Starting a Briard on C Course

Starting a Briard on C Course (the tending/boundary Course)

Boundary style herding is the instinctual heritage of the briard. Not to say, the briard can’t do other venues of herding but they excel in “tending” style of herding with little work.

Boundary herding, a short history and description:

Boundary herding came about with the small farms in Europe where different crops were planted next to grazing pastures next to some farmers garden and so forth. The dog was needed to keep the sheep within the “boundary” eating grass not crops or flowers or vegetables. The boundary was usually a furrow of dirt or a change of surface so the dog knew where to stay. The dog might work alone or with another dog patrolling the sheep as the ate, pushing any straggler back into the field. The dog became a “living fence”. In the contemporary US, boundary herding can be seen with large flocks of sheep keeping the fire dangers (weeds) down, keeping the area under power lines clean, pasture rotation in fields and so forth.

Is my briard the type for this course?:

The high prey, active briard does very well in this course as it has a lot of movement for a longer period of time as opposed to A or B course. The AKC C course lasts between 30 minutes – 45 minutes depending on the level. That can be a briard trotting the whole time so structure is important. The briard, to maintain this movement, has to be built correctly so he endures without stress on his frame. When purchasing a puppy make sure you do your homework and get a briard with nice front and rear angles, good bone, and of course…… really biddable with great work ethic. The less active briard might do better on A course. “A” course has a maximum of 10 minutes running time.

How and when to start your briard on boundary work?

The briard can be started as early as 8 weeks or whenever you start leash training. You use either sidewalks, dirt paths, gravel roads anything that has 2 different surfaces. You pick one side for yourself and the briard gets the other side. As you put the briard on the his side, say “border” or “boundary” as the briard walks along his side. If he crosses into your side, push him back to his side saying “out border” or “ahhh” anything to let him know he belongs on his side. This work transfers to the pastures where “real furrows” are present. I don’t add sheep until the premise of “border” is solid. I use a long leash, drag line or longe line in the beginning.
Eventually I add a flock of sheep… at least 10-15 head of nonreactive sheep. I make sure the border is not that close to the flock so there is breathing room for the sheep and the dog doesn’t get toooo excited. I start with 2 sided border up against a fence for safety. You can add helper friends if you have them available. These people are in the graze with the sheep and you. Walk along the border with your dog emphasizing the “border”.
Do not block the view, do not allow the dog crossing the border without penalty, be positive and friendly. Sessions may take awhile if the dog is acting disinterested…. Some times this is ‘avoidance”. Just hang in there and be patient.
Next step after border defined..
Move from the 2 sided borders ONLY after your dog understands the concept of the border and the sheep in the graze. Move into a 3 sided large graze still up against the fence for safety. Stay on this until solid. Then move to a 4 sided graze and larger space. You may need to stay in the center of the graze to protect the sheep still until your dog stops diving in. The dog stops diving in when he knows the penalty of doing so…. Your job.
I stay on grazes for months before I add road work… why? Because the graze is the basis for the whole venue.
ELEMENTS OF THE C COURSE: (actual dimensions are in the AKC Herding Regulations Book)
Pen…. Re Pen…… The pen is the beginning of the course. Repenning is the conclusion of the course.
This free standing pen was originally set up each night by the shepherd for containing the sheep.
The pen is such that the dog can go around the whole pen. The handler opens the pen gate with the dog making sure the sheep don’t bolt out. Then the dog steps inside and places himself at the point where the gate closes and hooks… this is the point the handler wishes to keep safe from the sheep knocking it. The sheep should march out quietly with the dog protecting that point “picking” then the dog falls into the side furrow with the handler in front/side of the flock.
At the end of the work, the sheep are repenned in this same pen. The handler leads the sheep to the pen, the dog “picks” the side of the gate and the sheep march into the pen quietly. If the sheep are speeding up along the way home, the dog should cross and slow them down. Close the gate when finished.
Road Work… follows the “take out of the pen work”..
Human handler in front, sheep behind handler with dog along the side. The dog who is reading the sheep is making sure the front sheep don’t bolt ahead and the rear stay up with the front… a nice long line, not bunched up. The dog is in constant movement checking the sheep. The dog is not out far ahead of the sheep like a “scout” but with the sheep. The dog does this movement along the furrow line, changing sides of the furrow to keep the sheep within the road. The dog may cross in front of the flock or at the rear depending on what is necessary BUT the dog crosses from furrow to furrow and does not stay in the road and does not disturb the movement of the flock. The dog should work on his own without the handler commanding him.
Wide Graze…
The handler leads the flock into the graze and then returns to their position on the inside boundary line. The dog works the graze where he needs to be staying on the furrow line or near the furrow line. If the sheep are up at one end, the dog should also be at that end. The dog keeps the flock within the graze area. The handler stays along the furrow line either standing still or moving if needed (in started the handler may wish to help the dog feel secure by moving along the furrow line to encourage the dog). The sheep are not to be disturbed in the graze.
Next..exiting graze, picks, your position and dog’s position…..
Start exiting from the graze…. You can either position your dog into the graze to pull sheep out or if your sheep “call” ,position your dog along the graze side for a “pick” position for exiting. “pick”.. what is that? Pick is the place your dog stands so the sheep bend around you when moving along. Practice this as you use it a lot… the pick is a stand stay by the dog as the sheep turn a corner with you leading them.
Human position… is always in front leading the sheep. Not a long way in front but just in front.
Bridge…
The bridge is either artificial or a real bridge. The handler walks in front of the flock while the dog ” picks” the side that is the dangerous one. The flock follows the handler across the bridge with the dog picking up the rear quietly behind the flock. And then returns to the side of the border where he is needed.
Narrow Graze…
The narrow graze is only seen in the advanced level of the AKC C course. This graze is wider than a road.. like a strip of land that needs the grass eaten. The dog “picks” the corner of the narrow graze (has 4 sides) that is the narrow end while the sheep enter the graze following the handler. The handler then steps to the side of the graze moving forward and backward to encourage the forward movement of the flock. The dog moves to the opposite side of the stock and if necessary may change sides to cause the forward movement to continue. The dog is not to disturb the flock, cause the flock to turn, fan out or leave the graze area.
Traffic Road…
The traffic road is wider than the narrow road to accommodate a vehicle and the flock. The length of the road depends on the level of trialing. In Started level, the vehicle doesn’t move, in intermediate level the vehicle makes one pass, in advanced the vehicle
makes two passes. The flock is brought up to the traffic road where they are paused by the dog being brought into position in front of the flock to stop their forward movement. As the dog holds the flock, the handler steps out to check for traffic and then returns to the flock. The flock is guided onto the road while the dog works the boundary. When there is no vehicle the flock can cover the entire road as the dog works the boundary. As the vehicle approaches, the dog moves into the road moving the sheep to the right hand side to work between the vehicle and stock protecting the stock from the vehicle. The sheep keep moving along as the dog works the side. When the vehicle has passed, the dog returns to the boundary and the sheep may spread out again on the traffic road.
Placement Before the Flock (advanced and intermediate only)…
The handler decides when to do this exercise and notifies the judge. The handler sends the dog along the furrow to the head of the flock (where the heads are pointed). Then at the handler’s signal, the dog enters the graze, approaches the flock, stopping 3 times while turning the heads of the flock. Once the flock is turned the dog exits the same way he entered and returns to work. I like to see the front row of heads turned.. usually the rest go accordingly.
All of this seems a lot to comprehend but practice will make it make sense!!! The main order of this course is quiet, non disturbing work by the dog allowing the sheep to move along eating or grazing. This course can be set up anywhere … using tensor, furrows, pvc, garden hoses or whatever for the border. You can start with 10 head if that is all you have. In the beginning, the sheep can be directly off A or B course.. they just stay in the graze and eat. If you have no pasture, throw out hay/whole corn in the graze area.
For reference….
C course demos on the internet… www.endgateranch.com click Tending Pictures www.youtube.com search "flocktending" www.twitter.com "Flocktender