for, the first three or four months of his life, when he should be proficient enough to pass on to more advanced work. (Note:The pup may be taught to “stand” or “lie down” if preferred to “sitting.” In fact, in expert hands it is quite common to see a dog understand the attitude to adopt in obedience 'to all three commands) .

The next lessons are to lead nicely on a cord at heel, then to move right or left, forward or backwards, on command. To teach him these lessons the cord is kept on him, not very long to start with, but lengthening as he becomes proficient. The cord may be 6ft. long to start with, tied to his collar one end, and the other end tied to the end of a walking-stick. With this attachment, on commanding him to “sit down,” hold the stick at arm’s length, first to the right and then to the left. Moving in the direction to which the stick is pointing, command him to “Come out here, Jock,” and he must, if he will answer to the pull of the cord, move out with you. This, of course, applies to .right or left. To bring forward you gently pull forward, using a different command, such as “Walk up, Jock.” To go backwards, push backwards, using still another command, such as “'Get back, Jock.”

Whatever command is used, whether by word or whistle, take care to use that same command always, keeping in mind that a puppy works by habit and answers to commands through habit. If he gets into the habit of answering commands in a

slovenly manner, he will never do his turns properly, but if you insist on the lessons being done smartly from the first, he will get into the habit of obeying promptly and correctly. There may be days when neither you nor the pup seems inclined for lessons. You may not be feeling quite fit, and the puppy may seem particularly dense or obstinate and everything seems wrong; in that case give lessons a spell for a day or two. Carry on a little each day if possible, until the puppy knows exactly what is required of him by the different commands, lengthening the cord as he becomes more proficient. Repeat th’e lessons all over again without the cord tied to the stick, but with one end within easy reach, and finally without the cord at all, but do not be in too great a hurry to do this. The trainer must be guided by the temperament of the pup as to how fast he can proceed with the training and also to some extent the method to adopt. The Check Cord Care has to be exercised in the use of the check cord. It must be looked upon, and used, as a means of pre-

venting escape rather than a means of dragging the dog about. Endeavour must be made to keep the dog in a cheerful frame of mind, while the check cord is on him. Tit-bits by way of reward when commands are obeyed will assist to do this. Any injudicious use of the cord will only make the pup frightened and sulky. Its use should not be continued longer than is absolutely necessary to teach him what you require him to learn; but do not hesitate, at any time, to put the cord on him if he appears to require a little stern reminder to obey instantly. . ' Up to this time the puppy has not been asked to do anything with sheep; neither is it advisable to attempt to work sheep with him until he has been thoroughly grounded in the elementary lessons as set out above. Having him so far educated, it will be found that, with his own natural instincts, he will be ready to go right ahead with his first lessons on sheep. At about this stage it must be decided for what class of work it is desired to train the puppy. Those who breed pups should know from the breeding for what class of . work the puppy is most suitable, whether straight-out “heading,” “leading,”

“huntaway,” or perhaps all-round work. Heading The natural instincts of a young “header” may help him to make a very promising “shape” when first introduced to sheep. If that is so, all that is necessary is to control him and endeavour to encourage him to do his moves correctly, but his education must proceed step by step, and on no account must he be permitted to attempt difficult turns. The chief thing to bear in mind always is to check at once any undesirable habits that may have a tendency to develop. It is worth repeating that some puppies are more easily taught than others, and one must be guided by the pupil’s intelligence as to how fast to proceed with the training. Generally from six to eight months is early enough to start the pup on sheep, but much depends on the class of work for which one proposes to train the pup. If it is for straight-out “heading,” he must be old enough to have developed a fair turn of speed before being asked to handle sheep, while a “huntaway” pup may be ready to start on sheep earlier.

At this stage it may be well to repeat some very important matters in connection with the training of the puppy. Strict obedience to commands is the chief essential to good training, and. if one is unable to attain this, there is something wrong. It should not be necessary to repeat a command, and it is a bad practice to do so. Therefore, strict obedience (without sneaking a few yards after the command is given to stop) must at all times be insisted upon. If the pup’s early training has not been thorough, he will never make a firstclass sheep dog. If one of the slower sort is being handled, too much must not be expected too soon. Over-instruction or any attempt to force the pace will result in failure. Another very important point, too, is to make the sound of command suit the distance; if a dog is working close at hand commands should be given in a quiet tone, and the volume increased according to the distance out. The commands should be short and distinct, and all training given by only one person. All lessons must be taken seriously both by the trainer and pupil. The

puppy , must not be allowed to jump about and become over excited. Endeavour to keep him in a happy frame of mind throughout the training. Most dogs delight in work, . and can show their desire to do what they are commanded if they can be taught clearly to understand their master’s desires. The objects of training, as it is proceeded with, are to strengthen the weaknesses in a dog’s work, and a determination to eradicate bad faults, or rather to check at once any bad faults as they appear. These instructions to the trainer are inadequate without the practical experience of the nature of sheep that the really successful - trainer must have., Knowledge of the nature of sheep is most essential. On the “heading” trial ground, for example, sheep are often brought down the hill, a distance of 600 yards or more, in 3 minutes, which works out at 7 miles per hour, or 56 miles in 8 hours. It should be perfectly obvious to anyone that sheep cannot stand this pace for long. When mustering weak sheep an experienced shepherd knows the warning signs of .sheep about to “knock up,” and knows he must not attempt to bustle or dog sheep at this stage; he keeps his dog off and allows the sheep to draw along at their own

pace, which they invariably will do if left alone. The dog used in the lambing paddock must also have had a thorough grounding in the elementary stages of his education if he is to be of any help at all. It is not likely that one is going to have much success in mothering a weakly lamb to a nervous mother with a dog sticking close to one’s heel. He must be ordered to keep well away and remain “down” until ordered to move, and when not otherwise employed must keep close at heel and not roam through the ewes looking for tucker. The moral is never to take a hungry dog into the lambing paddock. If a really brainy pup is being trained it will soon be noticed how soon he seems to anticipate the movements of his sheep, and will most likely be in the , right position to check without commands any faulty, moves on the part of the sheep. A well-bred pup in training appears instinctively to comprehend the desires and . wishes of his master. If the trainer does not understand the nature of sheep, and the pupil is not particularly brilliant, the result will be much unnecessary running both on the part of the dog and the sheep, thus defeating the objects of training, which

are to teach the dog to handle sheep in a careful manner and not unduly race them about. Introduction to Sheep The introduction of a puppy to sheep should be done in a secure paddock where the sheep can be easily controlled. A few tractable sheep up against a fence is preferable, with an old , dog at hand to take control if necessary. A puppy may make a natural cast —he may run out with a wide sweep round his sheep— once, in which case the trainer may well be pleased, since it is now necessary only to stop him and stand him on the head, or, to be more correct, stop him at a point where he has control, or at what is known as the point of balance. On the other hand, the puppy may not be so keen, and it may be necessary to coax him to take an interest in sheep, in which case he should be allowed to watch an old dog doing the job. If necessary, he should be allowed to run with the old dog until he becomes interested, but care should be taken in doing so not to let the pup develop the habit of running with another dog. Very much will depend on the way the puppy makes his first shape on sheep. If he is a natural “heading” dog, he may make a very nice cast around his sheep, and if a strongeyed, natural “clapping” dog, he will stop and _ “clap,” or stand naturally, without a command to do so. A natural strong-eyed “clapping” dog is one that approaches his sheep in a crouching manner similar to a cat stalking a mouse. A dog of this nature often goes right down on his belly when commanded to stop, with his nose right down on the ground, between his' forepaws. On the other hand he may not make a very promising first

shape. He may run practically straight at his sheep; he may be rash and excitable, in which case it will be necessary to use some patience, first to get him to understand that he must" make a sufficiently wide cast round his sheep, and second that he must work them steadily. To do this, go round the sheep once or twice with him on the cord and endeavour to get him eager to head, keeping him out from his sheep as he runs out, with a cord attached to the end of a stick, as described earlier. Should he be rash and excitable and inclined to “dive in,” he must be sternly controlled, and frequently commanded to “stand” or “sit” until he has calmed down. Never check him on the runout, unless absolutely necessary. He should be encouraged to get to the head quickly. If the pupil is of good parentage and not over inclined to be contrary, all that will be necessary will be to see that conditions are favourable for his first run, and that the sheep are suitable for a young dog to work. The pup should be commanded to remain stationary a minute or two before being asked to “come on” his sheep, providing, of course, conditions are favourable. By allowing the dog to pull (bring towards you) a short distance, the trainer will notice the dog’s natural style,. and if he is inclined to “overrun” (that is, to run round on the wing, or too far each side) too much, he must be checked. A good way to do so is to allow him to pull the sheep with the trainer walking on the lead and commanding the dog to “keep back” each time he tends to come round too far. A perfect pulling dog comes straight on behind his sheep, anticipating movements and correcting any deviations from the straight line of pull, unless of course, commanded otherwise.

Having the dog now “casting out,” “heading,” . “lifting,” and “pulling” correctly, it now only remains to extend the distances. The moment any unsatisfactory work is detected the work should be brought closer to hand where the trainer is in a better position to correct the errors. As the dog gains experience in “heading” and “pulling” he may be sent out after sheep in more difficult country. He can be sent out after sheep that are out of sight, but for a start great care should be taken that his sheep will be easily seen as he gets on the high ground, and that there are no difficulties in the line of pull. Never intentionally send a young dog out of sight where he may fail to find sheep.

Leading

It may be desirable to train a dog to “lead,” and almost any “heading” dog can be so trained, though some do seem to have a more natural aptitude for the ’work than others. The main thing to remember in training a dog to “lead,” is that he must be taught all the other “heading” turns first; especially must he be taught to obey the command to “come on,” whether by word or whistle. A “leader” that will not obey this command is simply a “run-ahead” dog, and the faster the sheep travel the faster he will go,; until he becomes useless. A dog may be started “leading” by getting a few sheep, preferably in a fenced-in lane, getting the dog on ahead, the trainer keeping in a position where he can make the dog give way as the sheep advance on him; when once the dog has the idea the distance and the size of the mob can be increased. As in other classes of work a “leader” should not be allowed to “skite about,” but should allow just sufficient elbow room for the sheep to draw along quietly at a pace suitable to the tail end of the mob. Huntaway The method of training the huntaway is very much the same as with the “heading” dog up to the time he is ready to handle sheep, with the exception that the “huntaway” can start working sheep earlier than a “heading” pup if he is sufficiently advanced in his early education, and that whereas the “heading” dog takes most of his commands “head on” to his master, the “huntaway” takes, or should take, most of his “tail on.” The trainer should therefore endeavour to get his dog to answer commands without turning head on, or, in other words, a “huntaway” dog should take his commands while still keeping his eyes on his sheep. In order to attain this, a “huntaway” should never be commanded while he is “tail on” to sheep; the trainer

must wait till the dog’s eyes are on his sheep before doing so.

As with the “heading” dog, his first tasks on sheep should be simple, and preferably in a lane securely fenced, with a sufficient number of sheep to cover the width. Start these sheep moving by asking the dog to “speak up,” advancing with him if necessary. When on the move slacken your pace and endeavour to get the dog between you and the sheep, and let him carry on while you are slipping back meanwhile, thus increasing the distance .gradually between you and your dog. The “huntaway” dog should be naturally noisy, one that barks with delight and not one that you have to .pump the noise out of. He should bark only to force sheep from him ■or when otherwise commanded to do so. Excessive noise is not only unnecessary but exhausting, while the -sheep soon become accustomed to continual barking and take no heed ■of it.

When the dog is hunting satisfactorily along the lane he can be asked to hunt sheep along a fence line —not too steep to start with, so that the sheep will draw up freely without much “punching.” As he becomes more proficient a steeper fence line can be selected, and later again he can be asked to hunt out in the open. This will necessitate his putting in some “slews”; he will have to move both right and left in order to hunt them in the desired direction. He should come out freely when asked to do so, stand his ground and approach from that angle in a bold manner head on to his sheep, plus some noise delivered freely with “punch” or weight in it. This method of approach, when properly executed, is in marked contrast to the natural .swinging style of the untrained dog.

All-round Dog

There is still another class of work known as “all-round work,” and a dog that can be trained to do anything in the way of “heading,” “leading,” and “hunting” is. undoubtedly the most useful dog for anyone having only a limited amount of stock work to do, and when it is necessary to keep only one dog. As a rule a dog of this sort does not become very expert at any particular work. He may be termed a jack-of-all-trades and master of none; nevertheless he is often called upon to do more work than any other, whether as one of a team or alone. His education is proceeded with on the same lines as the “header,” “leader,” and “huntaway,” but an endeavour must be made to keep his work balanced and to find a good variety of work for him, and not a lot more “heading” than “hunting,” or vica versa.

In the foregoing advice it has been assumed that the training is being carried out with sheep, but it should be understood that a dog can be trained on any class of stock in the same manner as on sheep. In fact there is no better way of training a huntaway pup than to let him slowly move the co\vs in and out to the milking shed, along the race or lane so common nowadays on many dairy farms.

The importance of teaching the early or elementary lessons thoroughly cannot be over-stressed. These may be likened to a good and solid foundation on which the degree of excellence of all future training depends. Many difficulties may arise not touched upon in these notes, but the chief will mostly arise from bad characteristics of the dog, such as vicious biting, sulkiness, excitability, or wilful disobedience. Characteristics such as those must be bred out of a strain before they are worth the trouble of trying to break in.

No mention has been made of any special training for trial work, because a well-trained dog, broken in and used on all classes of country, should be an ideal dog for trial work, though there are some who affirm that special training by some secret method is required. The author knows of no secret methods; a certain amount of specialised schooling over a trial course may be beneficial, but can be overdone.

Without attempting to explain all the different faults that may have a tendency to develop, or the difficulties that may arise in the course of training, a hint or two as to how to attain “firmness” in a dog may be helpful. Firmness is acquired during the course of training as the dog gains confidence in his work. To instill confidence great care must be taken with the young dog to see that when asked to “come on” it is safe for him to do so by making sure that the sheep he is working can and will move off him as he approaches. Later he can be tried on stiffer sheep, say along a fence line, with a firm dog to “walk up” with him; then later again, without the second dog, but with the trainer very handy to assist, if necessary, to back the sheep and prevent immediately any attempt on the part of the sheep to charge the dog. If a bold sheep is allowed to charge a young dog a few times, he develops into what is known as a •“back-caster'” or “tail-turner”; he becomes frightened to approach sheep and gives ground rather than stand firm. There are other methods, but they are not for the novice to attempt and need not be mentioned here. The above method, although it is slow and , requires some patience, is the only safe way. In any case this is a finer point,

and if the young trainer desires to perfect these points he- should study an experienced shepherd handling his dogs, when he can pick up far more readily the right methods to adopt. The young trainer must not be afraid to ask questions of these men, who are always ready to assist the novice.

There has been some criticism of the use that can be made of the stick, but the writer considers directions so given are distinct and more readily understood, and if the early lessons as set out in these notes are taught with the pup on the cord as suggested, he learns to move in the direction the stick is pointing. Further, like the spurs to a horse the stick can be an urge to greater effort, but seldom can it be used to advantage as a means of severe chastisement. A young trainer should firstly understand that a dog, although a very intellectual animal, has no reasoning powers, but merely highly-developed instinct. No amount of chastisement will enable him to think for himself; the only thing that can be trained into him by chastisement is to listen and implicitly obey his master. Therefore, if he refuses to pay attention when called on to stop, the stick is the only remedy.

It must be borne in mind, however, that no two dogs are like in disposition. One may require very little stick and another much more, so that every trainer should study fully the disposition of his pupil. Before laying a stick across a dog’s back the trainer should stop to consider who is deserving of the stick, the trainer or the dog. Passion must not take control, and both the trainer and the dog must know what the chastisement is for. It is particularly important not to keep more dogs than there is work for, and no attempt should be made to handle two young dogs at once. There is no more intelligent and faithful animal than the sheep dog. He is ever ready and willing to do his utmost for his master if only he can be made to understand what is required of him. This problem of understanding is with him. right throughout life, and too many die as they have perplexed.

Acknowledgments

Illustrations are from photographs by L. Baker, Rissington, Hawke’s Bay.

The article is adapted from a booklet compiled by the author on behalf of the Main Trunk Centre and endorsed by the North Island Sheep Dog Trial Association, to whom thanks are due for permission to republish.