Waipaoa's dog training program a success
To a young shepherd, training and breaking in their first dog is a very special milestone and Waipaoa's junior cadets are doing just that. March 2010 saw five young heading pups introduced to their new owners to start a very special journey of friendship and learning.
The cadets will be taught how to rear and teach their pups basic commands by the training manager's wife Diane Burkin who owns her own dogs and is a qualified vet nurse. This sometimes is easier said than done given that on a few occasions pups and cadets were seen to be running in all directions not quite sure about who was leading who!
From a training perspective; this is all part of the experience for both pup and owner. With these first initial learning curves overcome the pups are now under good command with the next stage of the training under way. Station owner Rob Telfer and Stock Manager Dave Stewart have the task of introducing the cadets to the disciplines of training a dog to work stock. The cadets couldn't be in better hands as both men have a wealth of experience in dog trialling and stock-work.
Stage two and the first of many training sessions to come was completed last night with the cadets glowing with the satisfaction of having started "the real stuff" some may say! This process incorporated having the pups on a lead and teaching them to go left or right and sitting on command, the cadets will carry on this training after work each day for the next few weeks. The next stage is to introduce the pups to sheep in a controlled environment which is basically an extension of the lead work completed earlier. Working sheep will see the excitement levels of the pups rise and override some of the discipline installed earlier but again this is all part of the learning process for dog and man alike. Although basic at this stage these small steps will see five proud young junior shepherds return in January 2011 and have these same dogs working stock on whistle command up to half a kilometer away.
The benefits of Waipaoa's dog training program continue throughout the two years the cadets are on site they are frequently visited and mentored by dog training legends like local identity Rod Mead and one of the initial visionaries for the pup training concept Colin Bolton. Further to this, the cadets compete and help out at local dog trials where they get to learn from those who are the best in the business when it comes to training a working dog.