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Comments:  Mindy- Novice (greener than grass)

After listening to Carol Delsmon talk about the PT, HT, and even the instinct testing I realized that the key element that every herding dog should be good at is the "stay!" It seems like you get into trouble all thru your dogs herding career if they can't stay put until you release them .

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During the PT competition at some point the dog has to "stop".  Although I skipped the HT/PT I've watched it at a number of events.  What I think I was seeing was the handler trying to stop both the stock and the dog (perform a hold).  When I asked about this at the seminar I was told that only the "dog" has to stop, not necessarily the stock.  In other words it is not a "hold".  That being said, it didn't appear that it was being judged that way.  I saw dogs stop numerous times on the PT course, but, the judge would tell them they needed to perform a stop later.  Hmmmmm...  comments from a judge might be helpful here.

Also... my epiphany.... For handlers that are not ready to move on to the next level of competition and for dogs that have successfully completed their herding titles and need something to do:  "Exhibition Only" (when available) could be used as a place for a novice handler to run a more experienced (already titled) dog.

I also learned that these seminars are not just for judges.  It was very informative.

Sheri

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I've never even done herding, but one of the things I picked up is that in Herding Started the dog needs to be the one moving the sheep, not the handler. And just from observation, a little bit of reading, AND listening to Carol, Mindy is right on about the stay. And that starts even before you go through the gate!

Aylo

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I really enjoyed it !!!!

I honestly thought that I wouldn't learn anything

(being a judge's seminar ) ... but I went to support

the club. Boy was I wrong !!!!! I learned so much

and had a great time doing it.

Carol is a FABULOUS speaker !!! She was even able to

keep Linda's attention ( most of the time ) !!! LOL

Thanks to Carol for such a fantastic presentation,...

I just wish I had Carol's boss's email so that I could

forward this to him/her.

Dave

Carol Delsman

pictured with two of the judges at the seminar

Carol D. put on a great seminar. I haven't spoken to anyone who didn't learn something and enjoy the presentation.

She has changed the format for the seminar and I really like it....

Linda H

The AKC Herding Seminar was this past weekend and I hope that everyone who attended learned a lot. Carol Delsman is an excellent speaker and covered an extreme amount of information in a short time, even if the seminar did run until close to 7pm....

Terri W

Below is some fun discussion that followed the day after the seminar, folks were still trying to absorb all the information !

Great discussion, I really enjoy reading everyones input, here's mine.

Yes a down/stop is imperative, getting it is a conundrum for most

novices. In herding down is not always down it is a stop. The dog

can sit or stand as long as he stops. Many times the dogs are

reluctant to down because they perceive the stock getting

away,because novices often stop them in the wrong place, they prefer

to stay on their feet. Dogs that do not have alot of presence need

to stay on their feet to maintain power w/ the stock although they

do need to stop. Many dogs only have speed as a power to move

livestock and when that is taken away they have a great deal of

trouble lifting stock that don't move immediately

The stop/down needs to be developed so that the umpf is not taken out

of the dog while getting it. Many times it is lack of dominance by

the owner and not the lack of a command that is the issue. Loose

eyed dogs often do not have enough intensity to take a tremendous

amount of correction for downs or stops.

Dogs that are very hot are often reluctant to down, I think because

they need to expand their ribcages panting.

Herding dogs learn patterns and chores quickly. Let the dog work and

learn about livestock and the patterns need to be successful, the

handler needs to be quiet, enforce the command needed, use body

language to enforce[not double commands], it is the universal

language for sheep,dogs and people. Linda

Hope you enjoyed some of the comments from the seminar.

We are all here to learn more about herding and trialing

and we hope to see you at the next event!

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       Joyce and Mike Aston receiving a hand made stepping stone

as an award for their outstanding service to 4 Corners Herding Association