Hi Margaret, Great questions and we do teach them very differently. The easiest way to explain is… when bending or redirecting, you are changing the trajectory of the path for the outrun for the sheep. This is very different than, looking back for a different/separate group of sheep, and asking for a new outrun….we adjust our training to make the distinction clear to our dogs. The first thing that would be helpful is for us to make a video on redirecting and that is on the list 🙂 Hopefully we’ll get that out this winter. As it relates to your post, what I can say is you’ll want to stop your dog sooner, such that you’ll be asking him to go wider, rather than having him turn back (hope that makes sense) . Please stay tuned for the new video and here’s an example of what I mean by stopping your dog sooner to go wider v turning back. Here I give the bend to Jim at roughly 9:00 on a clock face and he immediately gives a 90 degree bend, going wider on his original path, https://macraeway.com/academy/sheepdog-training/bending-a-dog-outrun/
.
I would encourage you not extend your young dog too quickly and also be sure the way you’re developing the outrun is intuitive to her. Have a look at, https://macraeway.com/academy/sheepdog-training/developing-the-outrun/ If she needs to be wider, also have a look at ,https://macraeway.com/cone-exercise-for-widening-the-outrun/
Hope that helps! Please let me know if I misunderstood your question.
