i'm thinking of herding...

[matt1970lemans]

I am intrested in something that I can do with my dog. I was thinking of contacting a lady near me that trains dogs for herding.I think it will be fun.I was told, correct me if I'm wrong, That eather your dog has it no not.You kinda have to put him in with the sheep and see what happens.My dog has a very strong herding instinct and being a DDR I think it would be like returning to his origin. Is there any tips anyone can give me?How do I prepare him if I can.

[tracyc]

You're right--they offer dogs a "herding instinct test" to see what kind of interest/ability/aptitude they were born with. This will let you and the trainer know whether or not it's a sport that your dog would do well at. There's not much you can do to prepare them for that instinct test. Just call the trainer and set up an appointment to have your dog evaluated.

I do some beginner herding lessons with my dogs, and it's very fun.

[DanL]

A friend of mine does herding lessons, and he will do the evaluation with the dog on a long line. Some dogs are overly aggressive towards the sheep and he doesn't want them getting bit on. His own Bouvier he won't even test because he knows he'd kill them. He has 2 BC's that are amazing. I saw one of them move all the sheep from a large pasture into a round pen in a couple minutes.

I've always wanted to try it w/ Gunnar, but I really don't have the time for it, and since I'm not on a farm, it would be nothing more than a recreational activity for him, and I'd rather do the things we're already doing for recreation.

[JenM66]

Dan, where do they go? Do they train AKC course C style (gee...you'd think I know what I'm talking about but I really don't - someone told me to find something similar to HGH, look for someone who trains AKC course C style). I'd really like to consider herding with Gracie.

[Cooper&me]

I would so love to do herding but how do you find places?

[tracyc]

Look on line for a herding club in the nearest big city--then email them and ask about trainers, facilities, etc. You may have to drive a ways to go herding, depending on where you live. We drive an hour each way to our herding lesson.

[doggiedad]

herding is a sport i'm thinking about. will my boy do it or not??????

[tracyc]

you'll never know until you try....

[doggiedad]

when do you start a dog to herd??? what age????

[tracyc]

I'm just a beginner at this myself, so I'm no expert. But I'd think it's someting you could start as early as 6 months or so. The commands for herding are like teaching/learning any other commands (except with the distraction of sheep). So when their little minds are in the "soaking it up" stage, they can learn herding as well as anything else.

You start out training the dog on a long lead, so even if they don't have great reacall, they're not going to run off or eat the sheep...you can grab the lead and reel them in.