| Subject: THE BOUVIER/INTRO TO HERDING/CROSS FROSS LONGWOODS |
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Date Posted: 04:57:35 12/08/08 Mon
When starting the Bouvier on livestock, the two most important aspects of training are equal measures of obedience and confidence of the dog. A Bouv lacking confidence will advance through training much slower than his moreconfident counterpart. By the same token, the lack of obedience will also produce less than ideal results.
Obedience and ego
In order to start a dog or pup correctly you will need appropriate training aids. I use a flat collar and a
comfortable 6’ leash when we start a pup so as to inflict a minimal amount of discomfort on both dog and trainer during the starting process. Later on correction collars will probably (read: hopefully) be required in order to obtain desirable results. Prior to the introduction to stock and away from livestock, the dog or pup should be well accustomed to basic obedience commands. The snappier and better the obedience, the better the dog will respond when you add livestock. If starting a baby pup, obedience isn’t necessary but will be needed soon. I stay away from the use of clickers or positive reinforcement techniques of training obedience. I prefer a very “hands-on” approach where I physically assist the pup to learn to down, sit, and even jump onto objects. My techniques are slow and have been described by friends as “pathetically patient”. I use the slower and more physical techniques because there will be a substantial amount of pressure and release while learning to handle livestock and the understanding of how and when to yield to pressure from the handler is critical. This line of communication between dog and handler is needed for smooth and efficient stock handling later on. The sooner the pup learns how to handle pressure, the better. Carefully monitor the dog’s attitude. If he wants sheep very badly all is well. If the dog appears lackadaisical or disinterested you may be suppressing his prey drive a bit too much. Ease up on the pup and let him have some “fun” until you are back to a pup that wants sheep. Build ego every chance you get. Look at stock dog training as a tight rope on which one side is complete obedience without thought for sheep. The other side is pure prey drive without thought for the handler. Somewhere in the middle is the ideal.
Livestock and facilities
Livestock is the next hurdle. I use gentle wool sheep for starting Bouv pups. The sheep must be handler oriented and conditioned to come to the handler when pressed by a dog. Some breeds of dogs do quite well on ducks or even hair sheep. Bouvs tend to waste very little time before getting a mouthful of something. Heavy fleeced and gentle wool sheep are more “forgiving” than ducks or even hair sheep. I prefer to use stock that will suffer little damage from a bite. A certain amount of mouthing is to be expected and the dog shouldn’t be punished for biting during the initial training phase. During all phases of training the Bouvier to work livestock you must keep in mind that the Bouvier, as a breed, was selected for his ability to control large, gentle livestock in a farm setting. Acreage was small and stock was both a source of milk products, clothing, and meat. When shearing or milking, stock will become quieter with handling. A strong dog is needed to move and control animals that learn not to fear the human element. Bouvs were selected for reproduction in part because of their usefulness to the farmer. It’s helpful to keep this in mind when starting a Bouv. Knowing and understanding genetic tendencies of the Bouv drastically increase the likelihood of success when working these dogs on livestock. Your Bouv will be drawn to livestock. They aren’t going run a big wide arc when approaching stock for the first time either. Get ready for the pup to do anything from calmly walking up to stock to getting a mouthful and shaking. I happily accept anything the pup offers so long as he is interested in the stock. The key to the good Bouv is that the puppy is interested in the stock and preferably approaches without fear. The next major obstacle is the facilities. If things are quiet and stock is meandering around without regard for the dog, you probably still have your Bouvier in the crate. Look for pens and facility that is well built with emphasis on strength and safety for both livestock and dogs. Fences should be tall and strong enough to contain sheep that may make a serious attempt at escaping the little monster. Neither the dog nor you/the trainer should be distracted from training the pup by pens that fall down or sheep that continually escape.
Leash training
Start your training off the livestock by leash breaking the puppy correctly. Don’t tolerate any pulling on the
lead. I often go into a pinch collar very quickly. I find that early emphasis on little rules such as no pulling on
the leash to be very beneficial as the pup grows and drive to work increases. Use pressure and release of
pressure to let the pup learn where you want him. Don’t keep a tight lead on the pup. When the puppy is walking at your side confidently (might take a week or two to get here) with minimum pulling, pick up a large
plastic yard rake. Gently put the rake in front of the dog’s face as you walk. Use the rake and pressure from
the leash to cause the dog to cross behind you to walk on the other side. Go a few steps and repeat the
process returning the pup to the original side. Repeat the process a few times each direction. Your goal is to
teach the dog that each time you put the rake in his face he should alter his forward motion and turn,
crossing behind you, in either direction. Work this away from stock until the dog fluidly crosses behind you and changes sides. This stage is very important because the foundation you build when teaching the dog to yield to that rake will carry throughout the training process. Be firm without anger or resentment. Don’t rush the training. Walk into this with no expectations and let the dog set the pace of training. Do not attempt to correct the dog or punish him into submission. Softly moving off that rake (yielding) should be your goal. Smooth and fluid movement without any resentment on the dog’s part is ideal. This exercise can become a game you play throughout the dog’s life to keep him on his toes and paying attention to you.
Adding livestock
Now add sheep. I use a smallish round pen (30 feet across, but a small square pen will work) so as to limit
movement of the livestock. If using a square pen, take some time in the corners so you don’t “trap” the sheep ahead of you in the corner. Add three big wooly sheep to the pen. Take your dog into the pen. Walk both directions around the fence line utilizing your new training to keep the pup between you and the fence. You must always be between the dog and the stock. Gently put that rake in the pup’s face and use the leash as needed to get the pup to change directions on the fence. This is tough to explain without visuals but you and the dog should change directions on the fence while keeping the dog between you and the fence at all times. This is basic control of the dog and you should not be focusing on sheep. All your hard work at training will probably disappear. Don’t expect the dog to look like it had any training at all when you first enter a pen with sheep in it. Walk a couple of laps around the pen changing direction every
ten or fifteen steps. Some dogs will be wild as hell, pulling, barking, and in general attempting to go to the
sheep at any cost. Ignore the behavior and continue on as though you were walking through the park. Work
steadily and calmly at getting the dog back under control. With a high drive dog you will spend three to
five years in the process of training control. Don’t get in a hurry. Later on we are going to want all that drive so don’t take it out of them by being too demanding too soon. Look for the slightest improvement in control before encountering the sheep. Once you see a small amount of progress toward control, change focus to the sheep and move toward their rears. Go toward them in a wide arc. As the sheep move off, keep the dog behind the sheep for a few steps. Use the rake and the leash to keep the pup in place. After three or four steps, use the rake and the leash to duplicate your obedience work. Cause the dog to cross behind you and walk in an arc to the sheep’s heads causing them to change directions. Repeat the process of keeping the dog behind the sheep a few steps. Your goal over the next few months is to increase the smoothness with which the dog transitions from the rear to the head arcing out and around you. When the dog is completely confident in what you are asking and responding smoothly, I switch to a small rake or stock stick. Start putting the staff between you and the dog and push him off of you a little while teaching these flanks. Slowly, in small increments, teach the dog to increase his distance from you as he comes around you to the sheep’s heads. I utilize longer and longer light lines as I teach the dog to work farther away from me. At about the time you are able to smoothly push the dog around you to the heads, begin giving the dog some verbal commands. Use long flank commands because you are telling the dog to cross behind you. (Long flank commands would be “Come Bye” or “Away to Me” as opposed to a short flank command such as “Bye” or “Way”) Just as the sheep turn give your “There” command. Initially tell the dog to “Walk up” as the sheep move away from the dog. Hold the dog behind a few steps before giving the flank command around you to the head. Use your rake and leash to “make it happen”. When the dog begins to show understanding, add a down command. As the sheep turn and you say “there” add “down”. Eventually we want the dog to be able to stop, turn in, and either down, walk, or stay.
Progress
It will take few weeks to months to see real progress. This process is slow and requires your patience. I don’t so much “make” the dog learn as I apply just enough pressure to get a response from the dog and then I refine that response into exactly what I want from the dog. I want the dog to begin making choices. I gently guide his choices so they reflect my ideas of how stock should be handled. When you have a solid down, drop your lead (use a six to ten-foot lead) as the dog begins to go to the head and follow the dog’s tail around the sheep. Go all the way around the sheep. While the dog is moving, step around in front of him and reverse directions again following the dog all the way around. Don’t go more than two laps around the sheep without a change in direction. The easiest way to do this is to reverse course and meet the dog head on as he goes around the sheep. This exercise is almost impossible to teach on light or frightened sheep.
When the dog gets comfortable going around, add your downs. Alternate between downing the dog on the fly and changing directions on the fly. Break the commands up so as to avoid training any particular
pattern of commands. A few months to a year into the training, the dog should have a solid understanding of the pieces outlined above. They probably won’t be dependable so I let my pups drag a line (20-foot, give or take). I increase the dog’s drive and stamina by working larger groups and by working longer periods of time. Take care to insure that each command is followed by the correct response. Closely watch the dog’s attitude. Make sure the pup stays happy and driven. There will be some “down” times as you work through
rough spots in training but back up as needed to bring the drive and confidence up when needed. I go as far as letting the dog have a bit of absolute freedom from time to time in order to maintain the all important
attitude. Thirty seconds of letting a pup do what he wants with stock is a huge attitude builder but should
be used sparingly. A confident dog that understands and willingly responds to the basic commands outlined above is a started dog. All of the commands outlined are needed in order to do basic work with livestock. The better the dog understands and responds the better the foundation on that dog.
Tim Taylor grew up in the Central Texas Hill Country where his family
had a small farm raising livestock for market and food. They used dogs
extensively for livestock management and predator control. After
acquiring “Fo”, his first Bouvier, in 1981, he never looked for another
breed.
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