Category: Our sheepdogs at work
Big Improvement in Kay’s Confidence
Does a sheepdog need to be confident? Without it, Kay would struggle to cope with stubborn sheep. We had another early start this morning with two lots of sheep to gather at Dean Farm. We’re “enjoying” a heatwave in the UK at the moment. So I was more than happy to get up at 5am today because I wanted to get the sheep in and… Read more.
Bronwen Excels in the Sorting Pen
“All my own work” – Bronwen proved highly efficient working in the pens at Dean Farm this morning We arrived at the farm at 6.30am, and Bronwen and Kay set to work gathering the ewes and lambs from a large field. The two dogs work very well together. Kay works efficiently on whistle commands, and Bronwen’s not yet been trained to the whistle; she ignores… Read more.
Bronwen’s baptism of fire – facing a stiff challenge in the shearing pens
Some “on the job” training for a promising youngster The inevitable time lag between a training session being filmed and then appearing in the Tutorials Library means there’s no video of Bronwen gathering sheep at Dean Farm in Part 6. However, progress so far shows that while Scylla’s still untrustworthy around sheep (but improving), Bronwen’s fast becoming a “go to” sheepdog for everyday work. While… Read more.
Kay and Bronwen gather sheep at Dean Farm
Kay and Bronwen both look after their own interests at Dean Farm, in totally different ways Whenever I take dogs to Dean Farm to gather sheep for John, the one thing I can count on is that things rarely go smoothly. Today was no exception. Since we parted with Carew a few weeks ago, I’ve realised more and more, how lucky I was to have… Read more.
Dogs aren’t the only ones who can learn
People ask if sheep are clever? Perhaps not clever, exactly, but our sheep have become experts at avoiding pressure Our sheepdog training course yesterday was a great demonstration of just how clever sheep can be. Many people believe sheep aren’t intelligent because, to us, they seem to do some very unwise thing. Anyone who has lived with sheep has a lot more respect for them.… Read more.
Did I say I might miss Carew?
A Huge Test for Ezra and Bronwen at Dean Farm Regular readers of our blog will know that we parted with Carew earlier this month. Carew’s such a talented sheepdog that because we have so little work for her (especially in winter) we took the agonising decision to let her go to a large flock on Dartmoor in the South West of England. Of course,… Read more.
Pic of the day – sheep by numbers
An unseasonably sunny (is it really December?) morning was the opportunity for some sheep maintenance Primarily we were checking the ear tag numbers on our most recent intake of “training assistants”, but it’s important to check the sheep regularly, just to make sure they’re all the right way up. The ear tags show the sheep’s individual number, and the number of the flock they belong… Read more.
New Tutorial: Balance – What’s the Point?
What is the sheepdog’s “point of balance” and where can I find it? It’s important to understand the point of balance when you are training or working dogs with cattle, sheep or any other stock. The point of balance is where the dog should be positioned, in relation to the stock, at any given time. Knowing where to stop your dog, or where to move… Read more.
Get to grips with gripping
Most novice handlers are horrified if their sheepdog grips sheep. It must be stopped, of course, but help is on hand! “Gripping” is the euphemistic term we use to describe a dog that bites – literally “grips” – a sheep. It covers a spectrum of behaviour, from taking a nip at the fleece to a determined hanging on. The dog will often aim for a… Read more.