Understanding the Draw
Stop Fighting Your Dog’s Instincts — Start Working With Them
If your dog gets frantic coming back into the draw, locks onto the heads and won’t pull off, or just rings the stock in circles — they’re not being disobedient. They’re trying to do their job. This course shows you what the draw really is, why it drives every position your dog takes, and how to build the skills that let your dog stay in control without fighting their instincts. You’ll both come out of this calmer, clearer, and more confident.
Start Working With the Draw
What This Course Does for You and Your Dog
Every time you work stock, the draw is shaping what your dog does — whether you realize it or not. The draw is where the stock wants to go, and your dog knows it. Their position, their flanking, their intensity — it all comes back to protecting that draw. When you understand that, everything about the way your dog works starts to make sense. This course gives you that understanding and the exercises to build on it, so you stop correcting instincts that are actually working in your favor and start channeling them into real control.
Understand Why Your Dog Does What They Do
Your dog isn’t randomly picking positions. Every move they make relative to the stock is driven by instinct and the draw. Once you see it, you’ll stop second-guessing them and start reading the work the way they do.
Build Control Without Killing Drive
Forcing a dog to be mechanical around the draw frustrates them — some shut down, others get amped up and frantic. These exercises teach control by working with their instinct to protect the draw, not against it.
Progress Through Clear Steps
Each exercise builds on the last. You’ll move from stopping the circling to turning heads, catching eye without stopping motion, and eventually controlling stock from behind — all at a pace that keeps your dog confident.
Gain Confidence Moving Into the Draw
Coming back into the draw is where most teams struggle. Your dog gets tight, you get tense, and stock bolts. This course gives you a repeatable progression so both of you know what to do when you’re heading toward the draw.
What’s Inside the Course
Module 1 — Teaching Your Dog to Manage Stock Into the Draw
Start with the concept itself — what the draw is, why it matters, and what the finished product should look like. Then work through early exercises that address circling, help young or green dogs learn to flank off the draw without losing control, and teach your dog to stay behind stock even when heading back toward the draw.
Module 2 — 4 Steps to Understanding the Draw
A clear four-step progression that builds your dog’s ability to control stock near the draw. Begin with turning heads to give your dog confidence, then progress to catching eye without stopping forward motion, controlling with lateral distance, and finally managing stock from behind — the skill that ties everything together.
2
Modules
12
Lessons
Multiple Breeds
Step-by-step video demos
Why Understanding the Draw Changes Everything
Most handlers hit a wall with the draw and don’t know why. Your dog is circling, or parked on heads and won’t pull off, or gets frantic every time you turn back toward the pen. You start thinking something is wrong with your dog — but what’s actually happening is your dog’s instincts are telling them to protect the draw, and the way you’re working is fighting that.
Dawna says it plainly: this is paramount to everything. If you strip away the arena fence and imagine open country, you’d absolutely want your dog protecting the stock from running off. That same instinct is at play every time you work — and if you make your dog so obedient and mechanical that they can’t act on it, you’ll end up with a dog that either shuts down or spirals.
This course teaches you to see the draw the way your dog sees it, and then gives you the exercises to build real partnership around it. Your dog gets to do their job. You get stock that moves where you want it to go. That’s the shift.
What You Get
Step-by-Step Video Demos
Every exercise is demonstrated on video with multiple breeds so you can see exactly what each step looks like before you try it with your own dog.
Unlimited Feedback & Lifetime Access
Post questions, share your training videos, and get personal feedback from Dawna and Megan. You’ll have lifetime access to the course and their responses, so you can revisit anytime you need it.
A Clear Progression You Can Trust
No guessing about what comes next. The exercises are sequenced so each one builds on the last, and you’ll know exactly when your dog is ready to move forward.
Give Your Dog the Freedom to Do Their Job
The draw shapes everything your dog does on stock. When you understand it and know how to work with it, you stop fighting instincts and start building real partnership. This is where that shift happens.
Start Understanding the Draw