It’s so easy to keep using the dog which proves best for any one task, and overlook the less experienced dogs. Today we gave Mo her first real sheepdog challenge in training.
Kay has certainly proved invaluable as an assistant on our sheepdog training courses but for yesterday’s group training course, Kay was unable to help because she’s ‘in season’. This meant that I would have to use one of the other dogs for the dozens of little jobs a skilled dog is useful for on such days.
Mel was the obvious choice but unfortunately, she’s starting to feel her age, and an old leg injury isn’t helping either. I decided to opt for Mel and Glen’s three year old pup, Mo and see how she coped with the challenge of managing the sheep as well.
Mo has tremendous potential but she’s very headstrong and is often convinced she knows best. This can be very frustrating but knowing Mel was just the same when she was Mo’s age, I’m trying to be patient with her as she tackles our sheepdog challenge.
I needn’t have worried. Mo rose to the challenge extremely well. She moved the sheep expertly when we needed fresh ones, retrieved any sheep that managed to escape the control of the trainees, and she was more than up to the task of keeping the sheep away from the hurdles when required during the challenge.
At one stage, the sheep had attached themselves firmly to the hurdles, and the trainee dog was unable to move them. Mo took it upon herself to jump over the hurdles into the training ring and without a word from me, she shifted the sheep out into the centre of the ring. Perhaps most impressively, when I called her, she immediately jumped out over the hurdles again. This was truly an excellent display of what she learned from the sheepdog challenge. Excellent work.
WE CAN HELP YOU TRAIN YOUR DOG TO WORK SHEEP, CATTLE OR OTHER LIVESTOCK
If you’re interested in training a dog to work sheep, cattle, or other livestock, we can help you – whether you’re a complete beginner, or just wanting to improve.
For French, Spanish or English SUBTITLES click “CC” on player.
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.
Find out how members can send videos for our assessment and advice on their dog’s progress.
Leave a Reply