Fran Trano Photo
EFFECTIVE, REALLY?
Think of this scenario...I know you have all seen it. Now try to understand it.
You start working your dog on livestock and are now going for walks. Moving the stock around a pen - walkabouts. Your teacher mentioning to you that the picture should be Dog, Sheep, Person. They even show you how to achieve this. The dog should be gently walking behind the sheep and the sheep should be a little distance off the handler, and the handler should be strolling along, not running. But, instead of a nice casual stroll, your dog is PUSHING, Can't/won't slow down, WANTS to move & push the sheep past you, can't/won't stop, is circling and/or running the sheep off you. What happened to nice controlled walking?
Now, take this further into the future....
For months now, you still haven't figured out a way to get your dog to walk with you and the sheep..in a casual stroll. You've tried listening to your teacher and even do as suggested, about getting the dog to slow down, stop and quit pushing...but either the behavior stays the same or it's actually gotten worse. You've actually tried to do what the teacher has suggested. Why is it going badly?
It doesn't matter what techniques, equipment, vocal command or body language you've been using. Those really don't matter anymore. Why? Because by now, you should realize that whatever you have been doing, you have been making them INEFFECTIVE. All the techniques, equipment, etc WILL work but only if you make them EFFECTIVE.
What usually happens is that a cue has been given, and most handlers assume that the dog will obey. Most don't. So the handler just keeps on walking. They give another cue, and another. Pretty soon they stop giving the cues altogether.
Using a cue is no different than asking a dog to sit. Everyone knows what a sit looks like when the dog does or does not perform it. It's easy. If I say "sit", I expect my dog to do it. If I ask my dog to slow down, I expect him to do it. If my dog doesn't sit, I intervene to either help him learn it, or let him know that not sitting isn't an option. The same concepts should move over to working livestock. If I ask for a slow down or steady - help the dog, to learn your cues so he can slow down, or let him know that he has to slow down. EACH AND EVERY TIME YOU ASK. Stop what you are originally doing and actually wait until the dog makes a CHANGE in what he's currently doing, to what you want him to be doing.
If you ask for him to stop pushing on a walkabout, then DO NOT KEEP WALKING AWAY! Actually see that the dog has stopped pushing before you continue on. That is the way for your cues to remain strong and effective. Otherwise you are on the road to making your cues weak and ineffective.
You have to actually SEE A CHANGE in the dog's behavior before you move on. If you ask with your voice, body language and stock cane and the dog still is pushing and you keep moving forward, think about it, what have you really been saying to the dog. Don't stop now, we are still going forward! i.e.- push more. AND on top of that, ignore what I'm telling you. So, when do you think the dog will respond to those cues, if you are telling him that they mean nothing - they have become ineffective. For all the dog knows, you are swatting at flies, or digging holes in the dirt or talking to your imaginary friend.
So, we have our VERY FAST, pushy, SHEEP RUNNING OFF, doesn't want to slow down or stop dog. The dog has been doing this for quite awhile. You haven't been putting enough pressure on the dog or being patient enough to see and make a change in his behavior. What you have been TEACHING the dog is to ignore you and just keep adding pressure.
Besides the dog pushing, I see this quite commonly with the down command, too. Heck, I'm guilty of that myself, on occasion. Telling the dog to down, but still continuing on with what the dog has been doing. What happens, eventually is the dog just stops downing. They'll slow down. Then after a flurry of downs, they will eventually do a down. When I happen to allow the dog to blow off a down, I will then go back and make the down command more effective.
Another time I see cane and voice use become ineffective is when the dog is doing a flank and the handler wants them to add distance from the sheep. They will usually say "out" and swish the cane at the dog. VERY RARELY do I ever see the dog move off from the sheep. They usually just keep on doing what they originally planned to do anyways. Get closer to the sheep. Why put the cane cue and the vocal cue out there for the dog, if you weren't going to make sure he responded to your cues?
Make sure the dog makes a change in his behavior before allowing him to continue.
What about this scenario - you are working your dog and he is pushing and pushing the sheep on you. Finally, after 20 minutes of this, you get frustrated enough to put an end to it. Now, what usually happens is way too much pressure is applied. The dog is only made to respond to excessive pressure. You want him to respond to the slightest of pressure. You need to start earlier in the sequence.
Think about this - you ask and ask your dog to stop pushing or slow down, the dog never makes a change and keeps on coming. The dog has been telling you all along what his agenda is all about. You weren't listening. You have been basically telling the dog, keep up the good work, too. Now, you decide that it isn't what you wanted after all and really come down on the dog. Should the dog trust you? Was that a fair correction? How is the dog supposed t0 know when it is the right thing to do or not?
You want the dog to respond to the slightest of pressure you apply. If you don't get your dog to respond to the slightest cue, then you have to use excessive pressure. That is only what your dog perceives and responds to. The slightest cane, verbal or body language cue has been overshadowed by a greater amount of pressure, raising the voice and gross body language. You are teaching the dog to respond to just that. Not the whispered voice, the slight cane cue or slight body gesture.
You have to enforce the softer stuff so you never have to get to the frustrated level of over pressuring the dog. Make your slightest cues effective, don't let them be ignored.
Jean and the Wicked Gang