Herding

thankyou fly30,her mother came from a working kelpie stud but her owners just kept her as a pet...we don't have sheep,so our 3 cows will have to do :LOL:
 
Hauru's breeder has some sheep and today I finally managed to take Hauru there and see what he thinks about them. I was really afraid that he would hurt or scare the sheep but he turned out to be real good (imho at least, keep in mind I know absolutely nothing of herding so...). During the first session he was on longline just in case but he behaved well and whenever he would try to chase the sheep he stopped immediately when the breeder banged her stick thingy. The next session he got to be off leash and I think showed talent by trying to hold "balance point" or whatever it's called and occasionally following the breeder's directions when she wanted to turn the sheep around. Of course I was walking right behind Hauru the whole time, backing him up and every now and than he came to me for reassurance or just run off to sniff things but all in all I think it's pretty good for a dog who has never before seen sheep. Too bad there aren't any herding places nearby so I don't know if we're going to do this again. Maybe next summer I'll have my own car so we can go practice some more since apparently he could be good at this.

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He's too excited in this picture and probably about to scatter the flock

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Looking more like it...

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Sheepdog doing he's thing :)
 
Oh that's great ! Thanks for sharing the photos :)

I suppose it is different from place to place but here, we never use a leash. If we are not sure about the dog's intentions, we put the sheep in a protected circle and the dog can run around it. The instructor does not work with the dog here, which makes it all the more difficult (my poor Fly suffers from my lack of skill).

I hope you'll have other opportunities to work with your dog. This is a real pleasure. Well done for trying.
 
Wow - well done Fly:D

I took Jukes to a full day begineers course last week - we had great fun and he actually picked it up quite fast. I think I'll take him again this week - hopefully he'll eventually be able to heard our chickens and the 5 geese - I'm praying it's not that much different from herding sheep but we'll see...
 
Jukes, this is great !!! chicken and geese, I never tried but I think the work is on the same basis, apart from the fact that the dog has to be slow and soft in order not to put too much pressure on the animals. Let us know about your progress.
 
I suppose everyone has their own way of doing things. Hauru's breeder competes in herding with her dogs so I guess she knows what she is doing even if I don't.
 
ambara said:
I suppose everyone has their own way of doing things. Hauru's breeder competes in herding with her dogs so I guess she knows what she is doing even if I don't.
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Certainly, I don't contest her skill. I'm not skilled myself. I was just talking about the different ways of teaching. You said you had no place nearby but hope to be able to continue when you have your car. I think it would be a good idea to continue with your breeder. She knows your dog's breed and each breed works differently.
 
fly30 said:
Certainly, I don't contest her skill.
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Oh, that's not how I meant it either :) Just that I don't know why it was done this way or that way. I was just walking around all "oooh sheep!!!" :D You are certainly right about the breeds being different, I couldn't imagine Hauru ever doing that BC staring thing for example.
 
I totally love Mudis, they are sort of like a shepherd and terrier mixed in. Doesn't matter what we do, he's always interested and tries his hardest to excel. But I also have to always warn that it's not the easiest breed so the downsides should be taken seriously.
 
We went herding again, and I can tell you that we had a hard day. Fly sticks like glue and she stays to close behind the sheep, so that they run behind me and sometimes I don't even touch the ground anymore ! :ROFLMAO:
So I'm trying to teach her to keep her distance from the herd. Hard work for a family dog. The problem is that herding is as new to me as it is to her and I'm not always clear with her. Be brave, Fly, we'll get there ! Good point, Fly now knows directions (left and right, which is come by and away in herding terms).

http://youtu.be/nILKItmMkU0
 
Awww Fly is awsome, Shows the true nature of Border Collies! :D I'd Love to get Eddie doing sheep hearding, Need to find somewhere to take him! Would love to see him herding sheep! xx
 
Thank you GeorgiPeorgi. I'm sure you can find somewhere where you can learn herding with Eddie. Don't hesitate, it's so amazing. You'll discover another dog in Eddie.
 
Another herding session. A very odd one. Fly finally understood how to walk on a straight line behind the sheep. She starts understanding that she should work far behind and not at the sheeps bottoms, this is her major problem. But we'll get there.
We tried a new exercise and that was a nightmare. I had to stand in the middle of fence cross with the sheep and Fly should have run around it, left and right, according to my commands, further and further. She did not understand anything, maybe I was unsure and not clear enough and it was a disaster : she did the opposite of what she was asked to do, she lost confidence and finally ran away. This require too much pressure. She can't take pressure, she a sensitive dog, but I know she can do her best. So I came back to straight lines and "go away" session and it went well. I think we'll now have to progress softly. I don't want to forget why we're doing it : just for fun.
http://youtu.be/gvmjXirkWYs
 
What a great day at herding on Sunday !!! Fly and I had fun. We were really connected and I was relaxed. Even when things turned out to be complicated (we had some funny situations, you'll see on the video), there was something between the two of us and we dared impossible things, we failed but did not loose attention nor temper. Fly was really there and was working like a great border collie. She's only 1 year and a half and I'm so proud she's so devoted. She really surprised me.

http://youtu.be/pAUq4f96weo
 
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