So that’s where the sheep are
Last Saturday we weighed the lambs. This involves sending the lambs through the chute into the scale. We set Al up at the scale. Poe, the Border Collie, rounded up the sheep and pushed the first 6 or 7 down the chute and then we closed the gate to the chute. I tied up Poe so that he could relax and I didn’t have to worry about what he was doing. We sent that group of lambs through the scale one at a time with me moving around to do various things that took up much of my attention. Then I would release Poe. He would push more sheep into the chute and we would repeat the process. In all we did it 4 times.
The reason I tied Poe up each time was because once we closed the gate to the chute, pressure from him on the sheep wouldn’t help. Poe is very direct and very insistent. He likes to creep up and get involved even when I would prefer he didn’t. So we often have to have a discussion about patience.
It goes something like this:
“Liz, they aren’t moving fast enough”
“Poe, I know it seems like that but they can only go through the chute one sheep at a time”
“But Liz, really seriously, if I push harder on them, they will go faster”
“Nope, Poe all that does is create a traffic jam. And then you get more frustrated.”
“But Liz…”
“Nope Poe…”
This back and forth has been new to me because Jura would lie down and wait patiently for further instructions. I have sometimes forgotten that Poe doesn’t have that presence of mind yet and would often find myself reacting to a mess rather than preventing something from happening.
I knew this weekend that with the gate closed to the chute, the sheep wouldn’t be able to go anywhere. Poe would get frustrated and dive in on them. I would get frustrated and yell at him. None of that helps the sheep, the humans or the dog. And chanting “lie down, lie down, lie down” to keep him in his place doesn’t help me keep my focus on the other things I need to do. So instead of “training on the job” I chose management – tying the dog up so I didn’t have to think about him for a few minutes. While I did choose a strategic place to tie him – far enough away from the chute that he wouldn’t interfere with what was going on there just by his presence and close to a gate where they might want to escape, I wasn’t thinking about anything more than convenience.
On Monday, we ran the sheep through the chute. It seemed more relaxed and orderly but I wasn’t really thinking about it.
And then today, we gathered the 35 sheep and lambs in the barnyard. Poe pushed them to the chute. I asked him to “lie down” in a spot that was about where I had tied him up on Saturday. It is far enough away that they are not feeling like he is breathing down their necks but still keeps them thinking the chute is a better option than others.
The sheep marched through the chute in record time. They didn’t bunch at the mouth as they are prone to do when the dog is pushing too hard from behind. I wasn’t chanting “lie down, lie down.” I was totally focused on which sheep were going into which pen. When they had all glided through the chute, I turned to find Poe, still glued to the spot where I had put him. Ready to move at a moment’s notice but still down. And I hadn’t said one word to him since I asked for the lie down. It was probably a first for us in the barnyard – a continuous lie down until the job was done without a single “reminder.” I am pretty sure that there might have been a few steps in one direction or another to make sure the sheep stayed in line for the chute. But if there were, he did it and then resumed his relaxed (for him) posture.
I inadvertently taught Poe a very important lesson when I tied him up the other day. I tied him because I knew I could not control him and focus on weighing the lambs at the same time. But what he learned was that he could just lie there where I had asked and that we could still get the job done. He learned self-control, instead of relying on me to control him.
People often discount the notion of management. “Well the dog doesn’t learn how to deal with stuff then. You are just avoiding the issue. He needs to learn how to do it and manage his frustration.” But for Poe, taking away the opportunity to “make a mistake” gave him the opportunity to observe that perhaps there was another way of handling things.
To me this is a brilliant example of how management can change everything. I only wish I could say it was *my* brilliant idea. I will just have to settle for the fact that sometimes I can be a good trainer in spite of myself.