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Getting a stop… The stop is probably one of the most crucial things to get with your sheepdog. If you don’t have a stop it is like driving a car with no brakes! Our pacing and steadiness on sheep is also derived from the stop. Some dogs can be taught the stop on sheep especially milder natured ones but if your dog is very boisterous it would be wise to teach this before taking to sheep. Let your dog burn off some steam first, this helps get them in the right mindset for learning. We block our dog from the sheep and use the command steady as the dog reaches balance. When the dog stops we put the command to it, ‘stand’ or ‘lie down’ depending on whether they are on their feet. Immediately thereafter we release the block and let them back to work using plenty of praise. We avoid leaning or moving forward to the dog creating pressure as this can speed them up, stand upright and give them space to make the right decision. If your dog doesn’t stop, avoid repeating lie down over and over and never chastise them for lying down when you do get them stopped… Make your command calm and pleasant rather than hard or frustrated. Lie down should be fun and not take away our dogs enthusiasm. Watch your dog for signs of stress like turning their head away, licking their lips or sniffing the ground. If you see any of these, make sure to lighten your session let your dog run around their sheep and have fun. In the accompanying video you can see that we use some basic equipment such as a visual aid – stick, a long-line, a round pen and light well dogged sheep to ensure maximum chance of success. Join to get full access to a complete guide to training your herding dog from pup to fully fledged farm and trial dog.
