Day 5: Private Session with Tammy Van Deusen 1 of2

Today, Tammy gave some private lessons at the ranch. I was there almost 12 hours, watching everyone work, listening, and trying to learn as much as I could about herding, shelties and dogs in general.
(This pic is Tammy talking to me about the dogs having the correct "attitude" before coming in the ring. Winnie looks a little too amped; she should be more submissive looking. Everyone wish me luck -this is our #1 task!)
Today the weather was cooler, cloudy and we had a bit of rain. Jerry Stewart gives great advice that you should always carry in your car rain gear, extra food and water for you and your dog, extra warm clothes and shoes, extra cash and a blanket. I've used those supplies several times over the last 2 years.

Anyhow, today most everyone worked on the pressure/release drill in the round pen. A key thing I learned from Tammy is that most of us don't release pressure from the dog when it is right. This results in a "nagging" relationship with the dog...we are always pushing, pushing on him to move a certain way (pushing with the crook, the stick, our bodies, even our voice). As a result, the dog gets frustrated, angry,or shuts down, and, most importantly, the dog doesn't get a chance to learn to read the stock and learn the pressure bubble. This is because the dog is responding to our pressure and not the stock. A lot to think about and very different than most of us are working.
So this is the drill we did in the round pen. The dog is at 12o'clock, a few feet out from the fence, and the sheep are at six o'clock. You are in the center of the ring, you walk towards the dog, giving pressure with your body, a rake, a crook, whatever. You pressure the dog like normal in to the direction you want him to go (i.e. rake to right for away to me, and turning your left shoulder back to the sheep to "open the door"). Then, when the dog takes the correct flank in the correct picture you are after (i.e. do you want correct attitude, no barking, a square flank, a slow flank, a go out before the flank), you reward it by turning your back to the dog and walking across to the head of the sheep which the dog is bringing to you. Turning your back to the dog releases the pressure so the dog is more apt to go calmly (versus you pushing him with the stick which only makes him faster) and rewards him for doing the correct flank with a release of pressure and getting the sheep.
If the dog does not do the flank correctly, you "cover" your sheep- don't let dog have sheep. Tell dog to lie down. Come back and try it again. A big point is to not try to block dog from the sheep - just get your sheep and make a wall in front of the sheep. If you go to and block the dog, it desensitizes the dog to pressure and is not quite as clear a message as "these are my sheep and you don't get them."

Okay, it seems weird. And I tell you it is really hard for us humans to learn the new skill of releasing pressure versus constantly applying it. Today, however, I saw huge differences in dogs who suddenly were allowed to really work their sheep and experience the "bubble" themselves versus constantly being pressured by a stick or crook. They were slower and calmer and strangely wider. It is hard to replicate this by just reading it without a trainer to show it to you. But the concept you can employ: Release pressure when your dog is right and allow your dog to learn stock without you pushing constantly.
(cont.)