Sheepdog Training FAQ

Frequently asked questions about sheepdog and cattle dog training

Click a topic link or scroll down for frequently asked questions about sheepdog and cattle dog training. Feel free to ask a new sheepdog training question below or privately via our Contact page. Watch our sheepdog training videos.

1. Afraid of sheep or cattle – what to do if your dog’s afraid of livestock.
2. Attacking cattle – find out how to control your dog better when it’s working.
3. Barking – find out why the dog barks, and how to stop it.
4. Biting sheep’s faces – a fairly easily-fixed confidence problem.
5. Calling away from stock – get your dog to come away from sheep or cattle.
6. Chasing cars – and anything else that moves.
7. Darting at sheep if they move – the dog’s “getting the idea”, but needs guidance!
8. Dog won’t go round the sheep – get your dog to flank around sheep and bring them to you.
9. Different reactions of sheep near dogs – why sheep respond differently to different dogs.
10. Familiarising dogs with sheep – it’s great to get the dog used to sheep, find out how.
11. Flank around stock both ways – it’s essential to get the dog working well in both directions.
12. Get sheep away from fences – how to get the sheep where the dog can go around them.
13. Going too wide around stock – find out how to get your dog to work closer to the stock.
14. Good recall – train your dog to come back when you call.
15. Help for new trainers.
16. Huntaway or Blue Heeler dogs.
17. Killing sheep – what to do with a dog which has killed sheep.
18. Living in the house – will it ‘spoil’ the dog’s farm work?
19. Older dogs – can you teach an old dog new tricks?
20. Retirement age for the dog – at what age should we retire our dogs?
21. Send the dog from your side – setting the dog up for an outrun.
22. Slow the dog down – learn to work the dog quietly, and keep it calm.
23. Stopping sheep going into pen – why the dog does this, and how to stop it.
24. Stop shouting at the dog – learn to work the dog quietly, and keep it calm.
25. Speed the dog up – if the dog works too slowly, here’s how to speed it up!
26. Splitting sheep – how to encourage the dog to keep the sheep together.
27. Tail position – how the dog carries its tail as it works, tells us a lot.
28. Will the dog work sheep? Signs to look for, and how to encourage the dog.
29. Working without commands – such as at the top of the outrun.
30. Work a flock of sheep – moving on to work big bunches of sheep.

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