Herding with a "Soft" Dog

Cadence is a soft dog, but was a WONDERFUL herding dog. He never was a "bowling for woolies" dog (where they hit the sheep pen like a bat out of hell, scattering the sheep to all four corners). We attended a clinic where all the dogs were working too close and too fast. When it came Cadence's turn, the trainer was taken aback. He came over to the fence and announced to the crowd, "I stand corrected. Everything that I have been repeating over and over this morning does NOT apply to this dog. Because he is so sensitive, we will be working him in a more subtle and a more positive manner."

And, he did. Where he had been charging through the sheep, yelling at a dog to stay back, all he had to do was take a step toward Cadence to cause him to back off. There was no yelling at Cadence. Terry was even encouraged to praise Cadence more often while they worked.

Cadence would work for Terry just fine. The one time I tried to work Cadence, the dog stopped and looked at me like "Excuse me, this is NOT your job; you're just supposed to love me, not boss me around." He was right; Terry always handled him after that.

Good luck with Bryna; enjoy it; take the time and have the patience so you and Bryna can have a positive experience; it all takes time and practice, practice, practice. The 3 most important words to remember when herding are, TRUST YOUR DOG, and you'll learn to be almost as good a handler as your dog is a herder. (Free advice from a veteran herding trainer and judge that we always try to keep in mind.)

Jody

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