it. He thinks quick, sorts slow, and has the innate ability to read a cow s next move.

Transcription

1 Nuthin But A Cow Dog MERLE AND SANDI NEWTON SCULPT INSTINCT AND SKILL WHILE NOT TAKING THE COW OUT OF THE DOG. As seen in Performance Horse Magazine The name of his game is control and the best of his kind have a full-blown addiction to it. He thinks quick, sorts slow, and has the innate ability to read a cow s next move. Much like his working partner the cow horse, the traits at the core of a good cow dog are part of his original make up and his training today remains an art. Merle and Sandi Newton, of Red Bluff, California have been fine tuning this art for more than 30 years. With a trunk load of regional and national cow dog championships under their respective belts, the couple is known for training dogs to work stock and teaching owners to work dogs. They have been referred to as the Don Dodge and Barbara Worth of the stock dog training world; and with an attitude akin to producing good cow horses, they insist that putting a strong foundation on a cow dog is key to his success. In The Beginning While their canine students rarely take up residency before nine or ten months of age, the Newtons say what happens during the entire first year of a pup s life is vital to his future training on stock. Of course, the best prospects will have a huge dose of herding instinct afforded by their genetics; but the Newtons tell us that what is done with that instinct early on matters most.

2 The good ones have an interest in livestock right from the start, Merle explains. But that interest is deep rooted in a dog s predatory nature. How those instincts are handled during his first year of life usually has a significant bearing on our future training efforts. The Newtons caution that a common mistake made by many dog owners is letting a pup work or chase stock from outside a fence or in a pasture. On his own without guidance, the killer instinct gets over developed and is tough to rein in during training later on. The flip side of this mistake is the owners that scold a dog for working livestock. Think about it, says Merle. Would you scold a cow horse for wanting to work a cow? The point, he says, is to control the pup s environment and establish yourself as the head dog so he only acts on your say-so. Another early no-no is letting weaned pups hang out together. Merle and Sandi recommend weaning at 5 weeks of age; but they also prefer that the youngsters be completely separated from their litter mates at 7-8 weeks. Otherwise, they say, there is the tendency for the pup to bond with the other dogs rather than with a person. Sandi and I might be each starting a pup from the same litter, explains Merle. But we will keep them totally separate. Each puppy needs to begin to develop a relationship with a person, and to see that person as their master. We keep them in their own pen when they aren t with us, and give them limited free access to other dogs. He adds, We

3 typically turn an older dog in with a pup to play periodically, but I won t let him spend enough time with any one dog to really bond. A person needs to be his main focus during the first year. Newton says this is an essential principle on which later training will be based. If his first alliance is with another dog, his attention and allegiance will be primarily to that dog and not me. When picking a pup from a litter, Merle says he tends to favor one that is very people oriented. I prefer a pup that thinks people are just great, he says. I like one who is friendly and has an attitude when he comes up to me as if to say Wow, you re really cool - and really wants to please. Since his training is going to be based upon a person being the head dog, it s especially helpful if he really likes and looks up to people. While, an occasional Kelpie or Australian Shepherd makes its way into their program, 90% of the Newton s canine resident students are Border Collies, a breed that was until the last decade or so considered primarily used on sheep. Today, explains Newton, the breed has branched off into those that are bred specifically to work cattle. In our industry, we have bred a tougher Border Collie these days, says Merle. And when they get a little too tough with too much bite, we bring back in some of the sheep dog lines to even them out.

4 How A Dog Thinks Just as a cow horse must learn some power steering before he is ever put on cattle, there are basic skills, according to Merle and Sandi, that a dog must achieve before he is ever introduced to stock. The back drop of all training that takes place in the Newton program revolves around a basic understanding of canine mentality. Dogs are pack animals, says Merle. They operate in a hierarchy system a pecking order - and this concept of the Alpha Dog is key. Each pack has its leader, and a stock dog must see his handler as the alpha dog the head dog. In line with this theory, Newton goes on to explain that when the dogs work stock, they are in essence fetching food for the pack leader. In the wild, no dog in the pack eats before the leader, explains Newton. So his job is to act on my say-so.and stay out of my stock, unless I allow him to go in. He isn t to get into a herd, bite the cattle and take control unless I say it s okay. Another principle at the heart of the Newtons training program is what Merle calls release to pressure, and it goes hand-in-hand with the Alpha Dog concept, while incorporating a very basic technique often used in training horses. According to Merle, this pressure-response training will play a big role when putting a young dog on stock.

5 It s a common theory that horses learn most from the release of pressure in training, and the Newtons say that this is exactly the premise used in training dogs. The idea of giving or submitting to pressure is taught to a young dog in a number of different ways over the course of his first year; and, according to Merle, it is always an undertone of correctly controlling a dog on stock. The very first opportunity to begin teaching this principle can be done with a pup as early as 8 weeks of age. Demonstrating the technique with a puppy in his lap, Newton rolls him over on his back, applying pressure by holding him, or controlling his little flailing legs firmly when he squirms, then releasing that pressure when the pup relaxes. The technique is adjusted for older dogs, who he will lay down on their side on the ground to perform the exercise. With both hands palm down on the dog s side, Newton will apply moderate pressure to hold the dog down when it wiggles, releasing that pressure (still holding his hands close to the dog s side) when his student relaxes and stays still. The Newtons incorporate another lesson early on that reinforces both submission to pressure as well as the Alpha Dog idea. Heeling, they say, is a courtesy behavior, and the practice reinforces the head dog position of the handler. He should never walk or go ahead of me until I tell him to do so, Merle reminds. He doesn t walk through the gate to the pasture or arena until I ask him in after me. He doesn t go to the stock unless I invite him in.

6 Teaching the heel command, he explains, doesn t require a lot of jerking or pulling. Again, it is a submission to pressure, says Newton, who will often use a long stick with a plastic bag tied on the end to keep a dog from walking on ahead when on lead. When the dog walks ahead of him, Merle will gently shake the bag in front of the pup s face to get him to get back in a heel position by his side. At this point, he gives the voice command to heel. All of these exercises reinforce a dog s submission to the handler as his Alpha Dog and, later, will translate into controlling his body position on stock, adds Merle. As he gets older, I practice this same principle by stepping to the dog when he is coming toward me, holding up my hands and having him stop and/or turn away. All of this will come into play by giving me that first level of necessary control when I put him on stock. Building Confidence A young dog s first exposure to livestock at the Newtons ranch is always in a very controlled environment and typically had on a small group of older sheep or soft calves who have been dog trained. The soft stock build a young dog s confidence and are easily controlled by trainer and pup. The first lesson may be a brief one when the pup is six months old; but it is also very specific. At this young age, we just want to introduce them to the stock, says Sandi. He is allowed to go into the stock off lead and begin to experience their response to his

7 presence. I like to give them their first taste of confidence with a very small herd of soft sheep, letting them get into them a little bit and start to circle. Sandi explains that this first lesson will only be a few minutes long, and may only be repeated once every few weeks until a pup is at least eight months old. While the youngsters are allowed to get acquainted with the stock at this age off lead, when they are old enough to receive instruction, they will be placed on a 7-10 foot lead line so any corrections can easily be made. Subsequently, the length of the lead will get longer as the pup gains experience. As he reaches eight months to a year of age, the hierarchy system established between handler and dog during earlier lessons will have assisted in laying the ground rules as he begins to work stock. The number one job in his mind needs to be to gather the stock and bring them to me, says Merle. If he is going too fast or getting into the herd and stirring them up too much, the earlier lessons on giving to my pressure will give me the ability to use body language and voice commands I ve begun teaching him to slow him down, or instruct him to get back and out of the stock. Remembering the Alpha Dog concept, Newton emphasizes an important fact at this point. If I let a young dog single one cow out and take him away from the herd I m letting his killer instinct take over, and he is in essence taking my stock away from me, explains Merle. At this age, I want him to keep them bunched together for me.

8 In circling stock, Newton also explains that dogs naturally have what he refers to as a gather direction and a kill direction. They tend to want to fetch the herd with their gather direction, and move them with their kill side. One dog might prefer circling in a direction to the right to gather stock together; another may tend to circle left. Dogs are right or left handed just like people, points out Newton. They have their strong side and their weaker side. The point is not to cater to these tendencies, he says, but merely to be aware of them during training. Speaking Dog The language a dog hears is different than one might think. The pitch or tone of a command and how it is delivered is vastly more important than the words themselves. Dogs don t learn words, says Merle. They learn sounds and they are very basic in the way they learn. While we hear the same sounds as words, dogs associate an activity with a sound. When I train a dog, then hand him off to his owner, the dog nearly always has to re-learn the sounds of the commands all over again because they sound different in the owner s voice than they do in mine. An important fact to remember in dog lingo, says Newton, is that a higher pitched voice communicates approval; a low, stern voice is a reprimand. A dog is rewarded by a lighter, encouraging voice and disciplined with a lower, stern tone. Newton often instructs his students to growl at their dog when disciplining them. It s not a literal growl, he smiles. It s more a word like hey you delivered in a low, throat-y, stern voice.

9 Another integral part of training is the timing of commands, according to Sandi. To teach a dog a command, the command needs to be given when the dog is exhibiting the desired behavior, she instructs. Instead of telling a dog to stop while he is in motion, for instance, you need to utilize some body language to make him start thinking about stopping like holding up your hands and walking toward him - before ever saying the word. At this stage, I won t say the word stop until the dog is already stopped. Otherwise, if I start yelling stop, stop, stop, while he s still running - in his mind, it will mean run for a while then stop. One of Sandi Newton s specialties is teaching owners how to read their dog. He gives you clues about what he s thinking, she instructs. Maybe it s a raised elbow, maybe the tilt of his head. Knowing what your dog is planning his next move to be is very helpful in heading off a mis-command before it happens. Sandi also cautions owners about not setting up their dog for failure. Don t send your dog on a task, or ask him to do a maneuver, if you know he isn t going to do what you ask him, she instructs. Pay attention to his body language and learn to read what his next move will likely be so you can better set him up for success. RODEAR These days the Newtons are turning a good deal of their attention and training efforts toward an event known as Rodear. These types of trials bring together the cow dog and

10 the cow horse in a forum designed to capitalize on the stock sense and maneuverability shared by both. Originating out west, the first major Rodear held in conjunction with a NCHA cutting took place in Fort Klamath, Oregon in Hosted by rancher and long time cutting competition supporter, Ambrose McAuliffe, the annual Fort Klamath Rodear draws dog trainers and owners from as far away as Australia and Canada along with a growing number of cutters It s a growing trend, says Merle. With the handler on horseback, it provides a great place for horse people to use their good cow horses and work their good dogs through courses that either take place in an arena or cross country. He adds, The concept of using a horse really opens up the cow dog trial event to the horse community, and we re seeing a growing interest from those people who are cutters and cow horse enthusiasts. West Coast cutting horse trainer, Morgan Cromer, is an avid supporter of the Rodear, and echoes this sentiment. I went to my first Rodear back in 2004 and found it was a great place to take my cow dogs, she reports. Someone saw my dog and suggested I go compete at the big Rodear event in Fort Klamath. So, I ended up going up there in 2005, winning one of the go-rounds and some money in the finals. It was awesome. For Cromer, the event provides an opportunity to put her good cow dogs to work. I like it because I don t get to use my dogs as much as I would like to at home. A Rodear gives

11 me a place to go work them and have the challenge of competition. I think there is a huge community of horse people that would have an interest in these events. So many of us have cow dogs, it s a lot of fun and you can win money at it! Texas residents Reuben Parton and Cam Brandon traveled from Weatherford to compete during the 2007 Fort Klamath event. Cam was showing in the cutting, while I competed at the Rodear, said Parton, who has been a non-pro cutting competitor for the past 15 years. My wife brought her young female too, so she could get some help <from a trainer> with putting her dog on stock. Most of the traditional cattle trials in Texas are on foot, which means (in my opinion) that they are 90% dog, said Parton. I like the Rodear trials because you need to have a good horse as well as a good dog to be competitive. He added, In fact, with a good horse, you can get by with a dog that isn t as finished. Parton says the Rodear poses a new challenge to many in the horse business. There are a lot of the cutters (in Texas) who are interested in getting involved in the Rodear events, he pointed out. There s also a lot of horse people in general who would like to take part in this event. In our area, the challenge is identifying some facilities where we can hold the competitions. We d like to see these events get established in Texas like they are in California, and eventually grow to a national level.

12 Cow horse competition has been furthered, and champions made over the years, by those who have had the patience and taken the time to build a solid foundation on a horse. Merle and Sandi Newton tell us it is the same with training good cow dogs. With the same attention to foundation and a new sport on the horizon, the sky may also be the limit for the modern day cow dog. MERLE AND SANDI NEWTON The Newtons are professional trainers of livestock herding dogs for ranch work as well as competition. The husband and wife team own and operate Crystal Rose Cow Dog College on their 788-acre ranch in Red Bluff, California. Each regularly qualifies dogs for the Open and Nursery divisions of the National Cow Dog Finals each year. Dogs coming from Crystal Rose include National, West Coast and Regional champions. For more information see