Sheepballs Cues

Sheepballs Cues by Kay Laurence | Jul 19, 2021 Adding cues is cool …when you really understand the process and are diligent in application. It seems to be the goal that draws the most folk “to get the dog to do it”. It looks cool to onlookers when a dog does what you say, promptly. But for me not only promptly, but with a joy and confidence which is a reflection of the learning process. Note I use “learning”, not “training”. It does not matter what you think you trained the dog to do, it is what they learned that we shall see. Those critical cues Sheepdog training was the first time I really learned what a cue was all about. Let’s refresh the centuries old, successful, proven process. We teach the young dog how to respond and develop their skills through managing the sheep. To train a dog we need to be able to manage and predict the behaviour of sheep. Firstly we set up situations for the dog to find the point of balance – holding the sheep to us at the 12 position: This is evidenced by the sheep facing away from the dog I can then take a step or two backwards, and because sheep consider the power of a dog is much stronger than mine, the sheep will move away from the dog and step towards me. The dog will be attracted to follow the rear end of the sheep. I can then go walkabout, I walk backwards in a large figure of 8, knowing the sheep will continually turn to me, the dog will learn to move small distances, flanking, left and right to re-find their point of balance. At any time I can bring the party to a stop. I will then begin to increase the amount of flanking the dog will need to do, and give the sheep a rest, they can stand still and just turn to face me as the dog finds their power and re-balances. The right type of sheep is important. The dog will be rewarded (dopamine boost) from the controlling aspect of the sheep turning off their movements and position. All the time the cues for the dog come from the sheep which I have engineered to demand a specific and predictable response. In the early days these responses will look a little ragged and rough, but as the dog gains confidence they will develop their style and subtleties of response. This will be the time to begin adding the lifetime cues provided the responses are 90% as I predict. Minimal cues There are only the 5 working cues: Turn left 90° and continue: this is often "come bye" Turn right 90° and continue; this is often "away to me" Come to a stop: "stand there, stand or down" Walk on: "walk on, get up" That’ll do – time for tea. These cues are delivered both verbally and with a whistle. Th

e verbal cue and whistle cue can be delivered with the same tone and pitch and the dog will transfer immediately. No shit sherlock, dogs hear tonal range delivered over phrases, not words. This is the traditional, successful method. This was surpassed by the obedience fraternity in favour of single, monotone words. Not an improvement. Modifiers The 4 working cues can then be modified through volume or pitch. You can have a soft stop or a hard stop, depending on how you deliver it, a Step-Careful to your left or right, or Get-Your-finger-out-we’re-in-trouble, left or right. The Welsh speakers are particularly good at this. Most will add on a sssh, to ask for increased acceleration once moving in the right direction – a transition from walk to trot to gallop, go faster. Ready for cues? Add a cue too early, before the dog is consistent in the move or action, and you will have a lifelong inconsistent response to tidy up. The dog will also demonstrate some hesitancy or uncertainty whether this response will be the right one or not, or question whether a reward is forthcoming or not. The behaviour we want the dog to respond or react to when hearing the cue is the turn, NOT the running alongside the sheep. It is the turn we teach, the dog is then travelled on the circle. The new cue: old cue, protocol will work very successfully on single movement, (turns, hard stop). Cues during the repetitive movement can be used when the action is repeating – running, slowing down, walk on, etc. Changing the hierarchy The working cue is the movement of the sheep, and to some small degree, you. But if you are too significant and dominate the responses, when you step out of the picture the dog will be at a loss. There is a hierarchy, which often has to be changed. We use it all the time when leaving the dog to choose what to do, where to go, and then we call them to us. As they run around freely they are responding to events and the environment, but when we cue the return to us, that cue becomes the dominant one. On sheep, we will need to progress to change the sheep from being the dominant cue to the verbal/whistle being the dominant, NO MATTER WHAT THE SHEEP ARE DOING. The placement of the dog causes a response in the sheep which becomes the dog’s reward. This is one of the hardest transitions. I also teach the “come to a stop”, and later the hard stop. Two types of “wait”. “Walk on” is secured by pulling the ball backwards with the base of my shoe. Additionally because I work on more precision movement with the Cup on a Stick, I will have a lateral movement of left and righ

t. This is Time demonstrating this. I know you have all probably seen this, but look for the difference between a "soft" left or right" and the full run on your circle. Your choice You can pretty much add a cue to anything that is a predictable action or change of movement. You can choose your left and right, but from traditional sheep dog training, the phrases travel better: “come bye” and “away to me”, obedience word-format is not easily heard over long distances. The secret, and discipline, is not to add working cues until the behaviour is stable and consistent. Be sure what the existing cue is, as perceived by the dog (it may be your pivot turn, arm drawing backwards, change of balance to kick). Plan to alter the hierarchy, and ask for your verbal/whistle to override the old cue by arranging the rewards. Off to buy a sheepdog whistle now! Explore COURSES Build the Learning Lifelong skills built in activities and play. A dog that is curious, confident, resilient with a natural enthusiasm for learning. Course Details rewards skills Learn about the fascinating landscape of rewards and how to make them the centre of your training and relationship. Course Details Management or Training Find a pathway to suit your lifestyle of living with dogs. When management temporarilly supports the learning, or choose training. Course Details All courses learn well learn it once Setter Members Access to The Sett community and groups Discount for all courses and videos 50% Archives of previous courses and books Share your learning, upgrade your thinking £140 Join Setters Key Reading A View to a Kill? We often hear the claim that the Border Collie is exhibiting predatory behaviour on sheep. But are they really seeking to kill? Read More Construction or suppression Looking at the way the behaviour is carried out is the most important element, and that is the product of all the considerations. Read More Not Today and Not for My Sheepdogs Standard protocols of extinction, impulse control, counterconditioning are quickly grabbed off the shelf as satisfactory solutions. These solutions are unlikely to help your collie, your sheepdog as the focus is heavily on suppression of who they are and why they live. Read More Normal is always changing What was normal in training 20 or 40 years ago is not the same today. There are folk persistently maintaining the normal of 1976, but fortunately there are enough folk with a deeper understanding of the processes that have moved normal forwards. Read More Do We Want Impulse Control? Teaching your Collie “impulse control” is the wrong way o

f thinking about their urges, and certainly an unhelpful way of dealing with them. Read More It’s Not Training A carefully planned learning pathway, paced to suit that particular learner for their life ahead. Read More Ear Myths There is a myth surrounding Border Collies that ear shape, coat colour or texture, and even eye colour are indicators of that dog’s personality,... Read More What is a Trainer? I know what I am, as a trainer. But does my view of “A Trainer” coincide with, or even overlap with yours? Read More The Need to Correct an Error When learning is littered with costly mistakes we will carry anxiety and avoidance. Errors are feedback. There should be no fear of error just opportunities to learn. Read More The Answers Await Discovery The idea that we’re responsible for our dogs’ learning might well seem strange when we consider how we conceptualise “training:” Read More Top Training Nose Target. No thanks Nose target is a popular behaviour taught to many dogs, and other animals. It seems easy to teach and have practical application, but it is often not such a pleasant experience for all dogs. There are many other options available that give the same practical benefit, without the unpleasant extremes. Read More Herding Games For All Dogs? The wrong herding game is like trying to make a tennis player succeed at football Read More Reasons to use a clicker The concept of “being a clicker trainer” is always going to lead to argument and misunderstanding because it cannot exist alongside the science and technology. It is a “fakery” of our time. The clicker itself is a simple tool that when used in conjunction with technology provides clarity and understanding in teaching. Read More Cognitive Approach for the Dogs Training is something done TO the dog. Learning that is something done FOR the dogs. Read More A Cue or not a cue? With thoughtful planning and a good understanding of the relevance of antecedent selection we can teach the dog the skills of sorting the wheat from the chaff, finding the bones of the exercise. This skill is critical to being able to distinguish between distractions, which are just cues for an alternative reward opportunity, and cues which signify a guarantee of success. Read More Teaching People: more than rewards and reinforcers Familiarisation with the behaviourists’ models of reinforcement, punishment, shaping, extinction, can prevent us from looking outside the windows for either dogs or people … Read More The Fade-in Protocol Even though today we are surrounded by many available protocols for teaching with positive rei

nforcement, there is still a persistence that a dog should be set-up to make an error. An error is simply the difference between my expectation and the dog’s response. No more “distractions”, but faded-in environments. Read More Luring: Hand lures Learning the skills for clear communication with hand-lure: collect, engage, follow, feed. Read More Going Shopping This is a joint travelling adventure. It completely resets the learning and can easily extend the reinforcement process. Read More Fast does not mean better We are becoming surrounded by a culture of fast. We are being sold that immediate gratification is the only solution. Read More 2 Comments Karen on 5th May 2022 at 9:20 pm Always a RED-LETTER day when I receive your emails! Cues. How is a dog supposed to understand their meaning when my own human (70-ish) can’t understand, “It’s in the cupboard.” Which one? ( ….same place the butter has been for the last 20 years….) Possibly your easiest question ever: Where do you purchase your sheep balls? I’m Stateside and have looked online six ways to Sunday. I’ve found balls with sheep on them for the drying machine, Kong balls, and other balls for fetching which are usually hard. My BC and I could both use a little plushness in our lives! All the best, Karen Reply Kay Laurence on 5th May 2022 at 10:03 pm Hah! Emails will be coming more frequently now …. Biscuits for Breakfast. The Balls are from IKEA Reply Submit a Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Comment * Name * Email * Website Submit Comment Δ