Take That Clean Gather All the Way to the Open Field
Building the Gather – Part 2
By the end of Part 1 your dog gathered cleanly in a small pen — Part 2 grows that same gather until it holds up anywhere, from a full arena to an open field. You’ll take it wider one deliberate step at a time, learning to move back from your dog, send from your side, and read exactly where a gather breaks down so you can fix it before it becomes a habit. The payoff is a finished gather your dog runs with speed and purpose on any ground you put them on — without changing what you ask for as the space grows. Best started once Part 1 is solid and your dog has a reliable stop.
Grow Your Dog's Gather
From the Pen to the Open Field
Part 1 broke the gather down into smaller steps; Part 2 is where it becomes something you can use anywhere. Youā€™ll open the space one careful step at a time ā€” a bigger arena, then the field ā€” keeping the exact same gather at every size. The result is a dog that goes out wide, casts clean, and brings stock to you with speed and purpose whether youā€™re in a 100-foot arena or six acres of open ground.
Same Gather, Any Size
Grow the space without changing the criteria, so the gather your dog runs in the arena is the same one they run in the open field.
Send From Your Side
Move from sending in front of your dog to sending from your side — the way you’ll actually gather on a trial field or the farm.
Read It and Fix It
Learn to see exactly where your dog slices in or tightens, and adjust your position to hold the quality instead of practicing it wrong.
Speed With Purpose
Keep your dog’s drive while keeping them wide, soft, and off the stock — no frantic, stock-disturbing gathers.
How the Gather Grows
We pick up exactly where Part 1 left off.
Your dog moves from a small arena into a bigger one, then out to the open field — and every time the space gets harder, you back up in another way to keep them succeeding. Along the way you’ll add the tools that hold a big gather together: stopping and re-flanking to push your dog wider, using barriers as visual guides, creating distance by moving closer to your dog, and finally sending from your side. The criteria never change — only the size of the ground.
8 Lessons • From a full arena to the open field • Lifetime access & feedback
Why the Big Gather Has to Be Built, Not Rushed
Everybody wants to skip to the big gather. You finish your foundation and it’s tempting to jump straight to sending your dog across a six-acre field — but there are usually eight steps between where you are and where you want to be, and skipping them is exactly what makes a gather fall apart under pressure. Here’s the part that surprises people: going slow is faster. When you grow the gather in small, successful steps, your dog always has a clear picture of what you’re asking, and the whole thing comes together quicker than if you’d rushed and spent months untangling a dog that splits, chases, or dives in. A big, reliable gather takes real time to build — but once it’s in, you’ve got a dog that gathers beautifully and consistently no matter where you take them.
This is the second half of the journey — start it once Part 1 is solid and your dog has a reliable stop and moves calmly off pressure. Not there yet? Work Building the Gather – Part 1 and Building a Reliable Stop first; you’ll reach a finished gather faster for it.
What You Get
Step-by-Step Video Lessons
Every stage shown on real dogs and real stock across multiple breeds, so you can see what a big, correct gather looks like for your dog.
Feedback from Dawna & Megan
Post your training videos and questions and get personal feedback anytime. Lifetime access means you can revisit the lessons as your dog seasons.
Know the Final Picture
You’ll always know the standard you’re holding to, so out in a big space you can tell a clean gather from a close-enough one on your own.
Get Both Parts and Save
Building the Gather is a two-part journey. Part 1 builds the gather in tight, controlled spaces; Part 2 opens it into bigger fields and longer outruns. Get both parts together for $139 and save $19.
View the Bundle & SaveBuild a Gather That Holds Up Anywhere
Grow it one step at a time, from the arena to the open field, until your dog goes out, casts clean, and brings stock to you calm and correct — wherever you are.
Finish the Gather