Certain technical terms are used in the following article which it may
be well to explain for the benefit of those not familiar with the
shepherd’s vocabulary.
1. The “run out” means that the dog is sent away to gather the sheep.
“Running out” is the act of going for the sheep.
2. “Hauling” in its widest sense means the dog going out for his sheep,
taking command of them and bringing them to the shepherd. In the
narrower sense, however, the term is confined to the bringing in of the
sheep by the dog.
3. “Shedding” means the dividing of a lot of sheep. Supposing, for
example, a shepherd wishes to separate lambs from their mothers, the act
of doing so by the dog is called “shedding.”
4. “Wearing” means keeping a sheep from going in the wrong direction.
Supposing, for example, a sheep bolts up a wrong road, the dog is sent
to turn it back. Turning back is the “wearing.”
5. A “cut” simply refers to a number of sheep. Supposing, for example, a
shepherd herds five or six hundred sheep and goes for forty or fifty to
take them to the market. The number so taken is called a “cut.”
6. “Flying off” means where the dog yields to the sheep instead of
facing up to them. In “wearing” this is best seen. A dog which will not
come in close to stubborn sheep, yields to them when pressed, is said to
“fly off.”
7. A “soft-tempered” dog is one which shows little grit when pressed by
wild or stubborn sheep. It won’t stand up to them and shows little
fight, and generally evidence of a soft disposition. The contrary
expression is “hard tempered,” which means a dog that will not yield to
wild or stubborn sheep, but will face up to them, and as a last resort
will even grip and show his teeth and other signs of temper and
determination.
Believing that some instruction as to the methods employed in the
training of the working collie will be helpful to those who desire to
bring out the best gifts with which Nature has endowed this king of all
utility dogs, we append a few suggestions from the curriculum of Mr. T.
P. Brown, of Oxton, Berwickshire, Scotland, than whom no one is more
qualified to speak on this important subject.
In the first place, it must be acknowledged that unless the master has
himself studied the subject with the utmost care and keen perception,
success in teaching a dog to work sheep will not fall to his lot. Many a
good dog has been spoiled in the hands of an unthinking and
unsympathetic would-be trainer, and, conversely, many a vicious, timid,
or “wild” dog has been converted by the master hand into a brainy,
intelligent servant.
With few exceptions, any collie can be taught to work sheep; therefore,
as a general proposition, it is the man who makes or mars the dog’s
natural bent.
To achieve the greatest measure of success the sooner one starts the
elementary first lessons the better. The puppy should be taken in hand
when three or four months old.
The very first step is to teach him to run up to you. Use a thin, low
whistle with the lips, and pat and make a fuss of him when he comes up.
The second lesson is to get him to go down quickly. This is best done by
a hiss. If he does not put his head down, press it gently down with your
hand. This has generally to be repeated a good many times before he does
it nicely. Some pups go down of their own accord when they see the
sheep. This is no real drawback, but as a rule they require a little
more training to go down _when commanded_, instead of waiting till they
get to a place where they want to go down.
After the pup has learned to go down nicely, put him down and walk away,
and see if he will lie still until you give him the whistle to come up,
and don’t rest satisfied until he does so with alacrity.
When he has learned to do this to please you, begin to stop him half-way
up, and always see that he puts his head in the proper position. He
should be proficient in this before he is ever taken to the sheep. No
pup should ever be taken to the sheep until he is under complete control
in the run up and lay down. To introduce him to sheep until he has
thoroughly mastered these simple but highly-important commands has a
tendency to spoil him and get him into bad habits. No matter how fast he
is running, if you give him the hiss to stop he should drop like a
stone; and, on the other hand, he should obey the command to come on
quickly and without the least hesitation, and on no account should he
rise until told to do so. To fall and rise when commanded, and _only_
when commanded, is the most important point in the training of a collie.
Having progressed so far, the pup should now be taken to the sheep.
If he is off a good working strain, he will either circle away round his
“quarry” or he will “set” and crawl forward.
If he circles round and goes down, and the sheep do not come away, he is
apt to lie still, but if you use the call whistle and bring him a little
forward, then drop him. The sheep will most likely come away, and you
must take care that he comes straight behind them, and not too quickly.
Don’t use the call whistle very long at first, just a little to get him
to understand to start the sheep. Get him used to start either with a
sheep or a short whistle.
If in running up to the sheep he does not go right round, you must go up
to the sheep and move them in the direction you want them to go. Then
use the whistle, sound or words by which you want to shift him (some
trainers say “Keep wide” or “Keep wide, away out,” but it is better to
use only distinctive whistles).
You should thus keep the sheep moving about, making him move to what
spot you want. Others use a combination of whistles and signs (motions
of the arms). This latter method has its advantages when working at a
distance and under certain climatic conditions.
When the dog has become expert in moving about, teach him to “run out.”
Don’t try him too far away at first, and if possible let him see the
sheep.
A perfect run out should be in the form of a good wide circle all the
way until he gets well behind the sheep. Then he should double back
behind the sheep when he sees he has them all rounded up, and he should
be allowed to move them a little before you put him down.
In “haulding” them he should come straight behind the sheep, and not too
near them. If they come steadily, he should be allowed to follow them
in. When “haulding” a few sheep, say five, he should bring them in
straight; but with a large number he should “flank” them from side to
side in half-moon circles, as by this means he gets them forward in
better time.
By this time the dog should have learned to go down at a distance from
the shepherd, a distance which is only restricted by the impossibility
of hearing the whistle.
In all these processes one requires four different kinds of whistles—one
for the “call,” one to go out, one to stop and lie down, and one to
hauld.
To teach a dog “to shed,” get the sheep to pass quietly between yourself
and the dog several times; the dog during this time must lie down.
Then divide the sheep and give him the call whistle to come in to you,
and drop him when he is in between the two lots. Then go behind one of
the lots and press them on to the dog and get him “to wear” and turn
them to you.
Repeat this several times, and in giving the call whistle make sure that
he never rises until commanded, for a dog that moves about as the sheep
move will never be a good “shedder,” as he always mixes the sheep up
when you are preparing for a “cut.” Be sure also that he shifts every
time you ask him, and that he turns the sheep in to you, instead of
flying off them.
At this stage in his education the dog should be approaching his
complete training. To teach him to come in front of the sheep, draw him
to you by the call whistle. He will think at first that he is to come in
to you, but when you see he is far enough past the sheep to give him
plenty of room to work, give him the whistle to go to the sheep. He will
then turn and face the sheep, and as he does so drop him there. After
being several times repeated he will do this as readily as he has
learned to go round behind the sheep.
The next lesson is to teach him to go from one side to the other,
passing between you and the sheep.
Let him go half round the sheep, then get him to go forward on the sheep
from any point he is stopped, by either driving straight from you or
from the left side to the right side. This feat is most necessary for
driving away or for pole work at a trial.
The art of wearing a single sheep has not been touched on, because
unless the dog is naturally gifted with this it is almost impossible to
make him proficient at it, though one can help him a little.
Much depends on the nerve and compelling power of the dog’s eye. Leave
him pretty well to his own resources until he has the sheep stopped
before you drop him.
Some pups are naturally born with tendencies to wearing single sheep,
including to run too wide or too near, and, worst of all, stopping
before they go round the sheep. Be guarded to immediately check these
faults, and remember that command is the most important lesson of all.
One hears a great deal about bad-tempered dogs and soft-tempered ones,
but it is not so much a display of temper as nervousness. If a dog keeps
his eye on the sheep, no matter how soft he is in the temper, any
capable trainer can make him a good dog, but the one who won’t keep his
eye on the sheep can never become proficient in his service to his lord
and master.