Training Kelpies - Some Thoughts

I joined a kelpie discussion list a few months back - which has been a largely disappointing experience I might add. The description of the group had the words 'training discussions' which I thought would be interesting, but have since discovered that the only type of 'training' that the moderators of the list deem to be acceptable is anything related to working livestock and if you dare mention the word 'agility' you are told in no uncertain terms that this list is for training - get thee to another list! The big implication being that working kelpies should be doing just that - working with livestock and nothing else, agility is the devil's playground.

No matter, but I find this a very narrow attitude for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, I believe that any information shared about kelpies, whether relating to genetics, instinct, breeding lines, and even training for agility competition, promotes a better understanding of the breed in general - which is so important for working through training issues, not to mention living with them.

Secondly, understanding how kelpies work stock also gives some great insight into training by working with their natural drives for those of us who do other activities with our kelpies - which is the main reason why I am still a member of the list, albeit a lurker rather than a poster.

And every now and then , someone posts something a little more though provoking than usual which makes it worthwhile - after saving the following quote in my computer with the intention of giving full credit to its author- I have just realised that I forgot to copy the name of the original poster. Anyway, this post struck such a chord with me that I am going to quote it with apologies to the author and the assumption that you don't mind as it was contributed to a public forum to begin with.

'One of the things that I have noticed about Kelpies in general, is that they have a lot going on mentally. They are tuff yet can be extremely sensitive, they are intelligent and they are always thinking. A lot of this goes back to the fact that they were bred to cover thousands of acres and large flocks of sheep or large herds of cattle. They were bred to be intelligent enough to figure out how to get the job done even when no one is around. This can be both good and frustrating for us on small farms and trials because they like to think that they don't need us meddling in their business. But I have noticed that you can easily hurt their feelings if you are not careful. You just have to learn how to work these qualities to the best of our abilities. If something is not working take the time to think about it and figure out what it is you want and how to succeed at it. But when you do, the look on your Kelpie's face when the light goes on is unmistakable. Just don't forget to make a fuss over his/her success. Let them know they got it right and then quit on that for the time being. All 3 of mine thrive on attention and live to get that 'Good Dog!'

I don't think the author works dogs in agility, but if she/he did, I have no doubt that they would be successful as they seem to have a pretty good handle on the kelpie temperament - as it relates to my experience so far- and dog training in general.

The 'tough but sensitive' contradiction is hard for a lot of people to understand but for me it is a pretty accurate description.

They are bred to be tough in relation to the work they carry out and the conditions that they often work in - after all, no one wants a working dog that can't cut it and a good kelpie can do the work of many men on a big property, so I am told. I also have to admit that the first few times I saw Atilla work sheep I was dumbstruck at how hard he went in when it was necessary. Here was my 'soft' little kelpie pushing himself between the fence and the sheep to move them off with no hesitation and using a fair bit of force, but the same dog worked in an entirely different manner when put on ducks.

This has always been the one big difference that stood out for me compared to working my ACD on sheep. Again, I only make the observation from my own experience, but the ACD uses the same degree of force on sheep from start to finish whereas with the kelpies it is almost like watching a choreographed perfomance - go in hard, ease off, go in hard, ease off. They seem to have more of an innate understanding of when to use force, rather than just using it for the whole time because they can.

I have seen a lot of people ruin good kelpies,when training them for agility in particular, because they hone in on this 'tough' quality but ignore the 'sensitive' one. Kelpies are very good at trying you out (right from the moment you first bring them home) and a lot of people respond to this with the 'me human- you dog' mentality and resort to physical punishment and the like to exert their 'dominance'. Kelpies do not respond well to any sort of harsh treatment - not that I've ever been harsh with mine, but have witnessed plenty with others. They are ideal candidates for positive training techniques (mine are both clicker trained) and you just have to be patient, consistent and occasionally outsmart them to get the pecking order clearly defined. (Not that it's all that easy to outsmart them of course)
And they are always thinking - anticipating what you want next, which can be a double edged sword on an agility course. Running my old BC cross or ACD in agility used to have a little room for slight handler error - not so running kelpies. I find that my position or body signal only needs to be a tiny bit out and there's an off course or a run by. Which is only fair and spurs me on to be a better handler.

I really like Suzanne Clothier's description of 'relationship based training' (if you haven't read 'Bones Would Rain From the Sky do yourself a favour and get a copy) as this is what I think agility training is all about. If you take the time to develop a relationship with your kelpie - based on mutual respect rather than dominance and force- then you will get much better results.

The other part of the quote that I really like refers to using those kelpie qualities to the best of your ability. I agree with Susan Garrett - dog trainer extraordinaire! that you need to 'train the dog you want' - but to get there I believe you also need to work with what you've got, rather than 'fight' your dog every step of the way. And if something's not working, think outside the square to change the picture for your dog in order to set them up for success. So I am thinking of the end product that I want and then backchaining to work out the steps I will need to train to get there in a way that 'sits right' with both me and the kelpies and enhances rather than damages our relationship.

And yeah, that look of the light going on is priceless - Atilla has had quite a few lightbulb moments over the past 12 months.

So these comments may be way off base to some kelpie owners and breeders - after all I am still pretty much a novice kelpie owner even though I did grow up with them as a child. But these observations totally fit with my experience so far. Looking forward to learning more about them as our training journey progresses.