Your Dog Brings Stock Back. The Inside Flank Lets You Send It Anywhere.

Teaching the Inside Flank

Many dogs are wired to circle behind the stock and bring it straight back to you. That instinct is a gift — but it means the moment you want to steer, your dog fights to get back to balance. The inside flank is the skill that changes that: a dog who will calmly cross between you and the stock and flank the direction you ask. This course shows you how to build it one relaxed step at a time, so you finally have the control to put stock exactly where you want it. Great for any herding breed. Start once your dog has a solid stop, comes off stock when you call, and moves off your pole.

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Handler working a dog through an inside flank in a pen

The Skill That Unlocks Real Control on Stock

An inside flank asks your dog to do the opposite of what instinct says — to leave the balance point and flank around on your command. Taught well, it isn't hard, and it gives you the steering you need for everything that comes next. This course breaks it into calm, confident steps your dog can actually succeed at.

Work With the Instinct, Not Against It

Your dog wants to go to balance and bring stock to you. Once you understand the line between you and the stock, you can set your dog up to take the flank you want every time — instead of fighting their instinct.

Calm Is the Whole Game

Pressure is what makes inside flanks hard. You'll learn to read it and lower it — with the right stock and the right space — so your dog stays relaxed enough to learn instead of shutting down or blowing up.

Built to Succeed, Not to Fail

Each exercise is set up so the easy choice is the right one. Your dog builds the habit of the correct flank from the start, so you are not undoing mistakes later.

Taught on Its Own, Then Combined

We teach inside flanks as their own skill, separate from driving, then put the two together. Keeping them apart keeps it clear for your dog — and sets you up to drive and steer.

What You'll Learn

A clear progression from your dog's first inside flank in a small pen all the way to flanking on command out in the open — taught with green dogs so you see every step, including the fixes.

Starting Small, Staying Calm

Introducing the inside flank in a small pen where you can support your dog with your pole and your position, using food to help them relax into the pressure and make the right choice.

Building the Understanding

Adding a stop to the flank, taking yourself out of the picture a little at a time, and helping your dog take the flank you ask for as it starts to make sense to them.

Growing the Picture

Increasing the size and shape of your workspace, adding the pull of the draw, and moving out into the arena so the flank holds up in the real world.

Green Dogs

Real demos at every stage — the struggles and the fixes, not just the highlight reel

Lifetime

Access — use it with every dog you start

Any Age

Start once your dog has a stop, a recall off stock, and moves off the pole

Why the Inside Flank Is Worth Teaching Right

Here's what's really happening when you teach an inside flank. There's a straight line between you and your stock, and your dog knows the fastest way to make you happy is to get to the far side and bring the stock back. When you ask them to flank the other way — to cross that line — you're asking them to override a powerful instinct.

Rush it, or let your dog get frantic, and they learn that inside flanks are stressful and confusing. Keep them calm and set them up to succeed, and something clicks: your dog realizes they can leave balance, take your flank, and still keep control of their stock.

That's the moment steering becomes possible. Get this piece right and you have a dog who'll go the direction you ask, when you ask — the foundation for driving stock anywhere you want it to go.

Start Teaching the Flank

Dog taking an inside flank around stock in a pen

What Our Students Are Saying

I have never had this much success this quickly teaching my dog's inside flanks. The way this course breaks it down and builds understanding is just outstanding. My young girl is just beginning to learn to drive and she's understanding inside flanks in a very short time.

Michelle F.

I've been bringing up my newest bred-by pup using the online classes as the basis for her stock and performance foundation, and the difference between her and my other dogs is outstanding. I've started a modified retrain on all my older dogs, rebuilding their skills with the online class exercises.

Corey N.

Dawna and Megan have the unique ability to train the human as well as the dog. They honor your dog's instincts and acknowledge your relationship with your dog. Seeing the joy in a dog working stock is priceless.

Brenda H.

What's Included

Lifetime Access

Use this course with every dog you train. Come back to it whenever you start a new dog or want to sharpen a flank. Your enrollment never expires.

Video Feedback

Post your own training videos for feedback and ask questions directly on the lessons as you work through the course at your own pace.

Private Community

Access our private student community where you can connect with other handlers, share progress, and get support from Dawna and Megan along the way.

Get All Three Driving Courses and Save

Teaching the Inside Flank is one of three courses in The Essential Skills for Driving bundle. Together with Introduction to Driving and Driving: Putting it All Together, you get the complete path — teach the drive and the inside flank as separate skills, then put the two together so you can drive and steer anywhere.

Buy all three individually: $327. Get the bundle: $275 — save $52.

View the Bundle & Save

Ready to Put Steering in Your Dog's Toolkit?

Give your dog the skill that makes real control possible — a calm, confident inside flank on command — with step-by-step exercises and green-dog demos that show you exactly how to get there.

Start once your dog has a solid stop, comes off stock when called, and moves off your pole.