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- Herausgeber: Crowood
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Sprache: Englisch
This comprehensive book describes innovative ways of training sheepdogs and addresses a number of subjects that have not been adequately covered in previous publications; such as working with sensitive dogs and dogs lacking in confidence, the 'square movement', and the 'concept of opposites'. Written by an acknowledged expert, Sheep Dog Training and Trials discusses in a variety of settings new concepts such as the author's theory of 'passive resistance' and the 'pressure on-off technique'. In addition, the author considers ways of optimizing a dog's health, energy, fitness and peak performance. This fascinating book presents contributions from four world-renowned handlers, including the twice world champion, Aled Owen, which examine the factors that have influenced them and made them successful.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012
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SHEEPDOG TRAINING and Trials
A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR BORDER COLLIE HANDLERS AND ENTHUSIASTS
Nij Vyas
Copyright
First published in 2010 by The Crowood Press Ltd, Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 2HR
www.crowood.com
This e-book edition first published in 2012
© Nij Vyas 2010
All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
ISBN 978 1 84797 472 3
Disclaimer The author and the publisher do not accept any responsibility in any manner whatsoever for any error or omission, or any loss, damage, injury, adverse outcome, or liability of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any of the information contained in this book, or reliance upon it. If in doubt about any aspect of sheepdog training or trials readers are advised to seek professional advice.
Line drawings by Keith Field.
CONTENTS
LIST OF DIAGRAMS
Mock inbreeding pedigree
Starting the outrun – dog and handler outside the pen111
The Square Flanking method – away from handler114
Teaching a dog to run between the sheep and fence, corner or gateway119
The Reverse Square Flanking method – towards handler120
Flanking past the handler inside the pen120
When to teach the lift and to allow a dog to balance whilst fetching124
Stopping a dog from anticipating an outrun125
Protecting your own half125
The correct position to start a longer outrun126
The correct position to stop a dog after a flank127
The natural way to stop the dog and to lift then fetch sheep131
Correct and incorrect flanks133
Opening out a dog’s flank135
Practice flanking from quarter to to quarter past135
The ‘12 o’clock’ myth explained136
Stopping dogs from cutting in on the drive140
Correcting a dog that comes in on the outrun141
Penning169
FOREWORD
By the Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth
I am delighted to write a foreword to this remarkable book by Nij Vyas. Sheepdog trialling is very much part of the culture of the Peak District, where I am lucky enough to live. Trials were started with the simple object of testing one shepherd’s skill with his dog against another. Longshaw Sheepdog Trials, of which I have had the honour of being President twice in my life, is the oldest established sheepdog trials in England, having now been run for the last 111 years.
To witness the competitors on the beautiful open landscape above the Hope Valley is an experience that all true lovers of the countryside should experience at least once. It is enthralling and fascinating, and it has a crucial practical application: good sheepdogs save a shepherd a vast amount of walking, and enable him to look after his flock. For the relationship between dog and handler to be successful, an enormous amount of dedicated practice is required.
Nij Vyas was not born into farming, but as you will discover from this book he has become an experienced and successful sheepdog handler. His commitment is even greater than most as he has to travel twenty miles to work and train his dogs every day, and in this case every day means just that, every single day.
This book is not just an account of one man’s love affair with sheepdogs and sheepdog trials. The author has many fascinating and sometimes provocative new ideas. His aim is to give hope to newcomers, but also to help people who are already experienced in the sport. He has many tips to overcome the difficulties that all of those who participate will have met.
I can commend this book with great enthusiasm for anyone who is the slightest bit interested in sheepdog trials, be it participant or spectator. There are many new ideas here, and the story of the author’s involvement in the sport is fascinating: together these strands make for a compelling read.
The Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth, Derbyshire. (Photo copyright Earl of Burlington)
DEDICATION
Dedicated to my wife Jo for providing me with the self-belief to buy a breed of dog I once knew nothing about, to compete in a sport I also knew nothing about, and for giving me drive and impetus to follow my dreams.
The author.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are times when either adults or children have to be forced into things they feel uncomfortable with, and in my case it was buying a Border Collie puppy. How fickle people can be! Following weeks of having to be persuaded to buy a puppy named Oliver, it took only a matter of hours for this puppy to become ‘mine’. And had I not had this new pup it is highly likely that I would never have introduced myself to Gwyn Morgan. Rather than spending my weekends out and about all over the country chasing sheep, I would probably have been a disgruntled, miserable, bad-tempered, politically incorrect Education Welfare Officer, too old and too unfit to play village cricket (on second thoughts I probably am, some of the time). Being a typical Gemini, symbolized by the twins, I have led two distinctly different lives since 1992. However, no sooner do I set foot into my Hilux pickup than some dramatic transformation seems to take place, as if I were entering Narnia through the wardrobe, though without the ice queen and mythical creatures. The life I love and relate to most is that which my dogs are part of, being out in the open British countryside. I owe all this to my wife Jo for introducing me to this new life.
No one prepares you for parenthood, but goodness me: each year that Kieran and Laura have grown older, they have made me feel younger. They have shared in all my highs and lows, and above all our world is bound tightly together by humour and laughter. There is no drug better than this for lifting the soul. They are both also immensely competitive, yet gracious in defeat, which fills me with great pride. To them I owe my sanity.
My sincere thanks also to Gwyn Morgan, my dear friend, who encouraged me to work my dogs on sheep for the very first time. A friend always tells it how it is. There is no glossing over the cracks, there is honesty and respect, there is rivalry and gamesmanship but without conflict, and there is humour – and this is what I have with Gwyn.
To be successful at trials requires a good dog with character. Dogs are not born with character, it has to be developed. The generosity of three men – Bryn and Marcus Pugh, and Robert Beesley – in welcoming me with open arms and giving me the freedom to work my dogs on the Caudal Hills, is the single most important factor that has enabled me to train my dogs to a high enough standard to give me confidence to compete with the best handlers in the land. The hills have given meaning to my training, and have given the dogs that individual strength of character without which they would have remained mediocre.
For the three wise men, namely Allan Heaton, John Griffiths and Aled Owen, who have unselfishly mentored me and given advice and time, I hope that I have been a good student. If not, I dare say there is still time!
I am also very grateful to Dr Angie Untisz, Frances Gavin, Aled Owen, John Griffiths, Timothy Longton and Jim Cropper for their contributions in this book, which I am certain will be received with the greatest of enthusiasm.
A note of thanks must also go to Doug Stewart, whose idea it was for me to write this book, for helping me to realize my potential, and for giving me the self-belief to undertake this project, acting as devil’s advocate, for providing calm reason and rationale. I hope above all else that Doug benefits more than most from this book as he ventures out on training Skerry’s daughter, Clunie, towards trials competition.
Spot and Skerry.
A final vote of thanks must go to all the people with whom I compete. We share a marvellous hobby and pastime, and without the Border Collie our life would have a big void in it.
On 21 October 2006 I experienced such a void, a void that has stayed with me to the present day: on this fateful day Jo broke the news to me that Skerry had been killed in a road traffic accident, running away from fireworks. I was heartbroken, and consumed with the most terrible guilt that I should have prevented this from happening. That guilt lives with me still, it travels with me wherever I go, and it creeps up on me when I least expect it and reduces me to an emotional wreck, for a split second, whilst I gather my thoughts. Then two years after her last season, Skerry’s mother, Fly, once again came into season, and on an impulse born totally out of emotion I took her to be mated, not to Aled’s Bob, but to Roy, a son of Bob.
Eight weeks later the first and only pup to look like Skerry was born. Of course that was the one for me. Wanting to keep the memory of Skerry alive, I chose to use the first two letters of her name and called the pup Skye. On 17 May 2009 Skye gave me by far the best run I have ever had with any dog at two years and three months of age, and won her first open trial with the last run of the trial, with probably the worst packet of sheep let out all day. As I left for home that most terrible feeling of guilt about Skerry once again hit me with a vengeance, and I found myself in tears as I left the trial field – but not all were tears of sadness. A hundred metres or so on, the guilt in my mind now had a companion: hope. Quite miraculously the guilt became far easier to live with, and gradually turned into determination, to make up the lost time. Time, as they say, is a great healer.
Finally I would like to thank the following individuals: the Duke of Devonshire (for the Foreword), John Craven OBE (for his review), Gwyn Jones (for his review), Julie Wright (for proofreading), Dr Doug Stewart (for proofreading), Maurice Gregory (for his generosity in allowing me to use land and sheep) and Paul Jackson for assistance with diagrams.
The photographs have been provided by the following:
Nij Vyas – pages 15, 16, 19, 24, 26, 28, 30 (both), 33 (both), 42, 49 (both), 58, 59, 60, 66, 69, 78, 79, 83, 89, 90, 102, 104, 107, 108, 144, 147 (bottom), 148, 150, 157, 166, 168, 172, 174 (top), 177, 187, 189, 193, 197 and 198.
Joanne Cooper – pages 8, 13, 41, 73, 94, 95, 96, 103, 112, 123 (both), 124, 126, 127, 133, 134, 136, 137, 142, 151, 158 (both), 160 and 178.
Andi Beazeley – pages 25, 50 (both), 86 (both), 87 (both), 100, 103, 106, 117 (both), 118, 139, 162, 174 (bottom), 188, 192 and 196.
William James, Target Studios – pages 2 and 10.
Mariska De Hoogt – page 98.
Joanne Vyas – pages 146, 147 (top), 152 (both) and 153.
Michael Rickett – pages 101, 109 (both) and 121.
Kim Gibson (© Kim Gibson, Nidderdale Sheepdogs) – pages 17 and 184.
Gwyn Morgan – page 99.
Tim Foster – pages 161, 164 and 180.
Bill Burlington – page 7.
Jason Senior (© Leicester Mercury Media Group Ltd) – page 191.
INTRODUCTION
I recall Glyn Jones, of Bodfari in North Wales, saying many years ago that you can kick a quad bike but a dog you can talk to. This struck a chord with me, and made me think that what all species have in common, including man, is the need for understanding and resentment to change.
The purpose of this book is to enable sheepdog handlers and enthusiasts to discover and use the many wonderful and natural attributes the Border Collie possesses for working with sheep. Even before any training takes place the collie is gifted with raw but natural abilities for speed, diligence, guile and tenacity. And being blessed with so many abilities the Border Collie must never be turned into a robot, simply waiting to be given commands: there are many situations where the collie’s natural reactions will not only be correct, but quicker than any command you can deliver, and these reactions and instincts are frequently the correct ones.
I hope this book will offer an insight into what is necessary to be successful in sheepdog trials, and that it will help improve both your own and your dog’s performance. It is also designed to give you a structure for your training, and a realistic expectation and self-belief of what you can achieve with your dog. In no way is it a criticism of other handlers’ methods or styles of handling: rather it is based on observations of success achieved in other human and canine disciplines and sports, by other sheepdog handlers, and of course drawn from my own experience. I am full of admiration for any man, woman or child who takes the time to go out with their dog and try their hand at working with sheep, and even more so for those who are happy to impart their skills and knowledge unselfishly so that others may experience the joys of winning. Very few of us enter trials for the prize money; however, all of us work, train and compete with our collie friends for the pleasure of a job well done, punctuated with a ‘That’ll do’ to mark our satisfaction with our dogs.
In every discipline there are ‘horses for courses’, and some dogs will undoubtedly have greater potential than others. However, I honestly believe that given time and understanding handlers can improve their own ability and that of their dogs, and at least fulfil their potential. By recognizing your own failings you will be better placed to maximize your dog’s potential. If you do not, or cannot, accept that you are at fault, then you may well conclude that your dog’s poor performance is because the dog is being inept. In some cases this can result in the dog being rehomed, and in many cases handlers can become angry, frustrated and disillusioned with trialling. You only have to look at the large number of cases where dogs have failed to fulfil their potential and have been sold, then subsequently have gone on to achieve success with their new handlers. This newfound success can only be due to a change in the training regime, or because the dog is allowed a bit more time in which to mature. Of course some dogs will suit some handlers more than others, and this is why the process of selecting the right puppy or dog to match and compliment your handling style is so important.
At every trial there are just six places for the winning dogs. This book will hopefully lead to more people challenging for those places, thereby raising the level of competition; in turn this will improve the standard at which Border Collies work. If more people can go home feeling that their dogs have worked to their potential, then my aim will have been achieved. Because trialling relies on an element of luck, it can be a great leveller, and I hope that by trying to improve the standard of handling and training, the hobby triallist will play a more significant part and be able to hold their own against farmers and shepherds. But whichever group of handlers you belong to, we all have one thing in common, and that is the tools we work with, namely the Border Collie. And a good worker never blames his tools.
Apart from the dog, the other major factors that come into play are the opportunity to work with large numbers of sheep on a frequent basis, and the type of terrain available. There is no doubt in my mind that those with access to hill or mountain terrain or moorland to practise their daily shepherding tasks will always have an advantage over those with smaller flat fields, as the former offers a greater opportunity for the dog to rely on and practise inbred instincts. We all have hidden strengths, but we can only ever realize them when we are put in a situation that tests us to the limit. On hill terrain, greater decision making on the part of the dog is called for. Many dogs resist aspects of training if they cannot see the reason for having to work in a particular way, whether it is a wide flank or to work at a greater distance from the sheep, at a particular pace. For example, dogs that work the hill learn very quickly, and in a quite uncontrived manner, that they need to run wide to cover the whole flock, as there may be dips and hollows where sheep could be hidden from view. It is the nature of the terrain itself that makes the dog realize why he needs to run wide.
Dogs will also become far more at ease with having to run blind or unsighted from the sheep, often using their sense of smell to find them. If in everyday work all a dog has to do to locate its sheep is to look a short distance in front, its sense of smell will be less developed and fine tuned than that of a dog which has to find its sheep over difficult terrain. Although all dogs are gifted with a keen sense of smell they nevertheless need to be able to practise using their nose, and to develop confidence in their ability to use it. The very nature of hills and mountains obliges the dogs to rely on their other senses, rather than sight alone.
Peak Forest looking out on to Eldon Hill.
My own dog Jade, who suffered from CEA (collie eye anomaly, see p. 22) and was partially blind in both eyes, came to rely almost totally on sense of smell when she was old and when the light faded in the evening. Whilst out on walks she would wander off, as old dogs do, yet she would unerringly return to the car on her own by using her nose.
Not everyone is lucky enough to have a hill or a mountain in their near vicinity, but one thing I am sure of, and that is that just as our children go to university to further their education, to be successful in sheepdog trials both you and your dogs must be taken out of your comfort zone if you are going to graduate and find your hidden strengths. To achieve success you must be prepared to go the extra mile, to study your dogs and your techniques, to look at both the faults and what you do well. The advent of the video camera in particular has provided the means for handlers to improve their skills and to learn from their mistakes, to analyse and assess the finer points of technique from the comfort of their living room. The availability of DVDs of international and world sheepdog trials is also a great resource and a means to learn and progress, to watch top handlers and glean knowledge from them. It may seem an obvious thing to say, but should you need advice, ask someone for it. And if you want something desperately enough, then you must be prepared to work hard for it.
I, like many others, cannot afford, nor do I have the inclination to buy or indeed keep lots of dogs, and therefore believe that you have to make the most of what you have got. Also many people are not comfortable with selling dogs. I hope that this book gives hope if things are not going quite to plan. Bearing in mind that most of us spend more time with our dogs than our partners, dogs, like marriages, need to be worked on over a long period of time. There will be good times, there will be some bad times, there may even be some sad times, but if you persevere the memories will indeed be special. It is a privilege to share my life with my collie friends, and I strive to do my best by them, as they do for me.
There are four names that feature regularly in the prize lists: John Ryan Griffiths (Talysarn), Tim Longton (Quernmore), Aled Owen (Ty Nant) and Jim Cropper (Bacup). Their handling of dogs is the envy of many people and each of them has described, in this book, in their own words, what it is that makes them successful handlers, what they look for when selecting a dog, and whether luck has played any part in their success.
Whether you choose to breed and train your own pup or to buy one which is ready trained, your journey will be an exciting one, with many highs and lows. The rest of this book will take you through the journey from being a young hopeful prospect to a useful trials dog. It will provide you with the means to resolve some major health, training and behaviour issues, as well as prepare you for becoming a successful and competent sheepdog trainer for trials or simply farm work, using methods and theories that are innovative and modern. We are living in times when the countryside and country sports are under close scrutiny. The welfare of sheep and sheepdogs is paramount, and it is my intention that handlers will learn to adopt a caring and empathetic, yet highly effective training regime.
BLENDING THE OLD WITH THE NEW
Old-fashioned methods of training dogs invariably involved a combination of force, reward and punishment. Handlers were heavy handed and relied on force rather than subtlety and psychology to effect change. The 1990s, however, brought about a new emphasis, that of training with kinder, gentler methods, using food to shape behaviour, rewarding positive behaviour and ignoring bad behaviour. Karen Pryor’s book Don’t Shoot the Dog – The New Art of Teaching and Training Dogs had a profound influence on me, as not only did it discuss changing the behaviour of dogs and other animals, such as dolphins, but also that of humans. Teaching dogs to stand, lie down and so on became more enjoyable; results were quickly attained, and the dogs seemed happy to work for rewards. Using these methods to teach the basics became the norm for me, prior to taking dogs to sheep, particularly because dogs as young as six to seven weeks old responded well to this form of training.
Guiding Principle
‘Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment, and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment.’
Mahatma Gandhi
The term ‘sheepdog trial’ suggests that working with both sheep and dogs can be a testing time. This is indeed true; however, the term does conveniently leave out ‘man’ from the equation. The real trial is when the handler is asked to participate in it too, and work with two different species, each with a mistrust of one another and subjecting them to unnatural and gruelling demands. Both sheep and dogs have a naturally intrinsic mistrust of their human counterpart, having no idea, concept or inclination of what consequences will ensue. To earn the trust of two different species without losing faith and respect, and without inducing fear and trepidation, is truly the biggest trial of all. For me, to achieve this with no experience of sheep and no mentor to guide me, became the ultimate challenge, with only my experience as a dog trainer to fall back on.
Honest we mean you no harm!
My wife Jo and I become dog trainers in 1988 and I started our own club, Bertie Dog Training, in 1991. I have worked with a large variety of dog breeds, dealing with issues involving basic pet obedience to quite severe behavioural problems such as sheep worrying and killing, with dogs suffering from separation anxiety to those which have been maltreated, and aggressive dogs. I also train farmers and Border Collie enthusiasts to work sheep either for trials or to help in their daily work.
Gwyn Morgan, my friend and confidant.
Through a series of chance meetings with people from both breed shows as well as trialling, my interest in the Border Collie was further intensified by one man: Gwyn Morgan. Gwyn farms in the midst of Snowdonia, near Caernarfon. His farm stands a mile or so off the beaten track at the top of a hill, surrounded on the south side by an ancient forest overlooking the Snowdon Mountains. Having farmed some 120 acres, of which 80 acres is grassland and 40 acres forest, Gwyn keeps sheep, cattle, poultry and horses. He has since scaled down so that he can enjoy and spend more time training and working his dogs. His influence over my life and subsequent trialling career has been immense, and as was the case when we first met in 1987, he remains my adviser, my confidant and my dear friend. North Wales is where the journey started; where it ends remains to be seen.
Having been encouraged to work my dogs I then took it a step further, competing in my first trial in 1992 at Pontllyfni, North Wales. Being a novice not only to sheepdog trialling but also working with sheep, I generally found advice very difficult to come by, though this was with the exception of that offered by Allan Heaton (Brandsby, York), John Griffiths (Talysarn, North Wales) and later, Aled Owen (Ty Nant, Corwen). I was generally met with either one-word answers or simply told to ‘watch the top handlers’. This was good advice; however, I needed a lot more: I needed to know what I was supposed to be looking out for, and why. In many cases the genius of the top men was not always evident at trials, apart from their success, but rather it was the manner in which they trained their dogs that the true genius could be observed. I recall ringing Allan Heaton in 1992 for his opinion on Aled Owen’s Ben (129820), as I was thinking of using him at stud. Allan’s response was ‘Ben is a great dog, but I don’t know how much of that is due to Aled as he is a great trainer and handler’! (Quote courtesy Allan and Mary Heaton.)
As a rule I found the top handlers’ dogs worked very well; however, what I needed to know was what aspects of their training made them perform to such a high standard. I was once given the following advice by a friend: ‘If you look at something long enough or often enough you will discover something new that you haven’t noticed before.’ I have found this advice to be true time and time again. I found myself watching handlers, and slowly but surely the picture started to unfold. I began to break down what they were doing into the smallest parts, constantly asking myself why they did things in a particular way, and more importantly to be able to put a label to it. For example:
Why did they not ask the dog to lie down at the end of an outrun?
Why did they take so long to open the pen gate?
Why did they keep the sheep moving towards the pen?
Why did they take so long in the shedding ring rather than make an opportunity?
Why did they move purposefully into the shedding ring?
Ask ten farmers how and at what age they train their dogs, and each one will probably give a different answer based on their own experience and how they were taught and what they found to be successful. I managed to untangle all the information I had acquired, and slowly but surely began to make sense of what the handlers were doing – and what was more important, why. Then began the experiment of putting into practice what I had learned. With each young puppy I reared I tried something different until finally I was happy with how my dogs were turning out. I remain cautious, however, and constantly remind myself that the quest for knowledge is a never-ending process, and am excited by learning new ways to manage age-old, traditional shepherding tasks.
Mr Jim Easton presents the Wilkinson Sword to Allan and Mary Heaton.
Above all I make it a priority that my dogs work willingly and with enthusiasm, based on mutual respect between dog and handler. Hopefully this book will go some way to sharing with its readers the finer points that I was able to discover on my journey, which started on the greens of a cricket field when I was eleven years old, and progressed to when I took up sheepdog trialling in 1992, culminating in representing England at the Kelso International Sheepdog Trials in 2006 with Skerry.
