The 5 P’s of sheepdog trials…

There are the 5 P’s of marketing: “product, price, promotion, place and people”.
The 5 P’s of success: “Proper planning prevents poor performance”.
And we have, the 5 P’s of sheepdog trials: “Poor preparation proceeds poor performance”. Here’s why it is so important…

Intellectually, the phrase isn’t a surprise and we all understand the concept that if we don’t prepare, we should not expect to do well at the trials and should not be disappointed if we do. However, it is not just about us and our disappointment, it is about our partnership with our dog and how a poor performance may impact him or her.

Dogs that are very straight forward, very confident and those with plenty of mental fortitude can go to a trial unprepared, and simply have it roll off of their back. But many times handlers don’t prepare their dogs and the experience can be detrimental, especially if they put their dog in over his or her head. This is true at every level, such as when a handler moves their dog to the next class too quickly, asks them to drive too far, too, soon, works sheep that are too challenging, attempts too much precision, asks for an aspect they have taught properly, doesn’t prepare for degree of difficulty, etc.

For example, we see so many dogs get through to double lifts that have no idea how to turnback, especially if the 2nd lot of sheep are out of sight. Sometimes these dogs run in circles, get frantic or are unwilling to leave the first group. The handler may then give multiple lie downs, look backs, or worse, yell at their dog. You can see the dog getting increasingly stressed, upset and often hot, because they weren’t prepared for this moment. It’s not the dogs fault they weren’t prepared yet, they are made to feel bad. The dog will often associate this negative experience with the turnback going forward, regarding it with dread. While this example pertains to the turnback, we’ve seen similar at the shed, around the course and with novice handlers in every aspect if their dog isn’t ready. 

One of the things that defines the MacRae Way method is setting our dogs up for success, at every level of training. In our Premium Content on The Academy and Courses you’ll see this in every aspect of training, from starting our young dogs to the most complex facets.

Elevating your dogs confidence is instrumental in helping your dog become the best sheepdog he or she can be. Ensuring your dog succeeds at every level is a fundamental piece to elevating their self assurance. This includes having suitable sheep, the proper training area, appropriate expectations and of course, a proven, positive training methodology. It is especially important when introducing a new training concept to your dog (such as laying the foundation, starting the outrun, introducing the drive, shed, turnabck, etc.).

You and your dog are a team and its important that you prepare, not just for competitive accomplishment but also for your dogs confidence, trust in you, development and overall success. 

The Video below is an excerpt of Alasdair working Dot to prepare her for her 1st trial.  Taking the “5 P’s” adage to heart, he works Dot to specifically, properly prepare her.  She is a very nice, 2 year old female with a bit of eye, so he considers this and makes adjustments to ensure practice sets her up to win, including:

1. Works her on 6 sheep, to keep her freer (The eye in a dog is exacerbated, the fewer number of sheep you work so he purposely doesn’t work her on 3 sheep in practice).
2. Uses “good training sheep” -nothing challenging, too heavy or too wild.
3. Works on releasing her flanks and keeping her moving freely so she doesn’t “eye” up. For example, he purposely does not put her in defensive situations, such as sheep trying to break or sheep looking at her.
4. Keeps her pace fluid, doesn’t stop her too often (again, in consideration of her eye).
5. She’s just learning to shed, so he keeps them easy, asking her only  on the tails  (not the heads of the sheep) and with an obvious gap, setting her up to win.

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