Build a Better Partnership with your Herding Dog

I've been thinking a lot about how we (me, you, most folks I know) get into a situation with our herding dogs where we find ourselves tense, frustrated, impatient, maybe even angry, because things aren't going the way we think they should. And, I've been thinking about how most of us are not prepared to deal with this, and we end up yelling at our dogs, getting mad at ourselves for yelling, and ultimately feeling bad when that happens.

I've been working on this for many years with myself and my own dogs. Sometimes it goes really well, other times no so much. But, I HAVE learned a lot. The dogs are great teachers and I really try to be a good student. One lesson that is strong and solid for me is that finding a way to communicate clear and well focused expectations to my dogs WITHOUT ANY DRAMA is the key to successful and fulfilling teamwork. So, not just telling them what to do because I said so...instead, teaching them to be responsible for their part of the partnership...while I am being responsible for my part.

OK, it's not so easy when you're in the middle of a challenging situation, right? But...it does get easier the more you practice. That's where I can help. I can read you, read your dog, read the sheep, read the situation and help you to stay calm and focused while you and your dog work out the hard stuff.

The partnership built in the herding environment carries over to all other areas of your life with your dog: home,  social situations, agility, rally, therapy. It even carries over to your "other" life: family, work, job, social, volunteering. Starting this herding thing with my dogs so many years ago has transformed my life everywhere. No kidding!

Some of you have met my dog Maya. She's a smooth, spicy, saucified noodle of a border collie who was just plain misunderstood at the beginning of her young life. After being rejected as untrainable by her first three families, she came to live with us at 6 months old. Now, she's still intense, don't get me wrong, but we have worked it out for the most part. Starting at just 3 years old, last year she began competing at the national level of Open sheepdog competitions.Today she is ranked #40 out of several thousand North American border collies competing at that level, with limited trialing. We have partnered. For the most part, we understand one another and communicate effectively with one another. We are getting better all the time.

Here is a video of us competing at two sheepdog trials, if you'd like to see for yourself:

Maya Trialing

 Here's the info for the event:

Sheep Herding Training Camp

 Great for Beginners, Novice Teams and Herding Trial Competitors!

The focus of the July sheep herding camp is:

"Build a Better Partnership with Your Dog"

How we'll do this:
• by learning to see your dog's perspective (you might be surprised!)
• discovering how your perspective is different
• bringing those two views together into happy partnership thru calm and focused: body language, verbal cues and whistles.

Click thru to my store , and register today while there is still room left. My camps are limited to a very small group of devoted, passionate, sincerely wanting to be better partners with their herding dogs kind of people. That's you, right?


See you there!

Kathy