Kumbark Kelpies and Sheepdog training.

06/05/2026

Stepping out onto the trial ground.

It can be a big step, your first time on the trial ground.
Just remember, everyone trialling must go through this, and it is never as bad as we think.
Nerves pay a big part. This is something we will learn to cope with as we get more experienced. Some nerves are not a bad thing, and it is best not to fight them; just accept them as part of trialling and do our best. We need to focus on our dog and the sheep and forget who is watching and what they may be saying.
People may criticise, comment, and note good and bad points in the dog, but basically no one will remember the run later. We have all had trainwrecks, and focusing on them achieves nothing. We simply learn what we can from them and move on.
If things go bad, we retire and go home with work to do. This will happen even after years of trialling. We can train and train, but ultimately getting our dogs on the trial ground can bring issues we may not have been aware of.
The dog is going to react to noise, other dogs, people at the let-outs, sheep that are different than anything he has worked before, our nerves, flags and any number of things he will encounter that he does not see at home.
We need to observe how the dog copes with these issues and try to support him.
If the sheep are too much for your dog, the best course is to retire, something all of us will do over and over with young dogs.
As an encourage worker in WA, we are permitted five runs with a helper. The helper is there to advise and help guide you around the course.
Information for encourage workers is here. https://www.westaustralianworkingsheepdogs.com.au/getting-started/
Sheepdog trialling is a challenging sport, to say the least. We are constantly learning, adjusting, trying different things and trying to fix issues that appear regularly.
It can be heartbreaking, disappointing, and frustrating, but also exciting. We will have highs and lows, sometimes a lot of lows, but the highs can make up for them. It will take a lot of commitment, and sometimes we will feel like we are going backwards.
Every issue or problem we need to work on is a learning opportunity and will help us in our journey, which can be a long one. There is no end destination; we just keep plugging away. Different sheep will suit different dogs. We might have some great runs at one event, only to fail to get scores at the next.
It’s important to look at the big picture, the people we have met, and those who have helped us; the fun social catchups; sorting out difficult problems with our dogs; and progressing around the ground. Our first score, our first pen, and our first win, which can be a long time coming but is well worth the wait.
We need to look at it as a competition with ourselves, and it’s important not to compare our progress to others. This can be detrimental to our development as we all are on a different journey with different dogs.
As soon as you start trialling you will become more aware of what is required to progress with your dog on the trial ground. This is something you won’t learn at home.
Remember also that it is a sport; we need to keep it fun and not dwell on things if they go wrong. Maybe we had difficult sheep, the grounds were a bit tricky, perhaps we failed to read things correctly or gave the dog the wrong command. Once again this is something that happens more than people realise, even to the top trailers.
Many of us trial because it is difficult and challenging, but even small achievements can feel special.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions about your run to whoever may be watching. People are happy to help and advise. Criticism is something we must learn to cope with, as it is inevitable but usually done to help, not hinder. So don’t get upset if someone tells you what you might have done wrong; this is how we learn. We might get conflicting advice, as there are many ways people deal with issues, but it can all be useful information.
But above all, look on it as a long and exciting journey with an unknown destination.

05/05/2026

Yesterday's photoshoot: pups are growing fast.

30/04/2026

When you are having a moment with Ace on the motorbike and Pocket decides she wants attention.

15/04/2026

Kumbark Shampy, litter sister to Chess (below), hard to pick between them.

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07/04/2026

Managing your dog.
It can be a great learning environment, watching experienced trialers work their dog on the trial ground.
They can make it look easy, especially if the sheep are difficult and they still manage to pen them or retrieve the situation when it looked like all was lost .
However, almost every dog out on the trial ground has problems. The skill lies in managing them, controlling them and making it look like the dog has all the goods.
Top trainers will note issues very early in the dog's training and work to manage them. It is not always possible to fix them, and they may still emerge under difficult circumstances, but the key is to work on those issues and support the dog through them.
Maybe the dog is short on one side, breaks out, or overruns on one side. Or he may be more resistant to going a certain way or has a slice in one direction.
Perhaps he blows up a bit under pressure or if confronted by sheep, maybe he has too much presence or not enough.
All these things can be managed if the dog has other positive qualities. So, you work on these issues, understanding what creates them, and manage them the best you can. It doesn’t always work; sometimes the wheels still fall off, and the situation becomes unsalvageable. When this happens, retirement is often the only option. There is no point blaming the dog, as they can only work with what genetics have given them, so we need to understand this and help them the best we can.
Reading the dog at an early age is crucial. Observing what they do naturally under different circumstances will help you to understand what issues need working on to get the best out of the dog. This can take a while to learn but is one of the most important things you will do.
One of the best ways to learn is by watching other dogs within your training groups, observing how each handler works through problems and how your instructor deals with them. It is important to have an instructor who can recognise issues and find ways to resolve them. There is never one fix for all, and trying different solutions is the key to progress. There is no point in moving on to more difficult exercises until you have sorted the issue; otherwise, these problems will re-emerge later on and be more difficult to resolve.

30/03/2026

From 40° heat to 32 millimeters of beautiful steady rain and then to thick fog. Grass is germinating very quickly. It was the biggest rain event for close on 18 months and was very welcome.

23/03/2026

The Northern Districts sheepdog Club held another highly successful training day at Kumbark. This was for club members only, and it was great to see new and old members. We had ten handlers attend.
It was a fun day with lots of learning.
We started with the basics in a smaller area, checking progress and ironing out issues. Some handlers then moved on to more advanced work and obstacle practice.
We also did quite a bit of yard work with most of the dogs.
This is an area often overlooked in training. It doesn’t matter if you are going to do yard work or not. It teaches dogs to work more comfortably in close proximity to the sheep without panicking. Many dogs love it, and it is a respite from paddock work. Working three sheep and repetitive training can become boring for the dogs. Yard work is much more exciting, and dogs learn to cope better with pressure in a close environment.
What makes sheepdog training so difficult is that we are constantly changing what we do. We never stop learning. As we master each task we must move on and try more difficult challenges. This can be a little frustrating for the dog and handler but is essential for progress. Doing the same things and staying in our comfort zone achieves nothing. Sometimes it feels like we are going backwards, and sometimes the dog will regress a little, but ultimately, we will move forward if we are consistent in our training.
Getting the right instruction and help is imperative. Often, we simply can’t see what is going wrong, and it is better to seek help than continue with something that is not working. Otherwise, we will never progress, and then frustration really sets in, and we can lose our enthusiasm.
And as always, despite the frustration and challenges, it is important to keep the fun in our journey. Discussing issues and talking things over with fellow trainees and our instructors is also essential. Every time something goes wrong and we manage to work through it, this is a huge step in our journey. Also, one of the most important things we can have is a sense of humour, to keep things in perspective.
Thanks to Gordon Curtis, our main trainer, and Terry Martino for his assistance. And thanks to Alison Archer for the fabulous photos.

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16/03/2026

Last year I held a very successful Encourage trial here at Kumbark. This year I will be running two encourage trials. These will be unofficial, fun events, run by the Northern Districts Sheepdog Club. There will also be an event for people out of encourage who have never won a trial.
Dates are June the 13th and 14th and Oct 17th and 18th. More details will be available closer to hand. If you need help with some training before the event, please contact me.

12/03/2026

One of the most important things we can do with our dogs is to teach them to walk with their sheep, preferably in straight lines.
As soon as the dog is balancing up correctly, heading well and understanding how to respond to body language, this is the next step.
This can be difficult, especially with strong heading dogs or dogs that have spent too long in the round yard. This is why I get dogs out of the smaller yards as soon as possible. Constant circling can fire dogs up, frustrate them and cause them to switch off mentally, which creates difficulty in teaching them.
Keeping them calm allows them to think and learn. Walking with the sheep can bring their adrenaline down and help them relax.
When we start this exercise, the dog usually wants to race to the head constantly, so we need to calmly block them and show them that all we want is for them to walk behind the sheep. Not plodding aimlessly, still working, in good contact and thinking, but not panicking about needing to head constantly.

This can take a while until the dog understands what we want and the handler learns to walk as straight as possible.
The ideal is to have the sheep calmly walking either beside us or just behind us. If the sheep are pushing past, then the dog is too close; if the sheep are too far back, the dog needs to move them up a little. If the sheep are right, then the dog is right and we leave him alone.
We want the dog to feel the sheep and keep them walking, applying as much pressure as needed. If he is pressuring the sheep too much, we need to slow him down. When we change direction, it's important he arcs out well around his sheep as he flanks.
I like to start them on this exercise before the commands go on. I
want the dog to think, understand what is required and work it out.
We need to allow him to straighten the sheep up as required, once again without commands, keeping his distance, and not cutting in.
The dog needs to walk at our pace, not their own.
If we are struggling to keep the dog behind the sheep, we can try walking along a fence so we only need to control the dog on one side until he understands what we want.
I recommend that you find someone experienced to teach this exercise. Although it may be challenging, it can greatly benefit your training journey and should not be overlooked.

24/12/2025

To all my students, friends from near and far, and everyone in sheepdog land, I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic 2026. I leave you with an interesting quote.

“I’ve never been entirely sure what it is that makes trialing so strangely compulsive. Partly it’s an enjoyment of the company of my fellow sheepdog enthusiasts, many of whom are shepherds and share a unique understanding of the curious life we lead: partly too it’s a love of the sheepdog and it’s working relationship with man – but, to me at least, it’s also a sport rather than a hobby, and for that reason brings all the satisfaction, and frustration, that winning, losing and sometimes just competing brings with them.”
― David Kennard, The Dogs of Windcutter Down: One Shepherd's Struggle for Survival

22/12/2025

Despite the short notice, the close proximity to Christmas, and the possibility of hot weather, the Gordon Curtis clinic was well attended. We had eight people each day; some came for one day, some for both. We were lucky with the weather as it only topped 29 degrees both days.
It was a fantastic weekend, with some talented dogs.
Gordon has over 40 years of experience training and trialling dogs, as well as judging at the highest level in Australia across many states. He also uses his dogs to run his farm near Kellerberrin.
It was wonderful to see the progress everyone made with their dogs at the end of each day. Clinics are a great learning environment, as watching others can be of real benefit.
The most important thing at the beginning, before any training is done, is reading the dog. Understanding its strengths and weaknesses, its genetic traits, its confidence, or lack thereof, and anything that influences its work. Too much or not enough eye, a tendency to push the sheep and work too close, or perhaps break off too much. Most dogs have a strong and a weak side, and it is essential to determine which side is which.
Without learning and understanding these traits, it is impossible to train the dog correctly.
Also important is how the dog reacts to the handler. The dog needs to respect the handler without being fearful.
Position is something that everyone will struggle with in the beginning, and it can take a while to learn, but it is really important. Once this concept is understood by the handler, it is much easier to progress, and the dog will understand better what we are asking. Usually, if the dog is working incorrectly or confused, it is because we are in the wrong position.
Sometimes training might be a little slow and repetitious in the beginning, but getting the basics right is the key to real progress later on.
All in all, everyone had a great time, and we hope to see most people back again.
Thanks again to Lea Scadden and Allison Archer for the fantastic photos.

Depending on the weather, we will endeavor to run more clinics throughout the summer. Keep an eye on this page.