Notes from the Scott Glenn Clinic

A couple of weeks ago I took a leap and signed up for Scott Glen's all levels clinic held at Fido's Farm. 

I had a wonderful time.  Working in front of people in a clinic situation has been difficult for me in the past, but I felt confident and ready to learn. 

I had been worrying about the problems that have manifested on the fetch and trying to fix it.  The solution I had been applying was not working, in fact it was making it worse.  The fetch had fallen apart (going to the heads) the drive was a disaster (no confidence, getting stuck then barreling into the sheep, going to heads) etc. 

Scott spotted my timing issue and we spent the weekend trying things from his perspective.  It was bloody brilliant!  At one point I think I even smacked Scott on the arm and said "WOW, did you SEE THAT?"  Then started hopping up and down. 

Below are the notes from the clinic (more for me than anyone else).

• If you don't want to go backward, you will never go forward
• Two types of people, those who have made mistakes and those that havent yet. 
• Take the sheep away from the dog to increase her interest in working them. 
• Keep her out of the fight/flight zone - it will make her 'come-up' a little stronger
• If she doesn't stop at the greatest distance from the sheep and enters the flight/fight zone she won't get stronger.  Stop her first, so the sheep don't.  
• Frustration with her failure to stop separates the team. The conflict divides the team. 
• Do not let Brynn in the circle, she needs to stop, not take 10 more steps
• If you do not think she will stop, or are unable to enforce the stop (distance) don't blow the stop, give her a steady whistle (pick your battles). 
• Make her want the sheep, dont let her take them when she isn't thinking. 
• Stop means STOP - then wait a couple of beats and walk her up.  If she looks like she is liking it (especially when you are walking with her) shut up and let her go... keep her out of the fight/flight zone, so the sheep do not stop her.  
• If she is entering the f/f bubble and the sheep are stopping her she is not building confidence - the opposite happens. 
• NO CHEATING STOPS
• If they flank out, you need to be able to get them to come back in. 
• If you want something other than come-up...ask.  
• You want them to think about coming up, it is easier to say "lie down' than 'come up'.  
• Reinforce 'lie down' at the pen to keep the down, rather than urging a up - you want the dog to know it can make the next move, rather than ask for permission. 
• When they get far away, reach out and touch them with a whistle (there, steady) for comfort.
• When Brynn is going, let her go, blow ONLY steady's, not downs.  Let her motor, gain confidence & power. 
• Brynn needs to be comfortable looking at butts, not heads, walk with her, use steady whistle, do not let her go to the heads. Lots of miles ahead.
• Let her come out of the walk-up strong, don't get after her for getting up. 
• Get after her for the down immediately, because if you wait you are going after her for walking up - which will backfire - because you are actually getting after her for what you want (the come-up).  
• Don't aim for anything while driving, let her go so she can feel and begin to cover and hold lines. 
• Good practice for dog that is going to heads, put sheep through gate and then stop the dog when they bolt and run.  Repeat. 
• Never let them unwind a flank.
• Fix it on the fetch it will help the drive.
• Being to close increases anxiety, back them off, enable thought.
• If they are going fast it is harder for them to pay attention to how they got there.

Since the clinic I have changed several things, the change in Brynn is remarkable.  I LOVE the steady whistle.

Time & Miles - we are moving forward.  :)

Notes from Scott Glen Lesson

Yesterday I had a lesson with Scott at Fido's Farm with Brynn.  It was awesome.  Brynn loved him.  She worked like a dream. He was able to help me fix some 'patterning' I had created with Brynn on her outrun.  I have taken several lessons & clinics with Scott in the past, it was nice to see him again.  

When I have taken lessons with Scott in the past it has been with Beth.  Beth shuts down on the field with him.  Brynn was another story - she loved him.  She even sat next to his feet, wiggled her butt and gazed at him with adoration. 

Over the past 18 months I made a commitment to choose one trainer and stick with it.  My choice was Dianne Deal.  I made that choice because I did not have a deep enough knowledge base to work from.  I was taking lessons from several excellent trainers who had different techniques.  Because I did not have enough experience I became confused and felt that trainers were contradicting each other - which left me confused & frustrated.


Now that I have some time, miles (and additional pounds) under my belt I am able to take suggestions and different training techniques for what they are, information for me to use and build from - using what works for me, and my dogs, without becoming intimidated or break down in tears because I cannot understand why Scott does things differently than Patrick, or Karen says to do this, when Dianne told me that...and if I do that then it will break my dog and it will be all MY FAULT!  Blah blah blah.  

I talked to Dianne about it and she encouraged me to take a lesson with Scott, so I went for it.  I was glad I did.  

Here are some notes  I took right after my lesson.  Be forewarned, they might not make a whole lot of  sense to anyone but me.  

• When you say the command you need to expect the result - not just suggest it.  For example:  When you say "lie down" EXPECT her to lie down. 

• Being quiet in your command is a good thing - but command shouldn't sound like suggestions.   Don't ask, tell.   If you say something don't suggest it or ask her to lie down.  TELL HER and EXPECT the result.  Anything else is just noise. 

• The relief from pressure is not in the command, it is in doing the right thing. 

• They are dogs, growling means something.  At the end of the day they are still dogs - talk in their language (preferably with Scottish/Canadian accent). 

• You can pattern a bad choice if your handling is consistently wrong. To fix that you have to fix yourself, not the dog.

• Saying her name brings her in to you...her name is not a correction.  On the outrun if you say her name it only works to bring her in to you.  Works against the objective of getting her wider.

• Saying her name does not provide information.   If you are going to say something, provide information that makes sense.   If you want her further away from you, why would you say something that typically makes her want to come to you? 

• Inside flanks should be soft, not harsh.

• With Brynn the outrun goes to hell before 9 or 3.  Send her from my feet, if she is too narrow, lie her down.  Walk up to her, put pressure on her.  She knows what she needs to do. Send her again, if the nose does not bend out, repeat.  ONLY send her from my feet, stop sending her when I am 1/2 way up the field, she is beyond that.  She knows what she needs to do at the top.  If her outrun is correct (wide) she is excellent at the top. 

• MUST PRACTICE LIFTING OFF STRANGE PEOPLE  (strangers, not weird :)

• Shut up and let her think - provide information that makes sense. 

• Anticipate the result of your command - if she is correct leave her alone.

• A correction does not need to be over the top, just timed right.  

• She is an honest dog, she tells you her intentions and listens, but she will run over the top of you if you are not going to back it up. 

• Use stupid sheep to your advantage, make it a training opportunity.

• Flow can't happen if she fights with the sheep, get her off their butts.   Some dogs see 50 sheep as one, others see a flock of 50 as 50 different sheep.  Brynn sees 50 individual sheep, if she is too close she is overwhelmed and can't see the big picture. 

• You need to learn how to shed.

Not many things surprise Scott.  However, squealing while landing on your ass in the mud startles him a wee bit.

Brynn's Lesson with Scott Glen

Due to my camera at the hands of my husband, the pictures from our Scott Glen lessons are not great.  I am trying to go through them and pick out the best.  I will be posting them slowly. 

John shot a very long video of Brynn's lesson with Scott (Scott gave his permission to film it).  John propped the camera on a post and ate sunflower seeds (which you can hear).  The wind was blowing (you can hear that too) and he forgot to zoom in - so the video is at a long distance.  You can hear Scott occasionally...and often hear my nervous laughter.  Mostly you just get to see Brynn zipping around the sheep.

But what warmed the cockles of my heart?  I thought she was awesome and Scott said she was a "right good pup" or something like that.

In my lesson Scott took me back to basics.  How to use the flag correctly.  Flick it, get the reaction, turn her nose...then put it away.  Don't keep snapping it over and over at her & desensitize her to it.  He showed me how & when to walk into her to get the distance I need off the sheep.  He reminded me "she goes where her nose follows".  Where her nose is pointed - she will go in that direction.  Among other things.

These are things I didn't do correctly with Bonnie and now I am paying the consequences.

We talked a lot about my relationship with my dogs.  It is showing in the instruction process.  I am still trying to wrap my brain around it and hopefully I can explain this correctly.  From what I understood Scott believes the relationship you have with your dog is indicative of how they will work for you. 

I can see where he is coming from.  If they get my love, affection and approval (for lack of any other word) just for breathing it could interfere with their drive to work for me.  Which in turn may contribute to the lack of work ethic.  

One thing that really pleased me in this lesson was Brynn's reaction to Scott.  I finally have a dog that doesn't seem to be fazed by an instructor like Scott.  Bonnie has a history of high tailing it out of the field when she feels pressure from an instructor (Pat Shannahan, Karen Child, Scott Glen).  You name it.  Beth doesn't respond to pressure well either.  Especially with Scott - I have a different dog during the lesson than I have in the field by myself.

Scott gave me some excellent things to think about.  Perhaps I am creating this lack of desire to work under pressure?  What is your opinion?  Do you think if your dogs sleep in your house and/or spend the majority of their days with you - are in all respects pampered - do you think that impacts the quality of their work?  Or drive to please you?  I am still trying to process this in my head...I would love to hear your thoughts.

Brynn made me happy...*insert goofy happy grin here*.  She is wonderful.  I love her oodles.   While the video quality is poor, hopefully you can see that she is keen, comes nicely into balance consistently - she is quick, but she is thoughful.  I could see her brain working - thinking, and processing every step she took.  Mind you, I know she is only 10 months old and not ready for serious training yet.  Anything I do with her over he next few months will be light, fun and easy. 



On the other hand....I am not happy about seeing my fat lardy butt hoofing it around the field.  My weight loss effort has stalled - actually it has come to a grinding halt, and even reversed (I have gained some back).  I hit a plateau & have been going through a very stressful period and gave up.  I need to get back on the wagon and try again.  Dang left over Halloween candy isn't helping...

Clinic Pictures & Scott Glen/Maid Video

I finally have the clinic pictures done. I was disappointed in how 99% of them came out. My camera does not have a good distance lense on it so many of them are grainy. Combined with the mist and rain - it reduced the quality even more. Oh well, it is, what it is. I have some favorites

This young dog had a long line on him to 'slow him down' a bit. Can you imagine him without it?

Toward the end of the clinic on Sunday afternoon all the girls were getting a bit punchy. Scott was looking a bit tired too. Every time he stopped he would lean against his stick. I wished I could have gotten a shot of the time he was leaning on it so hard it looked like it was going to snap in two. One of the other woman and I were joking about a possible herding stick accident & what type of injuries it may entail.



Do you suppose Fionn is loved?



I cant tell...I think he is neglected.



Chili was tired of being forced to just watch. He thought 'auditing' a clinic was just plain booooorrrrinnngggggg.

Mom, come on...the sheep are like right there, and I have to just sit here? Wassupwitdat?



Dude, this is like, so not cool....

Hiya, my name is Nan, don't hate me because I am beautiful.




The weather was icky and cold. Poor Beth was watching the action and shaking so hard I was worried teeth were going to rattle out of her head. We borrowed the coat Chris had been wrapping her Kelpie Rosie up in. Beth stopped shaking and was able to watch the sheep now in comfort if not style.



Beth says: "You call this style? I look like a cold border collie wrapped in dirty wind breaker. Must I suffer the indignity of you taking pictures now too? Get a life you wierd old woman."



You can see the rest of the clinic pictures here (the really crappy pictures are at the beginning - they do get a little bit better later)

Link to Fido's Farm Scott Glen Clinic Slideshow

And finally the best for last, a video of Scott working Maid. I asked Scott if I could film him and he said on one condition. If Maid didn't work well I had to delete it. When he was done - I asked him if he wanted me to delete it? He said, no, she did good. So now you can see what we saw - It was poetry for the eyes. Enjoy! (Sorry about the crappy videography. Again blame the cameraman).

Post Clinic Quickie

This weekend was the Scott Glen clinic at Fido's Farm in Olympia. Amazingly the weather wasn't too horrible. The clinic was full of information and lots of laughter. Scott is an excellent instructor.

This is going to be a shorter post than I wanted to write. Typing is difficult right now as I am fighting an infection in my hand and I have had a fever all weekend. I feel yucky.

I was able to download over a 1000 pictures and 8 gigs of video I shot. I need to sort through and edit the good stuff. I should have it done in a few days, doG willing, then I can share it here.

I learned several important things about myself and Beth this weekend. The Beth I work in class or clinics - is not the same dog I work in the field alone. She is a little Miss Jekyll & Hyde. *sigh* She is sweet, timid, demure, lopes slowly on every outrun, constantly looking back for direction. Basically she acts like she is completely whooped when I am with an instructor. It was particularly noticable with Scott. There have even been a few times I have been out there with Chris that Beth will quit working and head for the gate. It appears she is shutting down under any pressure from someone she doesn't know. I am not so sure that's what happening...

After watching her do this through three sessions with Scott and listen to Scott tell me that I need to work on building her confidence - I started to doubt myself. Scott assumed I over corrected her 'mistakes' and wasnt allowing her to build enthusiasm. He said I needed to ignite the spark to get the right attitude and let her have fun. To his credit - he is right, from what he saw of Beth. I can understand exactly why he was saying that & I am no one to second guess his assessment. Given what he observed - Scott rightfully felt that I had been over correcting her and created this shy timid scared dog.

Right before lunch on Sunday while other clinic participants were working their dogs I decided to take her out in the field she was familiar with and let her rip. I didnt correct her, I just let her "ingnite her spark". Suffice it to say I had to pull wool out of her teeth a few times & once ran like h*ll across the field when she slammed sheep up against the fence.

When I am in the field with her alone she is a B-R-A-T...She flies around the field like her arse is on fire, cuts in on almost every flank, hits the sheep like a wrecking ball & flosses her teeth. I can get control over her and eventually get some really pretty work but it does take a little bit. I am overwhelmed with controlling her and since I have not gotten any instruction on how to handle her acting like this I am lost most of the time. It is frustrating...

I went to lunch late and brought the tuft of wool to Scott to show him. I explained that Beth has no lack of 'spark' or enthusiasm.

That afternoon Scott had me take Beth out into the field alone while he sat in the tent to observe. Beth showed her true colors - shot across the field like a bullet, cut the top off her flank and scattered the sheep like a cluster bomb & grabbed ahold of one for a little ride. Scott said "That is the attitude I was talking about". Then Scott showed me some drills and exercises I can do to help her. He also told me trying to trial Beth would be a complete disaster. Good thing I didnt intend on trialing her....ever. I am very discouraged.

I am going back to basics with Beth until I get a grip on how to handle the schizophrenic firecracker. We cannot progress until I solve the flanking issue. I think Beth isn't the one who needs to build confidence. It is ME. I need to feel good about what I am doing and what I expect from her. My confidence will build her confidence and then we can get past this passive/agressive attitude of hers and progress.

We are going back to Fido's tomorrow to watch shearing and get some more practice in. I am also going to start seriously training Bonnie this week. My goal is to work the dogs every day for the next seven days - so I can build on the things I learned in the clinic.

While talking to fellow clinic participant (another novice like me) I learned of clinic in Caldwell Idaho organized by Diane Deal with Patrick Shannahan aimed at novice handlers and young dogs/puppies. I called today and signed Bonnie and myself up. It is May 3rd & 4Th.

Next month is the clinic with Karen Child that I have been anxiously waiting for.

Is it possible to attend too many clinics? Sometimes I think all the knowledge is good - but then I wonder if it isn't confusing me on some level? I would love to hear from you if you have taken many different clinics from different instructors. Was it helpful or detrimental?

Year of the Dog

Thus begins a new year. A time of renewal, a catalyst for change. Last year was a turning point for me. 2008 was my “Year of the Dog”.

This New Year is an opportunity to not only liberate my future, but reflect on the past, learn from it and leave it there. I have allowed the past to dictate my potential for too long. Perhaps it is the grey hair I have seen multiply over the past year, or the fact that I am more than half way through life's journey, but common sense seems to be prevailing. The sense of urgency I used to feel in my life has segued into a nice steady putter with which I am finding comfort.

The constant on this tumultuous journey through the years has been a dog. Their devotion left me humbled and amazed. The days I didn’t think I could make it through – there they were wagging away. Their tenderness and simplicity reminding me that life really isn’t complicated. A dog doesn’t wag their tail with an agenda, malevolence or ill will. They wag with a gracious heart. A lesson I need to remember, trust I need to extend to others - some days I need to lose the bark and just wag my tail.

With a dog comes a generosity of spirit that enriches each of our lives. Each of our dogs makes me smile, shows incomparable affection and acceptance. I can't imagine our life without them. With our dogs I have begun to feel whole for the first time in my life. They allow me to see myself through their eyes – maybe I am not such a bad person after all.

2008 Year of the Dog

January – Newly adopted Ranger didn’t take long to wag his way into our hearts. (Photo taken by Vivian - Red Dog Photography)

February – Beth joined our family. Her timid shyness taught us to all ratchet the stress level down a few degrees. In turn we watched her blossom into a loving trusting friend. (Photo taken by Vivian - Red Dog Photography)



March – Herding fever struck. The desire to see our dogs ‘fulfill’ their passion was a sign of things and obsessions to come. (I took this photo)


April – I am humbled by my husband's honest affection for every dog he meets. (Photo shot by Vivian - Red Dog Photography with her dog Eliot) I watched my hubby fall in love with another female (Beth) - this one happens to have four legs and sleeps in our bedroom - so I guess it is okay. *wink*



May – Beth injured her leg on a sharp rock at the river, nearly amputating her accessory pad. A couple surgeries later she is finally on the mend. The only activity she got for 6 weeks was obedience and bone chewing.



June – Summer is here! Herding begins again for Beth at Fido's Farm in Olympia, WA



July – A vacation at Long Beach, WA! Ahhh we love the beach!



August – A new puppy! Bonnie graced our family with sheer puppy exuberance!



September – Herding passion becomes obsession



October – A lovely autumn walk at the river



November – Goodbye my dear old friend. Godspeed Katie…



December - Hello to a new direction - giving back by fostering with Border Collie Rescue. A new beginning at the end of a year. With so much going on for the holidays....Sometimes it is nice just to see the simple things, like Dad coming home from work.



My wish is that 2009 brings as many wonderful things to your life as 2008 brought to ours.

Happy New Year!

Herding Clinics - WOOHOO!

HOORAY! Scott Glen is coming back to Fido's Farm March. The All Breed All Levels Clinic is March 21-22. Private lessons are available the week prior.

Shhhhh....Don't tell my husband, but I enrolled him & Beth for two private sessions with Scott and the entire weekend for the clinic. (John, if you are reading this...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!)

I am going to audit the clinic again and I am going to have a private session with Bonnie! WOOHOOO! She will be ready to start seriously training by then. (If it all goes as planned - I will be able to walk backward with out falling over by then too).

Then April 11-12 is a Karen Child Handling Clinic, "Tips & Tactics for Success on the ISDS Trial Course". By popular request Karen Child is once again offering her handling and rules clinic for novice, pro-novice and open handlers. I enrolled us both in this clinic.

"During this clinic you will run the ISDS course with Karen Child at your side. Through discussions, demonstrations and hands-on working sessions you will hone your handling skills, learn trial guidelines, gain knowledge of how to work around a tricky situation and find out how to get the most from your team during trial runs. As the clinic finale you will run a trial course while Karen scores your run.

That gives me until March to save the money to pay for it all! I have a new "Herding Fund Accumulation Strategy". Every time I go to to the grocery store, Costco or anywhere that allows me to get money back when I use my debit card - I am going to take $20.00 or $40.00 and hide it (hopefully I won't forget where I hid it this time). I figure by then I can pay for this without having to fore go paying for any of the kids braces, food, shoes or coats. (I know... my priorities are wee bit misaligned eh?)

My favorite picture of John & Beth


We are so blessed to have two incredible instructors available to us.

I love Fido's Farm....When I die I want my ashes spread in a sheep pen.

Fido's Farm - My Nirvana