The Send Away

[bret]

hi all

i have been lookin for some time in finding a method to train maiya to go away. ie: when i am sheep dog training, i might want her to run away from me until i call hold or stay, to give time for stock to move through, or even just to position her in a place that i want to start the stock moving etc.

what would be an effective way of training this behaviour?

any help would be great

bret

[Tonymc]

Brett,how old is the Dog and what breed? Tony

[Janba]

Are you talking about casting your dog around the sheep?

At what stage is she in her training? Has she got a good stop and sides (going clockwise and anticlockwise on command) and to balances to you? And as Tonymc said what age and breed ?

ETA Looked at your previous posts and she is a almost 2 yr old border collie. The stage you are up to in your training makes at lot of difference to what you r are teaching ie do you want to increase the distance of a cast or do you need to teach from the beginning?

Edited December 31, 2007 by Janba

[Tonymc]

Brett,sent you a pm. tony

[bret]

Are you talking about casting your dog around the sheep?

At what stage is she in her training? Has she got a good stop and sides (going clockwise and anticlockwise on command) and to balances to you? And as Tonymc said what age and breed ?

ETA Looked at your previous posts and she is a almost 2 yr old border collie. The stage you are up to in your training makes at lot of difference to what you r are teaching ie do you want to increase the distance of a cast or do you need to teach from the beginning?

hi guys, thanks for all the responses.

she is early stages in her training, we haven't put sides on her yet, she has moved out of the round yard and we do open paddock stuff. she is a little close when she is trailing, which makes the sheep a little jumpy as well. as you pointed out yes she is a 2 yearold pure bread border collie. her stops are based on my down's or stays, which in general are pretty good. i was thinking of teaching this outside of the sheep training, just to add to her training.

i want to do casting at home, given that i don't own sheep, nor do i have land. i can only make it to sheep training 2 times per week, as the place i do it is at canungra. unless you guys know of somewhere else i can do it more often, maybe some where closer to the coast? or any more info would be greatly appreciated.

cheers

bret

[Kelpie-i]

Hi Bret

I think the first thing you should be teaching your dog is to flank (sides) and work on/off balance. You need to be able to send the dog "back" and "over" effectively before teaching to cast. This will also help you with the cast teaching process.

There are many different techniques for teaching the cast but IMO, best to teach it in baby steps, sending the dog back or over from your side and gradually increasing the distance. Some dogs are natural casters, others need to learn the skill.

I've only ever taught my dogs to cast on sheep and have never "dry" trained them. The send-away (which is more inclined for Shutzhund work) is different to a herding cast as it utilises different drives and the dogs need to turn into the top of the flock. Teaching dry send-outs will not teach the turn action. Also just because you teach the dog the send-away, doesn't mean she will cast on sheep.

Not sure what others have suggested, but I highly recommend teaching the flanks, working on/off balance first with solid stops and create distance if she gets too close. Get these perfected first then go onto the cast.

Edited January 1, 2008 by Kelpie-i

[Lablover]

Do the various Australian herding competitions require dogs to perform sendouts/go aways, when the sheep are not in sight ie hilly paddocks?

[Kelpie-i]

LL, not too sure about KCC herding, but yard trials requires the dog to cast, especially at Open level, but the area is usually flat. When working on the farm, the dog is sent out to gather sheep who are scattered all over the property, flat and/or hilly.

[MrsD]

I taught Jarrah to cast in a smallish paddock (60mx30m?) using a tennis ball, but I dont think it would work with many other dogs .

LL - not in either ANKC or 3 sheep, the sheep are always in sight although various distances away depending on the level & dicipline.

ETA - bret, if you can't get to classes more often why don't you ask Eric if he has any ideas for you on what you should be working on & how to do it without sheep? :D

Edited January 6, 2008 by MrsD

[Lablover]

Thanks guys.

Does anyone know when the next herding test is being held in Victoria? I have checked the latest Dogs Victoria Magazine, and none are listed for January or February.

[MrsD]

Thanks guys.

Does anyone know when the next herding test is being held in Victoria? I have checked the latest Dogs Victoria Magazine, and none are listed for January or February.

LL it's likely to be later than that as herding is usually only done in the cooler months - Qld dont start their trials until mid way through April & finish them in Sept.

[herding heroine]

Thanks guys.

Does anyone know when the next herding test is being held in Victoria? I have checked the latest Dogs Victoria Magazine, and none are listed for January or February.

[herding heroine]

Thanks guys.

Does anyone know when the next herding test is being held in Victoria? I have checked the latest Dogs Victoria Magazine, and none are listed for January or February.

Border Collie Club of Victoria has a herding trial 1st and 2nd March at

KCC park PM me and I will send you there flyer.

[Lablover]

Thanks guys.

Does anyone know when the next herding test is being held in Victoria? I have checked the latest Dogs Victoria Magazine, and none are listed for January or February.

Border Collie Club of Victoria has a herding trial 1st and 2nd March at

KCC park PM me and I will send you there flyer.

Good dates, so far for me. Thankyou. Will PM. Last trial I saw was over a decade or so ago, before ANKC trials began.