The Education of Kip

So I'm trying to train one of our border collies, named Kip. She's about two years old, but no one's had the time (or patience, really) to train her. Kip's mom, Sidney, we trained a long time ago, so it's way easier and faster to just get Sid to bring the cattle in or go get the sheep, rather than have to take the extra time to really work with the new kid. Black-and-whites are dogs that naturally like to be useful, which in their minds means gathering things. I've seen them herd pigs, ducks, even children! Kip has that instinct, and you can just see it in her eyes when she tries to help with the animals, she wants sooooo badly to be useful. So, even though dog training isn't on my current resume of abilities, I thought I'd see if I couldn't teach her a thing or two about how to correctly gather stuff.

First, I noticed that when we were going to the field, she would get so eager to help that she would run ahead of you in anticipation of what's next. That's not good. When she did that, if the animals were standing right next to the gate, they'd RUN! So we had to fix that. I got a leash and we started walking. And we walked. And walked. After about three times of that, Kip knows how to 'heel'. Hooray! Gold star for Kip.

Next, we needed to work on a group of commands that we use with Sidney to drive animals out or bring animals into a pen. They're the same basic commands for both, but the concepts of driving and bringing are difficult to grasp. You're asking the dog to first gather the animals into a group, then move them all at the same time. We use commands like: bring 'em, take 'em out, move up, go back, and easy. It's a lot for a new kid to take in, but bless her heart, she's getting it. In the last couple of weeks, there have been several animals doing a lot of running, while Kip just chases after them, not sure of what she's supposed to be doing with them.

Besides being infuriating because the dog isn't comprehending the commands you're trying to use, animals running around willy-nilly isn't good. They can run through fences, which is BAD. They can die from heat exhaustion, which is EVEN WORSE. But, the fences have held, and the weather has been gorgeous. (Once again, the weather is an important factor. You just never get away from it on the farm!)

Last night, though, when we brought the sheep in, the only command I had to give to her was 'Bring 'em'. She knew exactly what she needed to do and how to do it, and she did it - it was awesome!! When I gave her a treat and some lovin' and told her good job, her eyes were dancing like a little kid who just learned how to ride a bike. It was so cool.