Herding practice was interesting, fun and informative this morning. The sheep took one look at Dazzle and decided the opposite side of the ring from where he was, was where they were staying! I think if they had their preference, they wouldn't have even been in the same pen with him! LOL
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The sheep are normally worked by Corgi's, so I guess Dazzle was pretty intimidating. It made it harder because I think their "bubble" was somewhere outside the fences of the pen :-)
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Mostly we worked on a long line on self-control. We did a short bit with him dragging the line, but because the humans weren't together and the sheep were bolting in 3 different directions, it was a disaster. So we went back to leash work. But even during the chaos of the chasing (and the leaping sheep), I don't think Dazzle was completely in lizard brain. I think there was thinking going on. He just had no idea how to group them, so he chased them one at a time. He calmed down pretty easily right afterward.
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His self-control was good for the most part, but sheep are SO hard to behave around! Especially ones prone to that exciting bolting behavior! LOL At one point, he decided that a cat that wandered into the pen might be easier to herd :-)
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I couldn't set the camera in a place to get the whole ring, so there's a lot of gaps. But I think you'll get the idea. What we mostly were working on was his choosing to stay along the fence (where the "bubble" was) and not rushing straight at them. A few times it was my poor leash handling and inability to keep up with him that caused him to go straight at them when the line got tight.
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It was 2 long sessions with several short breaks in which we didn't leave the pen. Between the 2 sessions, we did come out and Dazzle played with some sticks in the shade, then was ready to go back in. The videos are edited for length.
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I think Dazzle was sensing that I had no idea what I was doing and so he wasn't listening to my cues as much as normal (that and the fact that there were SHEEP mom! SHEEP!)
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Part 1 (9:11 min):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DBGRw1c0hE
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Part 2 (6:56 min):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eihJxzlbbjA
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The sheep are normally worked by Corgi's, so I guess Dazzle was pretty intimidating. It made it harder because I think their "bubble" was somewhere outside the fences of the pen :-)
.
Mostly we worked on a long line on self-control. We did a short bit with him dragging the line, but because the humans weren't together and the sheep were bolting in 3 different directions, it was a disaster. So we went back to leash work. But even during the chaos of the chasing (and the leaping sheep), I don't think Dazzle was completely in lizard brain. I think there was thinking going on. He just had no idea how to group them, so he chased them one at a time. He calmed down pretty easily right afterward.
.
His self-control was good for the most part, but sheep are SO hard to behave around! Especially ones prone to that exciting bolting behavior! LOL At one point, he decided that a cat that wandered into the pen might be easier to herd :-)
.
I couldn't set the camera in a place to get the whole ring, so there's a lot of gaps. But I think you'll get the idea. What we mostly were working on was his choosing to stay along the fence (where the "bubble" was) and not rushing straight at them. A few times it was my poor leash handling and inability to keep up with him that caused him to go straight at them when the line got tight.
.
It was 2 long sessions with several short breaks in which we didn't leave the pen. Between the 2 sessions, we did come out and Dazzle played with some sticks in the shade, then was ready to go back in. The videos are edited for length.
.
I think Dazzle was sensing that I had no idea what I was doing and so he wasn't listening to my cues as much as normal (that and the fact that there were SHEEP mom! SHEEP!)
.
Part 1 (9:11 min):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DBGRw1c0hE
.
Part 2 (6:56 min):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eihJxzlbbjA
.
