Featured tutorial – Driving
A three-part tutorial to teach YOU how to teach your sheepdog to drive sheep. The Driving tutorials are among our most popular videos, tackling a subject that many handlers – and dogs – find challenging. Some sheepdog trainers dread teaching their dog to drive, but if you take the time to understand what’s happening there’s […]
Featured tutorial – Moving out into the open field
The training ring is ideal for keeping the action in easy reach of the handler, but some young dogs are unhappy when working in a restricted space. Confined with the sheep, and feeling under pressure, a dog can be uncharacteristically aggressive. Moving the sheep out of the training ring, and then putting them back in, […]
Featured tutorial – Why Your Dog Should Flank Both Ways
It’s important that your dog will flank both ways around the stock For day-to-day farming tasks you might be able to work around your dog’s shortcomings, but when the unexpected happens (as it surely will) you, your dog, or more likely your sheep, will run into trouble if the dog is reluctant to flank freely […]
The dog darts at the sheep, if they move (FAQ)
QUESTION: My dog works quite well normally, but if any sheep move before I send him off, he won’t stay in place. He runs straight at them and chases them. The dog darts at the sheep if they move. ANSWER: The dog’s natural instinct SHOULD be to go and stop the sheep running off. If […]
Getting the sheep into the training ring
Put your sheep in place before you start training New sheepdog handlers who’ve built themselves a training ring can be faced with a seemingly insurmountable problem: “How can I put my sheep into the training ring if I don’t have a trained dog?” It’s a fair question! You can’t start to train until the sheep are inside […]
How to train your dog to have a good recall (FAQ)
QUESTION: How to train my dog to have a good recall? He won’t come back when I call him. ANSWER: To get a good recall on your dog isn’t difficult, but it sometimes takes patience, determination and leadership. Learn how to improve your dog’s recall. Information on this page is for training the dog to […]
How to get sheep away from fences and hedges (FAQ)
Find out how to get sheep away from fences and hedges QUESTION: How can I get my dog to move sheep away from fences? ANSWER: It might not seem like it at the time, but leading the trainee dog between the fence and the sheep can help to get them away from it. The dog […]
Featured Tutorial: Starting a Non-Starter
If your collie doesn’t want to work, is there anything you can do to spark its interest? The short answer is “Yes!” and understanding the possible reasons why the dog won’t work is a huge help to finding the cure. Most non-starters can become useful working dogs. It’s disappointing to find that your carefully selected […]
Use a Reward to Get Training on Board
Dogs benefit from a reward for their efforts, and sheepdogs are no exception. Luckily for us herding dogs have a huge capacity for learning, but in order to teach our dogs the things that we want them to do, there must be some kind of reward for them. When we train our dog to work […]
Retirement. At what age should my dog retire (FAQ)
Retirement. At what age should my sheepdog retire? FAQ QUESTION: My working sheepdog it getting older and slower now. When should my sheepdog retire? ANSWER: There is no set age for a dog to retire, some keep on working to a very old age, and others retire quite early. You will be the best judge […]
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