When the Picture in Our Head Doesn’t Match the Picture in Our Dog’s Head

One of the biggest challenges in stockdog training is remembering that the picture in our head is often completely different from the picture in our dog’s head.

As handlers, we develop very specific ideas of what a gather should look like. We have an image of the perfect flank, the perfect stop, the perfect take pen. Those pictures are shaped by trial rules, judging criteria, and years of learning what earns points.

Our dogs don’t see any of that.

To them, the job is much simpler.

We think the gather needs to have a certain shape because if it doesn’t, we’ll lose points. The dog is simply thinking, “I need to go get the stock and bring them back to my handler.”

We think the flank has to be a certain distance and angle because otherwise the stock may drift off line and cost us points. The dog is thinking, “I need to get the stock from Point A to Point B.”

We worry that if the dog doesn’t stop on the exact spot we ask, we won’t be able to set up the next drive or keep the sheep on line. The dog is thinking, “I can only stop where I can still maintain control of the stock.”

We picture a beautiful take pen that impresses the judge and earns a high score. The dog is simply thinking, “We’re taking the sheep out of the pen.”

Dogs are incredibly practical creatures.

They don’t understand trial scores, championships, titles, or ribbons. They don’t think about impressing judges or winning competitions. Their focus is on accomplishing the task in front of them while maintaining control of the stock.

In fact, even if they could understand those things, we doubt they’d care very much.

What they do care about is doing meaningful work.

That is why real ranch work often looks different than trial work. In a practical working situation, we aren’t trying to make every movement look perfect. We’re trying to accomplish a job efficiently, safely, and with as little stress on the livestock as possible.

We still have standards.

We don’t want stock harassed, over-pressured, overrun, or stressed. Those expectations make sense to a dog because they directly affect the success of the job. The dog can understand those consequences.

Trial criteria, however, often don’t make sense from the dog’s perspective.

That doesn’t mean trial training is wrong.

Far from it.

Dogs are remarkably capable of rising to the standards we ask of them. They can absolutely learn precision, correct lines, beautiful flanks, and polished work. But it’s important to remember that these expectations are ours—not theirs.

Because of that, we need to be thoughtful about how we teach them.

If we micromanage every step, every decision, and every movement too early, we can begin to take away the very qualities that make a great stockdog: confidence, initiative, and the ability to solve problems.

Instead, we need to build our criteria layer by layer.

Each new expectation should make sense to the dog before we add another. We want them to understand not only what we’re asking, but to feel successful while learning it.

We also need to make room for days when the dog is simply allowed to work.

Not every session needs to be perfect.

Sometimes the greatest learning happens when we step back, trust our dog, and allow them to use the instincts that generations of breeding have given them.

These dogs are extraordinary.

They will do their very best to meet the expectations we place on them—even when those expectations don’t naturally make sense from their perspective.

That makes our responsibility even greater.

It is our job to teach with patience, clarity, and fairness. To avoid micromanaging. To preserve their confidence. To help them understand our picture without destroying theirs.

Because when we respect the way our dogs see the job, we don’t just create more successful trial dogs.

We create more confident partners.

About Dawna Sims

Dawna Sims has more than 21 years of hands-on experience training dogs and handlers to work livestock and is the author of The Rules of the Hunt. She leads PSR Stockdogs with Megan Sims-Kennedy; together they were named the 2025 AKC Herding Breeder of the Year