The heart of our sport lies in how successfully we can turn young border collies into working sheepdogs. The articles on this page have been written to help with that difficult task. If you have any ideas about other topics you'd like to see addressed here, please email me.

STARTING A DOG

When to Start a Pup (by Bruce Fogt)

Preparing Your Pup for Training (by Patrick Shannahan)

First Exposure to Sheep (by Robin French)

Mental Attitude in Early Training (by Beverly Lambert)

Length of a Training Session (by Bruce Fogt)

Class Action (by Candy Kennedy): thoughts on lessons and starting a young dog

Getting Together with a New Trained Dog (by Carol Campion)

Denise Wall's YouTube series on starting a pup: May at eight months, ten months, and eleven months

THE BASICS

Warning Label: Coming When Called (by Candy Kennedy)

Stage Fright: Different Stages of Dog Training (by Candy Kennedy)

Outrun Questions (by Beverly Lambert)

Widening a Dog (by Carol Campion)

Starting Flank Commands (by Kent Kuykendall)

Stopping: How, When, and Why (by Angie Coker)

Lift Off (by Candy Kennedy): teaching a proper lift

Lift Questions (by Beverly Lambert)

More on Balance (by Angie Coker)

What Is Balance? (by Candy Kennedy)

Tone of Voice: It's Not What You Say, It's How You Say It (by Kathy Knox)

Pace: An Interview with Warren Mick (by Fiona Robertson)

ADVANCED WORK

Whistle Theory (mp3 download from Kent Kuykendall's whistle CD)

Finely Ground: Relaxing a Dog on Flanks (by Candy Kennedy)

Teaching Redirects (by Angie Coker)

Teaching a Shed (by Carol Campion)

The International Shed (by Beverly Lambert)

PROBLEM SOLVING

To Grip or Not to Grip (by Patrick Shannahan): dealing with a dog who grips

Gripping (by Carol Campion)

Recognizing a Problem (by Angie Coker)