Dog House Training Clinic
Dog House Training Clinic
Responding to the need for Dog Training in the area
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The issue
Local Farmer Mark Martin identified a need in the area for dog training. He and many others wanted to improve their animal Husbandry starting with dogs.
The solution
Western Murray Land Improvement Group and Central Murray Best Wool Best Lamb enlisted the services of Ian O’Connell ‘Dog House Training’ to run a clinic in Wakool NSW using funding from Murray Local Land Services through the Australian Governments National Landcare program. Eleven people attended the two day Dog Handling Workshop.
The impact
Participants brought their own dogs to work with the sheep provided. The sheep were separated into two yards of differing size so that dogs could be worked according to their training level. The dogs were started in a small yard with 4-6 sheep to build their confidence, giving constant praise for any interest shown toward the sheep. The importance of pressure and release tactics were demonstrated while training a dog Once the dogs were confident around sheep participant s used a rake as an extension of their arm, guiding their dog and creating corridors between the dog and the wall. Lastly, it was emphasised the importance of forming a bond with your dog, make sure they see you at least twice a day and gets used to being called and taught little things. Overall there was very positive feedback about the workshop, with the general consensus that we should be holding these regularly.
Key facts
- Judge a dogs temperament and train accordingly
- Sometimes you have to use a lot of pressure to get the response you need but this should be followed with a reward.
- The small amount of pressure from the rake helps guide them and the dogs are aware of it.
- It is important to form a bond with your dog.