Bryna's Progress
Since I sent the query about Bryna thinking of Lynne as A Big Obstacle to Herding Sheep, I have been out 3 times, and wanted to give a progress report. First, I think I need to get better control when Bryna is working easier sheep before we move to Barbs. Or maybe find some Barbs with arthritis or ingrown hoofs who don't move quite so fast. Their speed brings out Bryna's chasing instincts just at a time when some other good things are beginning to happen.
(More on Barbs below.)
Lately we have been working about 6 sheep (2 ewes who don't seem to like each other much, and their twin lambs) at a time, and I am trying hard to give fewer commands, and to "correct" Bryna primarily by setting up a situation again and trying to repeat it. Jim New told me last summer "Lynne, you've got a big problem with that dog." I shuddered and just looked at him, since we had met face-to-face only about one hour previously. "Yup. She needs to grow up--when she's about 3, she's going to be a very nice dog." (She'll be 3 in July.) Well, aside from Jim's scaring me, that may have been good advice, especially in combination with these training changes.
Bryna is a softie in the sense that my corrections, if they consist of too much talking, too many commands, or too loud a voice, just cause her to get excited, and loose it. She zooms in, buts the sheep, etc. She virtually never quits, unless she is really thirsty or has absolutely got to urinate. So she isn't like Judi and Alan's Gilli. I think she has just learned (correctly) that she couldn't rely on me to know what was going on sheep-wise, and that she wanted to Do the Right (two) Things: obey Mom, and keep the sheep in order.
But she couldn't do both at the same time. Perhaps she is developing more confidence in me and seeing the 2 goals as less in conflict?
Anyhow, we walk around, and she is taking her downs!!!! Not every time, but we are hitting 80%, though many of them with some creeping after she downs.
But 6 months ago, she wasn't hitting 50%, creeping or no creeping. One thing that seems to help is that I am asking her with a slightly different command "lie down stay" not just lie down. Her stays in ob class are very good, and this seems to help. Also, we practice one minute down stays in the pen with the sheep. I don't mean that the sheep are a distraction for the ob exercise--I mean that she is to learn that the sheep are the PURPOSE of the stay exercise. I stay with the sheep, moving slowly with them, say from 6:00 to 3:00 and back, about 15 feet away. Slow enough for the sticky ewes to graze as we do this. I also move from side to side around the sheep. If she is looking at the sheep as we do this (and she almost always is), I say "good girl", softly. After 1 min, I step toward Bryna and tell her to get around (a baby outrun). The whole time, she was encouraged to watch the sheep, and learn that *doing a sheepy job can mean holding still*! Then we do some walkabouts, with downs as I bring the sheep around a corner of the pen, so that her holding in place allows the sheep to drift out of the corner.
Then we worked on some penning. I still need her to hold the sheep better, but at least she was staying down most of the time, and I could command a down without moving toward her. We went into the pen. (Did I mention that I have kept an agility grab-tab on her recently? It is too short ever to drag on the ground, but lets me get a good grip on a dog that has a severe collar phobia. Really helps.) Anyhow, I led her comebye around the sheep slowly. We haven't practiced this for a few weeks, and this time, with a better down, I was able to stop her at the critical spot, walk to the gate, and have her watch the sheep and me just drift slooowwly out the gate. Release, and back to work, then repen. We tried it once away to me, and her obedience training made that hard. (Mom, you are Supposed to be on my right, not my left!!!!)
On the 4th try (drum roll, please...), I just started her around comeby, and let her trot the rest of the way to the other side of the sheep, and downed her. She did it! She stayed! The sheep and I drifted out! I almost wept. It may have been an accident that it was so textbook perfect, but I didn't try it again for the rest of the lesson, for fear of breaking the spell.
Anyhow, some days you win. I was so proud of Sweet Pea last evening I almost burst. We are going to try the transition to Barbs with an intermediate step: we will work some slower Katahdins/mixed breed sheep that haven't been worked by upright dogs before. I will keep you posted on progress, and let you know how it goes.
Lynne and Bryna (fantasizing of Oatlands!!!!)