Black and Tan English Shepherds
Old-fashioned Black and Tan English Shepherd Association
This category covers all aspects of farm dog training and behavior modification. It encompasses various training methods, techniques, and tools, as well as addressing common behavior issues and understanding canine psychology.
The price of hay has really gone up. My local Farmer’s COOP says it’s going to stay that way as long as fertilizer is so expensive. Normally, I’d feed my goats hay through the winter, but it was always a thorn in my side because I have plenty of good grassland that isn’t fenced-in. My … Read more
Since at least as early as the nineteenth century, hunters in Appalachia, the Ohio River Valley, and the South were using Old-fashioned black and tan English shepherds to tree small game, bay larger game, track wounded game, and catch wild boar hogs. As life in America has urbanized and some would say become emasculated, our … Read more
The puppies played on bread racks during today’s unusual surface exercise. Click an image to zoom.
As part of my puppy enrichment process, the litter is safely exposed to uneven and unusual surfaces. Today, these 28-day-olds were introduced to the teeter board. This piece of equipment is part of a set sold by M.A.D. Agility. In a few days, we’ll begin to use this board for marker training. Click an image … Read more
Vixen’s Old-fashioned Black and Tan English Shepherd puppies began to spend daytime hours outside yesterday. That was a big step, so we didn’t throw much more than that at them. Today, when we went back outside, we started exposing them to the rural sounds of the farm. At first, these sounds are introduced from a … Read more
Liberty is my 10.5 month old English Shepherd male. In this video clip, he helps me put the goats back after they’ve spent the early morning ruminating on orchard grass. Liberty has self-control, a strong presence but a soft touch when working my livestock. When he’s not working stock, Liberty enjoys ball fetch, disc catch, … Read more
In the practice of Protocol-based Dog Care, dog activities get organized into repeatable processes. From each process, re-usable protocols get identified to meet an individual dog or a group of dogs specific requirements. Single Dog Protocols Single Dog Protocols include activities such as: Meals Exercise Medication Training Work Weigh-In Vet Visit Other Activities Group Protocols … Read more
If I had to use one word to describe Liberty[1]Biographical and Husbandry Details for Natchez Trace Liberty these past few weeks, it would have to be “acceleration”. If you had asked me in mid-May who my number one goat dog was, I would have said Sugar[2]Biographical and Husbandry Details for Natchez Trace Famous Shoes. And … Read more
Liberty started training on the ramp at about 7 weeks old. We started with the ramp flat on the ground. We raised the angle up slowly. We got used to the sound of the diesel engine. During the whole process, we used marker training to reinforce behavior. Now at about 11 weeks, he enters and … Read more
Through the course of our puppy enrichment program, we used Mad Agility’s puppy agility equipment, including the puppy barrel (mini tunnel). Here’s Willie (Josie x Rusty Fall 2020) confidently shooting a full size tunnel like a pro. Willie’s mom tells me there was no practice at all. He just knocked it out. Willie is in … Read more
Focus and attention are core precepts of my manageable companion dog philosophy. That’s why I’m obsessed with manding. Once your dog or pup has manding down to a science, you’re probably getting asked for a lot of treats. That’s great. But according to Purina Senior Nutritionist Jan Dempsey, 90 percent of daily calories should come … Read more
I don’t believe in a visible treat pouch. With some dogs, I’ve seen the pouch become a distraction. For awhile I tried hanging the pouch from my belt on the back of my pants, but I found that location to be inaccessible. So instead, I carry treats in a sandwich bag in my pocket. I’ll … Read more
When stone cold Hawkeye was a pup, he was hard to convince. We had problems with focus and distraction. Hawkeye forced me to raise my game and learn training techniques to overcome the issue. Since then, I’ve proofed these techniques on several dogs and found them to be effective at forming a well-focused, less distractable … Read more
