I'm ridiculously proud of the dog today.
1)The last few times we've been to herding practice, Index was very frustrating to me. When he's focused he's pretty on-point, shows ability... but half the time he just seems to wander around with his head up his butt. It's been a mystery, to an extent - known contributing factors being my fault but difficult to correct in myself when I only practice on sheep two or three times a month.
Then the trainer decided to handle him last turn today, and with a more experienced person guiding him he did well, and she announced that he is ready to start working sheep off of the long line. She's of the opinion that his issues with inattention are due to boredom and confusion. He - like most Catahoulas - wants to be a tight-working dog, and keeping him on the line is turning him off because not allowing him closer to the stock is tantamount to telling him not to work. And to be honest, I'm too strict with him on the line, because I'm inexperienced and anxious myself. He gets mixed signals and then shuts down.
She's much more confident obviously and let him have a lot of line and even being allowed close to the sheep he didn't show signs of flipping into prey drive, so with some practice responding to directions with a shepherd's cane in the interim, we should be working sheep freely next session. It feels like a big step forward and I think it's going to help his progression a lot so I am very happy.
2) I was tired when we got home and forgot the ducks were out in the yard and let the dog out with them...
And he "down"ed perfectly for me even after one jumped on his head, and then helped me pen them again. No attempting to eat or even unnecessarily chase them. He's getting it.
Just... :hail: :cheers: