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You’ve taken your dog to a herding instinct test and have thought that you
would like to try large flock herding—tending. If only you and your dog lived
on a farm with a lot of sheep…
Your dream may have come true. How does a week on a 67 acre farm with 150
(plus) sheep near the Poconos sound? Tending Camps are designed primarily for
the novice and intermediate herding handler and dog with herding instinct who
want to plunge head first into tending. Although we cannot guarantee that you
will have a trial-ready dog by Friday, you will see noticeable improvement in
calmer attitude and increased skills in your dog and yourself by the end of
your stay.
Tending Boot Camp is a good introduction to tending for the dog who has no self
control when in the presence of large numbers of livestock. This camp focuses
on desensitizing the dog to livestock so that the dog can listen to commands,
behave appropriately around livestock, and be responsive to you the handler
despite extremely arousing circumstances. Beginning steps of tending training
exercises are performed on and off livestock to establish basic, willing
obedience and independent thought in the dog. Training exercises are suggested
that can be practiced at home, too. The beginnings of tending training theory
and training exercises are demonstrated and discussed.
Positive reinforcement is emphasized in all training.
Tending Camp for Tenderfeet is a camp for more advanced dogs and handlers and
gives ample opportunity to practice your budding tending skills with your dog.
This camp is designed for the herding student who has attended Tending Boot
Camp or has the equivalent knowledge and skills already developed. More
advanced training and finesse moves around livestock will be practiced.
Trialing strategies will be discussed and demonstrated.
We suggest that you break up your training day into short segments followed by
dog naps. During your dog’s down time, you will remain busy as you watch and
learn from others, and listen to lectures and watch video about herding,
training, and trialing in the U.S. and Germany . If herding and dog training
are two of your favorite subjects, you’ve signed up for the right vacation!
Your dog should be in good, hard, physical condition for Tending Camp before he
arrives. This is something you can do at home. Your dog’s stamina should be
gradually increased by being exercised on a regular basis (starting at least
one month before camp) so that he can easily sustain a trot daily for a minimum
of a half hour period. Practicing this training regime should help your dog
concentrate both mentally and physically and will reduce the potential for
annoying muscle pulls and pad injuries that otherwise might occur. Of course,
it helps to be in reasonable shape yourself!
We recommend that you bring a dog that has been herding tested and seems to
have the instincts necessary for tending training for either camp.
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Tending Camp
Camp Dates 2008 |
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Register Here
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Session I. Jun 2 - Jun 6. Mon - Fri. 5-day session, 9am-5pm.
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Session II. Aug 18 - Aug 22. Mon - Fri. 5-day session, 9am-5pm.
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A la carte registration available within each session.
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COST: $750 PER OWNER, $500 per additional dog for herding
training. No charge for companion animals. If you are advanced tender with 2
dogs, or have 1 dog already fully trained, we charge on the basis of 1 dog.
LIMITED TO: 6 Dogs in Training Sessions
DOGS: ALL BREEDS, AGES 8 MONTHS & UP. Although not
all dogs of a specific breed are suitable for tending training, the dog breeds
that are usually used for German-style tending include German Shepherd Dogs,
Belgians, Dutch Shepherds, and Briards. You can also bring other breeds of dogs
to see if they can learn to tend. All dogs must be healthy, up-to-date on
vaccinations and not been in contact with any dog with communicable diseases
within the previous 30 days.
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