Training dogs to work with sheep and cattle ~ The Advice W/OMar 31 '06 (Updated Dec 28 '06) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line You can teach an old dog new tricks.
I am not exactly sure how many people really need advice on training a working sheep dog but as it is one of the few things I can give advice on and I really wanted to join the Advice W/O, I thought I would share what I know. Bear in mind that my working dogs were a rat bag bunch that had minds of their own at the worst possible time but a few well learned commands always saved the day. We really couldn't have managed the work we did without our dogs, they were an absolute necessity. ======================== The working farm dog is one of the most valuable assets a sheep and cattle farmer has. To see a well trained dog working is a sight to behold. Hundreds of sheep moving across a ridge in the distance with two or three dogs keeping the mob tight and controlled gives you a nice feeling of a job well done . Now, on the other hand ... hundreds of sheep moving across a ridge in the distance and then ... the dogs racing around scattering sheep left right and center causing chaos is enough to try the patience of a saint. Training a dog to work with livestock is quite a painstaking affair but well worth the effort as a well trained dog is an essential tool. Most farmers have at least two dogs, some have as many as twenty. We found having three or four was the best number for us. As the dogs work most days, they do have aches and pains, sore feet and the occasional cut pad to contend with so you need to have enough dogs on hand to manage your work load. There are three main working sheepdog breeds in New Zealand ~ the Huntaway, the Heading dog and the Handy dog. THE HUNTAWAY. Huntaways are generally large dogs with a booming bark. They naturally want to move the mob of sheep AWAY from you. They generally have a very loud bark and will trot along behind the mob, barking and keeping the mob moving along. They are also the muscle in the team and love to get into the rough and tumble of working in the yards or woolshed. THE HEADING DOG Heading dogs are smaller, quick moving and quiet. They work at the front of the mob and keep the mob together and in control. They naturally want to bring the mob TOWARD you. Most heading dogs are also EYE dogs, they tend to race around the front of the mob and then stop dead still, staring down the sheep while staying in one position. These dogs have specialist skills and need to be well trained to get the best from them. THE HANDY DOG These are great little dogs as they are capable of multi tasking and even though they may not be experts in either field, there is still definitely a place for them on the working team of dogs. They can be used for all tasks on the farm. Our team of dogs was generally made up of handy dogs but over our years on the farm we did have specialist huntaways and heading dogs. I think ideally having one heading dog, one huntaway and two handys would suit most needs. BASIC TRAINING FOR A WORKING DOG. Most puppies have a natural desire to chase things so it is a matter of harnessing the natural hunting instinct but stopping the natural killing instinct which follows the chase. The easiest way to see what your pups natural tendency is, is to give it the opportunity to access some soft livestock. If you have a few chickens, let your pup try to round them up and see what he wants to do. If he madly runs around after them he is leaning toward the Huntaway, if he quietly follows them around, moving calmly and steadily with his head lowered, he is leaning toward the Heading and if he moves quietly and then gives the occasional lunge and bark, chances are you have a Handy dog in the making. A few basic commands are essential to control your pup and enable you to gain a little control early on. COME ***** This is possibly the most essential command because when your dog is doing anything wrong, you want it to leave what it is doing and come straight back to you as soon as possible. Obviously most pups are full of beans and love nothing more than to come running at you so it is just a matter of saying COME whenever you find the pup heading your way. Eventually the penny drops and he should come on command. STAY ****** Getting the pup to stop what it is doing is equally important. They learn to stay quite readily and I found that saying STAY every time I tied the pup up worked well. I would tie the pup up and tell it to STAY as I walked away. Obviously he couldn't go anywhere as he was tied up. Eventually the pup learns that STAY means don't move and will obey your command without needing to be tied up. BACK ***** This command teaches the dog to run out and gather the sheep into a tight mob. The easiest way to teach your pup this is to let him run out with an older dog. If you don't have an older dog you will have to do the hard yards yourself. Keep the dog on a rope and run out behind the mob of sheep saying BACK or WAY BACK as you go along. If the rope is long enough and you are confident that you can catch up with it, you can let the rope go and let the pup run out on his own and if it looks like he might be about to go wrong, stand on the rope immediately to stop the dog in his tracks as you say the STAY command. LEFT and RIGHT *************** Teaching the pup to run out to the left or the right on command is a godsend. The easiest was to do this is on a short rope, walk the dog straight ahead and then turn to the left saying LEFT as you do so. Teach him RIGHT the same way but don't try to teach him both directions at once as this will confuse him. Some pups won't pick up this command but most will learn it, even if they just learn one direction it will be a huge help. WHISTLES Once your pup has learned the commands, you can add a different whistle to each command. He will pick this up very fast. Having the whistle commands means that you can work your dog at far distances without him getting confused. Most dogs will stop and look at you for their commands so if whistling is not one of your strong points, working some body movements or arm gestures to the different commands could work just as well. WHEN TO WORK YOUR PUP. It depends on the person as to when they want to work their pup out with livestock but we would take them out at about 4-5 months of age. Be careful what stock you put them on at this tender age though as you don't want to scare them. it's not a good idea to put a little pup out with cattle as the cattle will just turn and chase the pup. Adult sheep could be inclined to do the same, especially rams or ewes with young lambs. We used to take the pup out when we were moving young sheep, the sheep run at the drop of a hat so the young pup will feel very powerful and confident. We always kept the pup on a long rope initially so that we could control where he went ... you don't want him getting isolated in the middle of the mob and you also don't want him racing around wildly like a mad thing. Always remember that the pup is still a boisterous bundle of energy and you are sure to find yourself frustrated with his antics from time to time but do persevere. By the time your pup is a year old he should be able to do a bit of work but remember that he is still a puppy till around 2 years old. By the time your dog has matured to a 3 year old, you should have a very competent worker on your hands. There is no end to the commands you can teach a working dog, especially those that are bred specifically for working with livestock. Even old dogs can learn new commands, the older they are the quicker they learn ... a short 15-30 minute lesson should be all that is required to teach an older dog new tricks! ====================== Want to join mmcphee's W/O, head here http://www.epinions.com/content_4688355460  |
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