Harford's Apprentice

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On to training…When I am asked advice on training a dog, my mind always goes back to someof the dogs that I trained as puppies that became not only very good work dogsbut also top class sheepdog trial dogs.I had a very good team of three dogs at Lagnaha, a hill farm of over 3,000 acres in theHighlands of Scotland; all three were National winners, Jim having won the Irish Nationaltwice, Sweep once and then Star who won the Scottish National in the following year.But first and foremost all three were skilled working dogs. Frequently they’d be out of sightherding livestock across terrain that was dangerous for the livestock – and themselves.I trained them to know what was expected of them in managing the livestock so, whennecessary, they could make decisions that were literally life and death up there on the crags.But their foundation training as puppies was key to this and that is what I will try to explainto you here.You’ll find the training broken downinto a few stages each of which I’d makesure the dog was fully able on before movingon to the next. Take your time, all dogs aredifferent. Those slow to learn in early stagescan soon catch up.You need to tailor training to suit the dog, keep it interested and keep it learning at the rightpace. Everyone runs into different problems when training dogs. It’s advisable when aproblem comes up not to be too hasty in trying to fix it, but over some time try to find theproblem from the dog’s point of view. If this can be figured out, it is much more easily solvedand well worth the extra time spent on it.A lot of things in this early training will not make much sense to a puppy, such as to lie down,stand, stay and come to the handler when called, but as time goes on they fall into place.You should begin to train a puppy in all of these commands at an early stage, well beforethe puppy is taken to sheep. You’ll then have some control when the puppy is introduced tostock and it will make later training a lot simpler.8
STAGE 1As with any young dog, a Border Collie needs to learn to trust and respect humans.It needs safe opportunities to explore the world in a way that helps it to learnwithout feeling vulnerable.FIRSTFEW MONTHSSocialising &Essential BasicsWalking on a leadStop | Stay | Recall4-6MONTHSIntroductionto SheepObservingreactions & Recallfrom sheepWHENKEENEarly HerdingSkillsRight from left‘Head of sheep’Close FetchWHENREADYWorking StandardHerding SkillsOutrun & liftFetch/Drive & ShedLook/turn back‘Silent gather’Thinking foritselfChildren make the perfect teachers for very young puppies with their appetite for endlessenergetic play and cuddles. Fun and love in abundance. So find that inner child!When around three or four months old, the puppy should be ready for essential basictraining. Some puppies are already listening at this age, others are quite scatterbrained.Wait for evidence of the puppy listening to you then begin these first short training sessions.Consistent obedience in the following few tasks provides the foundation for all othertraining and for the dog's development generally. Begin by teaching it your voice commandsfor this early close work – whistle commands will come later.WALKING on a leadI would attach a puppy to a post or gate with its lead for approximately half an hour twicea day and for about a week to allow it to get used to being restricted in movement after thefreedom it has experienced as a puppy. Then I’d take it somewhere quiet with no other dogsaround to focus its attention on me as I begin to train it to walk on its lead. Do not acceptthat a puppy can go for a walk while tugging the lead. Stop if it does and encourage it backto you. Only walk again when the lead is loose. Do not proceed with any other training untilthe dog can walk well on its lead without pulling.9
Page 1 and 2: HARFORD’S APPRENTICETeaching the
Page 3 and 4: HARFORD’S APPRENTICETeaching the
Page 5 and 6: An introductionYou have a young dog
Page 7: Some dogs showing excellent potenti
Page 11 and 12: RECALL commandAlthough from a very
Page 13 and 14: STAGE 2The youngest age to contempl
Page 15 and 16: STAGE 3At around 8-12 months old yo
Page 17 and 18: Whether in the open field or in a p
Page 19 and 20: (Some people crunch a paper bag or
Page 21 and 22: There seem to be two main ways to t
Page 23 and 24: Movementup field4STOP 2The dog will
Page 25 and 26: Look backOnce the dog understands t
Page 27 and 28: Some dogs have natural authority wi
Page 29 and 30: The Importance of WhistleCommand So
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Harford's Apprentice

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