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Location: UK
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,497
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Hi Its me again.
Re the livestock and keeping the dog away, in my experience this is not possible or practical for may owners. I live in devon and there are lots of sheep. I often work with owners who live near or on farms or the moors. They may not be able to drive or may not be able to spare the time or moey to drive the dog to a suitable walk every or msot days. That leaves them with the option of lead walking, unless they have the time and energy to walk the dog enough it's unlikely to satisfy a high energy breed like a springer or collie. Also even lead walking around livestock is not 100% safe with a predatory dog. After all leads break collars slip ect.
I've also met several owners who were pulled over by their dog as it tried to chase or who found the dog did nothing but obsesse aout the sheep the whole time and came back hugely wound up.
The method for using e collars is the most important thing. All decent e collars have different strengths of sensation. Before training you find the lowest level the dog responds to. This respone will NOT be a yelp or jump, the response should be a turn of the head or a brief look around, thats why the collar is low stress the dog is less bothered by it than any other method. Even treats will agitate a dog more as he will be more eager to get the treat than to avoid the sensation of the collar.
With sheep chasing my prefered approach is to use the collar to enforce recall (at this very low level) and to distraction proof with toys and food.
I then take the dog to sheep on a long line, walk around casually and when the dog pays attention to the sheep use the collar (at the low level he just feels it) and move away from the sheep pulling the dog away with the line. This is best done at a big distance with the sheep contained.
While pulling the dog away you continue to hold the utton down so the dog still feels the sensation until he looks or moves away from the sheep, you then release the button instantly. This is why the e collar is so effective the sensation is mild but constant which act s mental pressure, removing it is reinforcing. Scientifically this is negative reinforcement, most people call it pressure and release training.
You repeat this moving steadily closer after each use of the collar until you can walk th dog really close to the contained sheep. At this stage the dog will seek to avoid the sheep by walking away (if you let him ) or looking away.
At this point I would Take the dog away for a break or finish the session there.
The next phase is on a line with sheep lose in the field, your proactive in that you move towards the sheep using the colalr in the above way as needed, onve the dog shows avoidance (usually very quick) you do it off lead. Its really important to begin on lead as the lead is used to how the dog what to do to turn the sensation off.
With repition you can have the owner chase the sheep and the dog will follow for a few strides then stop turn away and start sniffing or moving away (calmly) as the owner closes with the sheep.
This traiing usually takes 2 to 4 hours, ut it's important the dog is taken around othe sheep in different fields to generalise the response.
With other behavioural problems its alabout using the collar to enforce an alternative acceptable behaviour (recall or heel for social aggression) sit for jumping up ect.
Adam