QUESTION Do you have any help for a new sheepdog handler with an experienced dog? I purchased a fully trained sheepdog but I have never worked a dog on livestock before. Do your videos cover how to start off with a trained dog?
ANSWER: Sometimes people buy a trained dog in the hope (or assumption) that it will know what to do. That’s asking a lot of the poor dog! The dog needs guidance, such as where to gather the livestock from, and where you’ll want it to take them. Possibly most important of all it will need to learn what YOUR commands mean! Listen to the commands of the previous handler – whether voice or whistle commands – and try to emulate them.
If you’re a new sheepdog handler, but lucky enough to have bought or inherited a trained dog, watching our tutorials will help. Watch them before you begin working your new dog, and you’ll understand what’s happening, and how to control it.
Bonding
The most common problem with a new dog is that it hasn’t had time to bond with its new owner. Look at it from the dog’s point of view. He’s been taken away from a familiar place, handler and sheep, and he doesn’t know what to expect.
Bonding is nothing to do with the dog wagging its tail when you pat it on the head, it happens when the dog accepts you as its leader. That can happen quickly with a puppy, but it takes longer as the dog gets older. Sometimes, it takes several weeks or even months.
You can increase the bond between yourself and your dog by spending time with it. Even riding in the truck or tractor with you as you move around the farm can be a big help, but the dog also needs your guidance.
Be FIRM, FAIR and CONSISTENT
Give your new dog a few days to settle-in with you before you start working it, and then when you take it to the stock, give it easy tasks to begin with. Your commands will sound different, and your sheep might be quite different – heavier, or lighter and more flighty, than it’s been used to. Be patient with the dog, and give it time to understand your basic commands (such as “come here” or “stay there”) before you begin.
Even a highly skilled dog needs to know the pace you want it to work at, and how much pressure to apply to your particular stock. And skilled dogs are no exception when it comes to cutting corners and find easier ways for themselves to work. These ways may not be what we require, so we need to recognise when the dog’s working correctly, and when it’s not!
Our Sheepdog Training Tutorials (watch the video below) are of huge benefit to beginners, whatever the standard of their dog’s work. To get the best out of your dog, you need to understand HOW and WHY the dog works the way it does – and how to correct the dog when things go wrong (as they inevitably will).
This is one of our Frequently Asked Sheepdog Training Questions. See the full list of FAQs.
CLEAR, AFFORDABLE SHEEP AND CATTLE DOG TRAINING INSTRUCTION
Over 70 clearly explained, easy to follow sheep and cattle dog training videos for first time sheepdog trainers, farmers, and shepherds. Just £12 per month or £120 per year (choice of currencies for payment). Watch the preview here!
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For a very small monthly (or annual) subscription, watch many hours of expertly presented sheepdog training lessons. Not just theory – we show you what should happen, and what to do when things go wrong. Signup now. It’s easy to cancel payments at any time and you can continue to watch for the period you paid for.
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