Starting the 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!” Understanding the possible reasons why the dog won’t work is the start to finding the cure. Most non-starters can become useful working dogs. It’s disappointing to find that your carefully selected border collie… Read more…
Tutorial series – Bronwen and Scylla
A tutorial series where we train litter sisters, clearly demonstrating the differences in young dogs. Even if you breed your own replacements you can’t be entirely sure what you’ll get! It’s partly why training young dogs is so fascinating. How can litter sisters be so different? You might expect that litter sisters would be very… Read more…
The training area
Improve your sheepdog training area. Find out how a little preparation can have a BIG impact on teaching your dog to work sheep or other livestock. Two factors to keep in mind when you train a sheepdog are: keep the action close to you, and round-off any corners or spaces where the sheep might seek… Read more…
Close work with your dog
A useful sheepdog needs to be confident when it’s working sheep in yards and buildings. A huge outrun might be a sheepdog’s most impressive skill, but any working dog is likely to spend more time on yard work – penning, pushing, holding and loading sheep – than it is gathering them. The outrun will save… Read more…
ISDS registered puppies (SOLD)
Border Collie puppies for sale, ideal for sheep or cattle work, and also for competitive agility homes These puppies are reserved. (NB the puppies in these photographs are typical offspring from a previous Maddie/Ezra litter.) The parents of this litter, Maddie and Ezra, are home bred. As such, we expect these puppies will have inherited… Read more…
Dog won’t go round the sheep (FAQ)
QUESTION. My dog is keen to work sheep but refuses to go around them. How can I get the dog to go round the sheep and bring them to me? ANSWER. Just as a dog which has been taught to go out and bring sheep to the handler or trainer, can find it difficult to… Read more…
Portia’s training upgrade at Dean Farm
Training a sheepdog for working a larger number of sheep Note: In terms of training, the actual number of sheep discussed in this article, is not as important as the step-up in flock size compared to the dog’s previous experience. Increase flock and field sizes slowly. A welcome invitation! Busy schedules have reduced opportunities for… Read more…
Looking at the Point of Balance
Is the point of balance always in the same place? You’ll often hear that the dog MUST stop at 12 o’clock, on the “point of balance”. The theory is that if you imagine the handler is standing at 6 o’clock on a clock face, the dog should be directly opposite the handler – at 12… Read more…
When outruns go wrong, go back to basics
What can be done to improve a bad outrun? There are many opportunities for the outrun to go wrong. It’s important to keep them tidy, because the quality of the outrun can make a huge difference to the way the whole operation goes when you’re gathering sheep, or even cattle. Here are some of the… Read more…
Gathering sheep at Dean Farm today
Portia excelled when she was gathering sheep at Dean Farm today! In the picture above, after returning the sheep to their field, Portia took a dip in a water tank. “Get in the car!” Apart from not wanting to get into the car! (I still have to lift her in). Portia was very impressive when… Read more…
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