HANDLING TIPS FOR AKC A COURSE HERDING INTERMEDIATE CLASS

As run under the 1995 Rulebook. But a lot of the tips still apply to the 2000 rules.

by Dorothy DeLisle

A lot of people have complained that Intermediate A course is more difficult than Advanced A course. Consequentially, there have been a lot of recommendations that one just skip the level and go straight on to Advanced. True, Intermediate A has a much higher fail rate than either Started or Advanced A. But I believe that this is more because this is a weed out level rather than it being excessively more difficult than the other courses.

Many more dogs are natural fetchers than natural drivers. Only the more talented non-natural drivers will be able to learn driving to the point where they can adapt their instincts to where they can use independent thought to work the sheep in drive mode. The less talented ones won't be able to adapt and will forever have to rely heavily on their handlers to put them through the courses. These dogs will seldom achieve Intermediate titles. Many can't make sense of the drive at all and won't drive unless their handler is right beside them.

Even the more talented non-natural drivers don't put it all together right away. It takes a lot of time for them to become comfortable at it. Most handlers don't wait this length of time. They can't hold off trialing that long. Thus, many dogs take a long time to make it through Intermediate simply because their handlers enter them way before they are ready for it.

Another very common reason why dogs tend to do poorly in Intermediate A is that most of them are extremely handler impaired. Instead of taking advantage of the full intermediateness of the course, they try to run it like Advanced. It's no wonder that many of these dogs, once finally possessing their HI, tend to get their HX's in a much shorter period of time.

This leads us to the purpose of this article to describe how to handle Intermediate A to get the most out of what it has to offer.

Let's start with the outrun. It is the worst of the three in A. Started is the best outrun because it is the only one where the dog has sufficient room to do a totally off-contact outrun on most sheep. Intermediate is worse than Advanced because it is too short. The dog knows he doesn't have room to do an off contact outrun and consequently often won't even bother to try. The stress of knowing he can't get where he needs to be can result in a very narrow outrun indeed. In Advanced, even though the arena is the same width and the sheep the same ridiculous 30 feet off the top as in Intermediate, the dog is able to get onto the fence much farther down field and at least has a good chance of being off-contact for most of the outrun.

[The new rules (which might or might not go into effect 1-1-2001) will change the Intermediate outrun to start from the advanced post, but allow the handler to farther up on course, which is a big improvement. However, Started Class will now have to do the outrun from where Intermediate was doing it. But the handler will be allowed to get close to the sheep, which will improve it over what it was for Intermediate.]

The only handling advice I can give for the outrun is the same I would give for all classes: be prepared for a narrow outrun and promptly give a redirect. If the dog does not take the redirect, but instead crashes into the sheep, retire immediately. Even though you still have a slim chance of qualifying, you must never let a dog get away with this. If you do, you risk it becoming a habit.

When doing the outrun lift and fetch remember that most judges allow you to be a crook's length from the physical post. You are not glued to one spot but are free to move within a circle whose radius is your crook. Start out in the spot that you think will get the best outrun out of your dog. During the fetch move to the spot that will get the sheep closest to the post. For sheep that come readily to people, this means be up against the panel on the side the sheep are on. To get the sheep around the post lead them in a circle then wave your crook to push them off toward the Y. For range sheep that avoid people, be on the opposite side of the panel a full crook lengths off, as they round the post, carefully rotate to the most up field position you can be in.

The Intermediate handler's post is up against the center panels. This makes it hard for the dog to maneuver. People often complain that one of the hardest parts of Intermediate is getting sticky sheep off the handler at the post. Frankly, I don't see this happening anywhere near as often as one would think it did based on the frequency with which this gets brought up. There are at least two good ways of dealing with this. If you anticipate that it will happen, have your dog bring the sheep by really fast and blow them by the post without giving them a chance to even think about sticking to you. If you didn't anticipate it, move the full crooks length away from the panel to give your dog maneuvering room, face the Y-chute and call the dog to you. Then, have the dog go in between you and the sheep and push them off towards the Y-chute. Too many Intermediate handlers never think to call the dog to their knees. And too many handlers have been negligent about teaching this exercise to their dogs. Teaching a dog to come inside and push sheep off a person is a very important part of intermediate training.

The drive to the Y-chute is much easier in Intermediate than in Advance because in Advance you must first move the sheep in the direction of the exhaust (to which they have a strong draw) and then sharply turn them into the chute. It’s seldom a drive-away in Advanced, but more usually a controlled escape. Granted the sheep move easier in the Advanced direction than in the Intermediate direction, but they are much easier to control and hold onto in the Intermediate direction. In Intermediate, it is a straight drive away in a direction away from the exhaust. A lot of Intermediate runs end at the Y because it is the one part of the course where the dog must do a 100% drive. A dog not yet solid in his driving skills can get stalled here. I'd love to see the rules changed so the handler can leave the post once the sheep enter the Y rather than having to wait until after they have exited the Y. It would greatly increase the pass rate while only slightly lessening what the dog must accomplish.

As I just said, once the sheep have exited the Y-chute, the handler is free to travel the entire Intermediate Handler's Zone. This is the key to passing Intermediate, Yet; rather than work the zone, many handlers pick a spot (usually the wrong spot) and pretend they're in Advanced. Amazingly, some handlers aren't even sure what the boundaries of the Intermediate Handler's Zone. (And to think they signed the statement on the entry form saying that they had read the rules.) If you draw a line across the exit of the Y-chute to the Advanced handler’s post and continue it all the way across the arena and another line parallel to it at the bottom of the Center Panels (Intermediate Handler's Post), the area between the two lines is the Intermediate Handler's Zone. (See the AKC rulebook for a diagram.) Although even many experienced handler's don't seem to realize it, the Zone includes the area immediately in front of the opening of the Hold/exam Pen. Once the sheep exit the Y, the handler is free to move anywhere within this zone except inside the Y-Chute or (before the hold is called) inside the Hold/exam Pen.

One advantage of the Intermediate Handler's Zone is that it allows you to be closer to your dog. Your dog is reassured by your close presence and exhibits more confidence than he would if you were farther away. While larger-sized arenas are usually better because they allow your dog enough room to get to where he needs to be and more distance (=time) to fix mistakes, larger arenas mean that the Intermediate Handler's Zone is farther from the bottom fence and that the drive to the Y is longer. Dogs, that are still unsure about driving and require a handlers close presence to drive, probably will do poorly in a large arena.

In a typical run where the sheep were stalling in the Y for a while but finally exit it, the handler hurries to the bottom of the Y, and the stall moves to the #2 corner. The dog essentially holds the sheep in the corner because the dog will interpret the handler's position as signaling a hold. Where the handler needs to be is moving along the boundary line. This will signal the dog to move the sheep. Keep well ahead of the dog and quasi-fetch, flanking your dog as needed to prevent it from turning it into a true fetch and going off-line. Do not stop at the Advanced Handler's Post to do the Z-Chute. You're not in Advanced! If you must stop, do so well past the post (i.e. well beyond the obstacle). You are continuing to cue the dog to what you want him to do by properly positioning yourself on the course. However, it's much better for you to continually move along the boundary at a calm steady pace, rather than stop and then abruptly start running when your dog makes the obstacle. This can distract the dog or cause it to move the sheep too quickly. When the sheep arrive at the #3 you should be standing up against the arena wall just in front of the Hold/exam Pen. You should not be at the Advanced handler's position beside the pen - you're not in Advanced! Now, you can have the dog do a true fetch to you and then put them directly into the pen.

During the hold you may stand anywhere outside the pen. You do not have to stand beside it as they do in Advanced. However, if you stand in front of the opening during the hold, you will probably get a deduction for Handler Assistance because the dog is supposed to be the one doing the hold.

One good way to get the sheep out of the pen is to send the dog behind the sheep and you lead them out and along the course line to the handler’s boundary near the #4. You get to fetch this part. Do so! To do this, send dog to back of pen to as close to fence as you can get him. Meanwhile you have gone to mouth of pen and have made yourself a lure for the sheep. You lead then out of pen and then along the outside panel. Now, send the dog on a wide flank around the stock, setting up a fetch position while preventing them from going back into the pen.

There’s a second way to accomplish a fetch out of the pen. It is not as good as the first as it has a higher probability of blowing up and, but under the right circumstances it can be successful. And if your dog is not a wide flanker, it may be the better of the two ways. This variation involves fetching straight out from the pen. Try not to go too far or a heavy penned judge may give you a minor retreat deduction for it. The dog then is brought in and flanked between the stock and the mouth of the pen and continuing between the stock and the fenceline. You want to stop the dog where it will push the stock away from the fence but not let it get to where it will put the stock back in the pen. Obviously, you do not want the dog to fling the sheep out into the arena so that they take off. Clearly, this won’t work very well with schitzoid stock.

Have the dog drive the sheep from the handler’s boundary to the #4. If you have problems getting the drive started, call the dog to your knees and have him push the sheep off you from there. (I’m assuming here that you are standing at the boundary on the opposite side of the sheep from where you want them to go.) Although there's less chance of a breakaway to the exhaust if you send the dog on an outside (to the arena wall) flank to do the turn, sending the dog this way means he must pass balance point to reach the #4 "there." The danger is that the dog will reach balance point, turn in there and fetch the sheep to you. Even if you can stop him from walking up, it can be exceedingly difficult to get him to leave the balance point and go to the #4. You may be able to get him to go a few feet, but then the rubber band always snaps him back to balance point. Therefore, your better maneuver is to send your dog on an inside flank along the fence. This will also prevent you from loosing points under judges in need of attitude adjustment who think style is more important than efficiently getting the job done; some judges consider an outside flank at the #4 bad style because the dog crossed the course. According to AKC judging seminars, there should be no cross over deductions except on the outrun on A course because there isn’t enough in the arena to limit where the dog can work.

Even before giving the flank command, you should have started moving along the top boundary of the Zone. You need to get far enough ahead so you can do a quasi-fetch through the panels to the #5 and still have it be on line.

Once the sheep reach the #5, you're free of all boundaries and can fetch the sheep to the Exhaust Pen.

About the Author:

Dorothy DeLisle has competed with German Shepherd Dogs in herding events since 1993 and is an AKC and AHBA herding judge. Her HI’s have been quickly earned.

Go to GSD Vom Insel ’s home

Go to GSD Vom Insel ’s photo index

Go to GSD Vom Insel ’s article index