Day 4: Herding Clinic with Tammy Van Deusen

Today was our day to work with Tammy Van Deusen. These are pics of Winnie and I working with Tammy.

Tammy is from Indiana and specializes in herding shelties! She has bred and trained several of the top herding shelties in the nation. In our group today, we had more shelties herding than I have ever seen in one location before - maybe 5 or 6. Anyhow, it was very interesting to see other shelties work. Mostly, they are more calm than Winnie. I want Winnie to be calm but I don't want to give up her speed and keenness. I think Winnie is a lot like a Border Collie in speed and keenness, but like a sheltie in being erratic and not working stock for the sake of the stock (versus Shelties who are working to play or please their owner). I think this is the foundation for why I am confused on how to train Winnie and our up-n-down herding path.
It was pretty confusing to have clinics on a weekend with different clinicians each today. I think the best lesson I learned from my experience this weekend is how it must feel like to be my dog in training.....you are given conflicting information, you don't understand what to do, you are pushed and frantically re-directed across the herding field and you start to think you can do nothing right. Nonetheless, inspired by the fidelity and faith of my own dog, I too will come back and keep trying to figure out what they want me to do. :) (I have private lesson with Tammy in the morning.)
Okay, but I took some good notes and these are I think some great points to share and remember:
-learn to read stock is the best advice ever (I must get my own woolies!)
-upright breeds should not lie down on a stop. The rationale is they have no power when they lie down (versus a BC who still has "eye). Then, when the upright breed pops up after a down, they "pop" power and this can send stock bouncing. I think this makes sense, especially for Winnie who is so small. (We did an ASCA trial once and you could not see her in the tall grass when she laid down.) Winnie lately has been giving me a hard time about the down....maybe she is trying to tell me she doesn't want to because it will completely release the stock. I'm perhaps going to have to figure out how to train a firm stop without a down.
-don't enter a trial unless you are ready for the class above you
-don't be afraid to correct your dog during a trial (In the long run, it is money well spent) "You are not here for HIT, you are here to train your dog."
-a trial is to showcase your training (I like this one!!)
-train by working on individual skill sets at a time. In other words, train outrun, lift and fetch til perfect...then put dog away for the day and do this for several days until it is solid. Then train, for example, pen and only pen work until that is perfect, then put dog away. After you have worked and conquered the individual skill sets, you "stitch" them together and can practice a course. Tammy likens this to how you train obedience. I think I am one of those guilty of always wanting more and pushing me and my dog to challenges (bothe Winnie and I like challenges) before we have our foundational basics down.
-And Tammy also says, as I hear my trainer Terry always adamantly stating: "if the dog doesn't go right, it doesn't get sheep!"

Winnie is already asleep and I still need to hit the jacuzzi tub, so I will sign off.