March 22, 2018
Last year I begun herding with Zen (“Herding – our new passion“) but Zen was still a bit immature and I choose to give him a few months break. In Febuary we started training again and it seemed like the break did him good.
Herding is quite different from the other training I do with my dogs, but at the same time not so different after all. Admittedly I have less control of the reinforcement (the sheep) than I normally do (when training with a toy/treat) but the principals of my training is still the same:
– I make sure my dog can master the task and succeed.
– I focus on the improvements we are making instead of what we are doing wrong.
– I end the session on a positive note.
My goal is to enter a herdingdogtrial with Zen in 2018, but at the same time, herding is new to us both and we are doing this at our own pace.
The “art” of training a herdingdog is mostly trying and learning as you go along. No dogs are the same or have the same need during training. I have learnt several good tips on how to train from Andy Nickless and his videos. He demonstrates how to train herding dogs, from puppy to adult as well as challenges along the way.
If you want to learn more about training herding dogs I highly recommend his videos. You will find them at The Working Sheepdog Website.
Photos by Ine Sandhåland Skorpe
