When he has learned to do this to please you, begin to stop him half-way up, and always see that he puts his head in the proper position. He should be proficient in this before he is ever taken to the sheep. No pup should ever be taken to the sheep until he is under complete control in the run up and lay down. To introduce him to sheep until he has thoroughly mastered these simple but highly-important commands has a tendency to spoil him and get him into bad habits. No matter how fast he is running, if you give him the hiss to stop he should drop like a stone; and, on the other hand, he should obey the command to come on quickly and without the least hesitation, and on no account should he rise until told to do so. To fall and rise when commanded, and only when commanded, is the most important point in the training of a collie. Having progressed so far, the pup should now be taken to the sheep.
If he is off a good working strain, he will either circle away round his “quarry” or he will “set” and crawl forward.
If he circles round and goes down, and the sheep do not come away, he is apt to lie still, but if you use the call whistle and bring him a little forward, then drop him. The sheep will most likely come away, and you must take care that he comes straight behind them, and not too quickly.
Don’t use the call whistle very long at first, just a little to get him to understand to start the sheep. Get him used to start either with a sheep or a short whistle.
If in running up to the sheep he does not go right round, you must go up to the sheep and move them in the direction you want them to go. Then use the whistle, sound or words by which you want to shift him (some trainers say “Keep wide” or “Keep wide, away out,” but it is better to use only distinctive whistles).
You should thus keep the sheep moving about, making him move to what spot you want. Others use a combination of whistles and signs (motions of the arms). This latter method has its advantages when working at a distance and under certain climatic conditions.
When the dog has become expert in moving about, teach him to “run out.” Don’t try him too far away at first, and if possible let him see the sheep.
A perfect run out should be in the form of a good wide circle all the way until he gets well behind the sheep. Then he should double back behind the sheep when he sees he has them all rounded up, and he should be allowed to move them a little before you put him down.
In “haulding” them he should come straight behind the sheep, and not too near them. If they come steadily, he should be allowed to follow them in. When “haulding” a few sheep, say five, he should bring them in straight; but with a large number he should “flank” them from side to side in half-moon circles, as by this means he gets them forward in better time.
By this time the dog should have learned to go down at a distance from the shepherd, a distance which is only restricted by the impossibility of hearing the whistle.