THE WORKING AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD
The Aussie Outrun and Style
by Terry Martin

The editor asked me to do a piece about teaching the Australian Shepherd an outrun and to explain why it is so important for a ranch cattle dog to both head and heel. I told her I didn't think I was the person to teach the Aussie an outrun, but I would be glad to write about the subject. I can make some observations and perhaps explain something about the Aussie instinct.

In my previous articles I have said the ideal Australian Shepherd is one who will grip both the heads and the heels. Every ranch or farm has unique situations the dog will encounter. When stock are refusing to move at all the dog or man has to use some kind of force. If they are facing and challenging the dog he is going to have to be able to handle a confrontational head situation or nothing is going to go anywhere. If they are standing in an alley refusing to go into a truck or facing a gate but will not go through, what must the dog do? Of course he must be willing to go in and grip the heels of the standing stock enough to convince them to proceed. The dog who will only grip heads is going to cause a wreck or force the man to do the job for the dog. Neither is why we have a stockdog!

There are of course other times a dog must both head and heel. When one head or more are starting to break away from a group it is ideal if the dog immediately recognizes a potential split and nips a face to turn them back. If the stock actually run off, the ideal dog will get ahead and force the cow to turn back. I lived in the west for many years (Colorado and Utah) where we worked cattle on open range and in the mountains. Most of the people I knew then wanted a dog that would heel and didn't care if he would head. I still hear this quite a bit. A lot of work is done on horseback and the dogs are used in place of another man on a horse supplying even more mobility and power. If a cow cuts away the dogs simply go after her until she tires of it and returns to the herd. This may not make sense to those who haven't worked large herds on open range, but these cattle soon return to the herd. Stress isn't a major factor since chasing with a horse and maybe losing control of the entire herd is the alternative.. This was on a different kind of cattle than the Brahman crosses more often seen in the southeast. There is no doubt that different cattle, different terrain and different demands create a need for many different talents in a working stockdog. Some who think their personal situation is the only way to work dogs never bother to find out why different types of dogs are considered more useful than perhaps the ones they prefer. One fact does remain. The dog who is comfortable and effective on both heads and heels will be able to fit into all these different situations and is better equipped The bottom line is that he is carrying all the tools he may need for any job.

Now to the outrun. Most people in the dog world think of an outrun as the beautiful wide sweep the Border Collie trial dog makes to go out around his sheep. He hits the balance point directly behind the sheep, often hits the ground and then comes in to fetch the sheep in a straight line to the handler. When he leaves the handler he is in a dead run, not toward the sheep but out in the direction he is sent and remains out wide so as not to disturb the stock until he approaches them to begin the lift.

To be honest the Australian Shepherd does not see the outrun this way. If you want to get inside your dog's mind (and you must if you are going to train him) you must understand how he thinks. The typical Australian Shepherd sees the shortest distance between two points as a straight line. If you send him to stock, he goes straight to stock. If you have thoroughly trained him on his directions and send him on a go-by he will often look like he is going straight to the middle of the herd. He knows he is on a go by and will go to the left of them: barely! In the first article I wrote for the RDT I attempted to explain the difference in the wide working dog and the close working dog for our human minds to understand. Think of it this way. The wide working strong eyed breeds sense an invisible circle drawn around the stock. They are working this circle and their instinct puts them outside that circle unless they have to move within it to move the stock. When you send one to the left his instinct will usually keep him outside that imaginary circle or well off the stock. The typical Aussie does not see that circle as his instinct does not work that way. He is working the stock themselves and is drawn to them. He will show you similar instinct to the wide working breeds as a young dog in circling the stock and fetching, but he will be closer to the herd. In a young inexperienced dog this may create more problems than a dog naturally staying away from his stock.

I am not going to get into formal training of the outrun as much as I will explain what you are doing to the dog. There are many articles on training the outrun that will give excellent techniques useful for any breed but only if you understand the differences in your dog's instincts! If you want your Aussie to do a beautiful wide outrun remember this is not his natural working style. If you want him to cast out and bring in cattle that are two miles away this also is not his natural style. He can do it, but you will need to use your knowledge of his instinct to train him. As with any breed, some dogs within each breed are going to work closer or wider and some are more willing to work a long distance from the handler.

We have all seen dogs sent on an outrun that looks mechanical with the dog having to be constantly reminded by commands to stay out wide. This of course is because you have taught him an action, but that action is not natural to him. When you begin teaching the dog to go out around stock you need to watch carefully to see where he is comfortable working. If you push him out 20 feet from the stock does he still remain intent on working them and focus all his attention on them? If he does you can try to push him out a little wider. Does he look at you a lot and seem distracted when he is that far from the stock? If he does you may have him pushed out to the point he is no longer focused on working. Because this breed is not a strong eye dog they need closer contact with the stock to remain "in the game". If you watch the dog closely during this training you can determine where you "lose" your dog and things start becoming mechanical. When he is simply obeying your direction instead of using his instinct you are losing your dog. Training should enhance instinct, not cover it up!

I drifted a little into trial training here, and really wanted to remain on the subject of training a ranch cattle dog. The value of an outrun on a ranch is distance. If the stock is far out in a pasture, the rancher wants a dog who will go bring them in or start them moving in one direction or another. I had one rancher who works both Border Collies and Aussies tell me their BC's will look farther away for stock than their Aussies. This is partially because the Aussie is a loose eyed breed to begin with, and the Aussie has a strong desire to be with their master. You must teach the dog to trust you. If you send him out there must be stock there for him to find. Working is the reward. All training has to start with small steps and work toward the final goal. If you want the dog to have a two mile outrun you can't start sending him two miles. He must do a short outrun correctly and consistently before you begin with a longer one. The stock needs to be easily seen at first and the command be consistent. When you begin to send him for stock out of sight the command must remain the same and the stock must be easily located at first. You may have to go part way with him for encouragement until he learns that when you send him the stock will be there.

Once you train your Aussie to go to stock a long distance away it is very unlikely that he is going to stay out wide on a long outrun. This breed is effective on range cattle because of their readiness to handle confrontation and their ability and desire to use force and work in close. As I have said before, good dogs learn with experience even more than from formal training when force is needed and when it is not. The very fact that the Aussie is drawn to confrontation and works close makes him less than the ideal dog to do a picture pretty outrun. It isn't impossible but it is not what he was developed for. The same instincts also make him close to the ideal dog to bring home those stubborn unwilling cattle you just wore your horse out trying to control.

Those who have trained different breeds to work cattle and are really successful with more than one breed have learned to understand the differences and most of all to respect these differences. Many training techniques can work as well with one breed as another but only if the trainer is willing to modify the technique to fit the instincts of the breed.