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The Training Ring (Parts 1 & 2)

A simple training ring of the correct size, will make training your dog a lot easier

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Thumbnail image for the sheep and cattle dog training tutorial: The Training Ring parts one and two

A two-part tutorial. One of the most useful assets that help us to train a sheepdog is the sheepdog training ring. It’s very much more versatile than you might think. A properly constructed training ring will make the early stages of training your dog so much easier.

Trainee sheepdogs tend to chase the sheep, who (very wisely) run away. Both dog and sheep can run much faster than sheepdog trainers, so this means the ‘action’ is happening too far away for us to keep the situation under control.

Thumbnail image for the sheep and cattle dog training tutorial part two

A correctly sized training ring is simple to make, and will transform the early stages of sheepdog training. It can also be an extremely useful aid when it comes to teaching the dog more difficult tasks later on. In these videos, we find out what the optimum size is for the ring, and how to adapt it for more advanced training.

Andy

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6 responses to “The Training Ring (Parts 1 & 2)”

  1. Matt Kyhnn avatar
    Matt Kyhnn

    I just signed up yesterday and am finding these videos very helpful and inspiring. I cannot wait to get Jack out and in a ring with a few sheep. He’s 10 months and has already proven to be very helpful on the farm, he can’t gather the sheep for me but he will lay down and serve as another man in the field so I can get them to go where I want. I’ve never trained a dog, but the neighbors seem to think he shows great potential!

    Regarding the training ring, how flexible is the 16 metre diameter ring you suggest? I am trying to limit the amount I have to invest in hurdles, knowing Jack’s training time in the ring will be relatively quick. We have an area in the yard that is flanked on three sides by buildings / stone wall, leaving me only one area to close up with hurdles. However, it would end up being more of an oval than a circle, and only 12 metres wide. Will this suffice and what would you suggest for the longer diameter of the oval? No shortage of space there so could go as wide as needed.

    Thanks again for your brilliantly done videos.

    Reply
    1. Andy avatar
      Andy

      Thank you for the feedback Matt, it’s great to know you find the tutorials useful.

      Have you watched “The Training Ring Tutorials“?
      If you have, I suggest you watch again. You’ll see that I make our training ring into an oval shape, and you’ll also see that Dulcie (who like Jack, is pretty controllable) copes quite well with the very narrow “pen” that I make at one end of the ring. That part is only a few paces wide.

      It’s all about the dog’s confidence. If you demonstrate to the dog that it’s in very little danger when it’s in a confined space with the sheep, then the dog will learn to cope with it. If the dog’s nervous, walk round the sheep with the dog by your legs (even on a lead if it refuses to go in any other way). Introduce the problem gently and patiently, and the dog will cope very well.

      Reply
  2. Robert Stillwell avatar
    Robert Stillwell

    I can’t get keeps stopping and loadings

    Reply
    1. Andy avatar
      Andy

      Gill has already replied to your email, Robert.
      Basically, if the videos play at all, everything at our end is working. It’s down to your internet connection or your device.
      Have you tried using the “Not playing well? Click here” link (above every tutorial).
      Please let us know whether that works better for you.

      Reply
  3. RICHARD FELDMAN avatar
    RICHARD FELDMAN

    Do you have a set of DVD that cover everything?

    Regards,

    Richard Feldman
    allamericantowing1@yahoo.com

    Reply
    1. Andy avatar
      Andy

      Many of the tutorials are in our three Tutorial DVD sets, Richard. There are around fifteen that are not though, because we’re working on a new DVD set which will have a full set of tutorials which will be in sequence rather than random as they are now.
      Hopefully the new DVD set(s) will be released in the early spring of 2019.

      Reply

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