On the subject of young pups

[Anonymous]

Whats next in the training process?
Snickers now will heel cattle to a pen and bring in any strays to the pen. She's been kicked and rolled, and the headiest cow doesn't faze her.
She's a year old now. She minds well but at times doesn't back off until they are in the corral.
What's the next step?

 

[cow pollinater]

What does she need to improve on? If she'll gather cattle and put them away for you then you're pretty well set.
For me, the most important thing a dog can do is flank cattle and hold that ground. I can gather cattle by myself, I can push cattle by myself, but I can't push the cattle that I have gathered by myself without the risk of losing all my cattle since I have a number of places where the lead cow can simply walk off the road and turn back and I'd kill a horse trying to get ahead of them... REAL handy to have a dog that knows that spot in the road that can "come by" ahead of time and and keep them pointed downhill.

 

[Anonymous]

The better question should have been what more can I do to fine tune her?
Thanks cp

 

[cow pollinater]

Teach her to get around them on command. That's what I was saying the long winded way above. Healing is great when the cattle are already doing what you want but when they're NOT doing what you want, a dog that will get around them is helpful.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok. That's what we're working on now. Getting a single up with hand signals. So far so good.