Does Your Dog Have Eye? by Janie Nafsinger
Whether herding was done a hundred years ago or last week, it is not about chasing or harassing the livestock, but teaching the livestock behavior rules so that they, as in a hundred years ago, make it unscathed to market or through a herding course. These rules are to promote movement via pressure from the dog, blocking by the dog or an assertion of authority by the dog. How these are accomplished have a lot to do with dog body language and eye. Understanding what it looks like when a dog exerts power and eye is an essential in the partnership of a herding team and important in developing the dog’s skills, without discouraging innate instinct. If a dog does not have the power to enforce the rules on the livestock, they will ignore him and make up their own rules. A dog without power is very limited in what can be accomplished in herding.
When it comes herding and communicating with your dog, understanding dog body language, is all about posture. How your dog holds himself is directly related to how he's feeling about the world around him and how he is going to get the job done. If he is feeling confident, it is projected with an erect stance, tail up (not gay), ears alert and a direct gaze. (photo watching & direct gaze) A sign of fear or concern would be a lower stance, ears back (photo worried & concern) with tail down or tucked, looking way or turning their head (Photo take off pressure). Another tactic in exerting authority is to bark. This breaks the tension in the dog and allows him to show concern and his efforts to get the job done. (Photo barking)
Besides body posture, eye is the other power tool the herding dog has in their bag of tricks. This is the intensity in which the dog watches the stock. When thinking about a collie, one does not usually think of them as an eye breed, but rather they are termed as an upright breed, meaning they are standing upright most of the time they work. By contrast, Border collies are described as an eye breed because, good ones, have a strong eye and use that locked-on intensity to control the stock, in a type of predator mode. In addition to the eye, their body stance is usually crouched if not on the ground. The collie is completely opposite in that they look, but do not bore holes with their gaze at the stock with intensity.
Herding collies have eye and good ones have more than one type of eye. Termed a loose-eyed, upright breed, a collie works standing up and makes eye contact with stock, but not on a continual basis. In this way control is kept with presence rather than pressure. In terms of precision work, such as working closely with stock, the eye is usually more intense as they concentrate on their work. (photo confident 1 & 2). The collie’s stance may be a little lower than a level, but never on the ground, crouching or creeping on all fours.
Then there is the roving or watchful eye. Collies are shepards, continually surveying, looking for stock that might be thinking of breaking away. (Photo break away)
The next level of eye is when the dog delibertly looks away from the stock to reduce the pressure. The dog, watching out the corner of his eye, is not off-contact but, looks away, allowing the stock relax. Some dogs use diversinary tactics like fraining disinterest by sniffing the ground. (Photo sniffing) This tactic is effective in defusing a pressure point and allowing the stock to collect itself and be more bidable to pressure, rather than having it feel trapped or cornered.
With an understanding in power and eye, an effective training program can be established, promoting inbred instincts toward a winning team.
When it comes herding and communicating with your dog, understanding dog body language, is all about posture. How your dog holds himself is directly related to how he's feeling about the world around him and how he is going to get the job done. If he is feeling confident, it is projected with an erect stance, tail up (not gay), ears alert and a direct gaze. (photo watching & direct gaze) A sign of fear or concern would be a lower stance, ears back (photo worried & concern) with tail down or tucked, looking way or turning their head (Photo take off pressure). Another tactic in exerting authority is to bark. This breaks the tension in the dog and allows him to show concern and his efforts to get the job done. (Photo barking)
Besides body posture, eye is the other power tool the herding dog has in their bag of tricks. This is the intensity in which the dog watches the stock. When thinking about a collie, one does not usually think of them as an eye breed, but rather they are termed as an upright breed, meaning they are standing upright most of the time they work. By contrast, Border collies are described as an eye breed because, good ones, have a strong eye and use that locked-on intensity to control the stock, in a type of predator mode. In addition to the eye, their body stance is usually crouched if not on the ground. The collie is completely opposite in that they look, but do not bore holes with their gaze at the stock with intensity.
Herding collies have eye and good ones have more than one type of eye. Termed a loose-eyed, upright breed, a collie works standing up and makes eye contact with stock, but not on a continual basis. In this way control is kept with presence rather than pressure. In terms of precision work, such as working closely with stock, the eye is usually more intense as they concentrate on their work. (photo confident 1 & 2). The collie’s stance may be a little lower than a level, but never on the ground, crouching or creeping on all fours.
Then there is the roving or watchful eye. Collies are shepards, continually surveying, looking for stock that might be thinking of breaking away. (Photo break away)
The next level of eye is when the dog delibertly looks away from the stock to reduce the pressure. The dog, watching out the corner of his eye, is not off-contact but, looks away, allowing the stock relax. Some dogs use diversinary tactics like fraining disinterest by sniffing the ground. (Photo sniffing) This tactic is effective in defusing a pressure point and allowing the stock to collect itself and be more bidable to pressure, rather than having it feel trapped or cornered.
With an understanding in power and eye, an effective training program can be established, promoting inbred instincts toward a winning team.
