Sheepdog Training 1 – How to train a sheepdog

A Beginners’ Guide to Training a Dog to Herd Sheep

First uploaded Feb 8th 2003 – revised October 2022.

Introduction

Struggling on our hands and knees in the base of a very overgrown hedge one day, it occurred to Gillian and me that there ought to be more information for beginners to sheepdog training and handling. We were vainly attempting to extract some Texel-cross ewes which had wedged themselves among the thorny branches and were stubbornly refusing to come out. Who could blame them? Our over-zealous trainee dog Dot, had been giving them a hard time, and they’d had more than enough of it.

The last straw!

The last straw came when, trying to ignore the pain inflicted by countless thorns, and using every ounce of our strength, we triumphantly heaved the first ewe into the open field, only for Dot, who we’d dragged by her collar into the hedge to help us remove the sheep, suddenly shot out from beside us under the hedge, and promptly drove the sheep back into it!

Sheep will use cover like this to shelter from a dog. The space under this hedge is a lot higher than the one which Dot’s sheep took shelter under!

Having already studied most of the books and videos available at the time, we were well versed with the theory of how to get a dog to lie down behind the sheep or to flank right or left – but none of the instructions we’d encountered mentioned how to reached such an advanced stage from where we were now!

This article was written in 2003 but here we are in 2022 and sadly, most of the information currently available on herding and sheepdog training is written by sheep farmers or sheepdog trials champions. All are superb sheepdog trainers, of course. They go to great lengths to instruct us on the tiniest intricacies of training a sheepdog – but they overlook the fact that these days a growing number of sheepdog handlers are part-time smallholders with regular employment outside agriculture altogether. Not being experienced farmers or shepherds, these newcomers simply don’t understand much of what the instructor’s talking about.

Experience of sheepdog training as a novice

They need more detailed background information which the top handlers and trainers take for granted. Information which is second nature to the professional shepherd or sheep farmer. A source of information on training sheepdogs – created by someone who’s experienced the difficulties of sheepdog training as a complete novice.

Perhaps most importantly, they need to see things that typically go wrong, and how to correct them.

19 years later…

Nineteen (19) years later, Gill and I are proud to have seventy three (73) Online Sheepdog Training Tutorials, watched by sheepdog trainers, farmers and shepherds throughout the world. Watch the preview video below.

Training – 1 Introduction Training – 2 Basic training requirements Training – 3 Why sheepdogs work Training – 4 Definition of a sheepdog Training – 5 A dog is for life… Training – 6 Bond with your dog Training – 7 Firm fair & consistent Training – 8 Never punish a dog for coming back Training – 9 Welcome your dog back Training – 10 ‘Reading’ your dog’s mind Training – 11 Careful thought, to cure problems Training – 12 Control your temper Training – 13 Don’t blame the dog Training – 14 What does a sheepdog do? Training – 15 Started sheepdog or puppy? Training – 16 ISDS registered or farm dog? Training – 17 Choosing a part-trained dog Training – 18 Chasing cars & other things Training – 19 Suitable housing for dogs Training – 20 Correct food for your dog Training – 21 Spend time with your dog Training – 22 Traditional sheepdog commands Training – 23 What happens when you start? Training – 24 A dog’s first encounter with sheep Training – 25 The supermarket trolley! Training – 26 The ‘Magic Cord’ Training – 27 Teaching a dog to stop Training – 28 Gripping or biting sheep Training – 29 Dogs with ‘too much eye’ Training – 30 Teaching the dog to drive sheep Training – 31 Sheepdog trials Training – 32 What happens at sheepdog trials?

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