Kay’s control, versatility and manoeuvrability prove their worth in a tight situation
Saturday isn’t our regular day for gathering sheep at Dean Farm. However, on Wednesday, John had mentioned that he wanted to take some ewes to a weekend store sale at Worcester Cattle Market. I volunteered to help with the dogs, reminding him that I want to give the dogs as much gathering work as possible. He’d be doing me as much of a favour as I might be doing him. He accepted, and Carew, Kay and I drove over to Droitwich for a 7:30am start.
Choose the best dog for the situation
John had already separated the ewes he intended to sell, and had put them with the cattle. Given a choice, this isn’t something I’d have done. Carew will reluctantly work sheep in close proximity to cattle. However, she tends to panic, and will sometimes even drive them back towards the cattle she’s managed to separate them from! I can’t pretend to understand what’s going on in her mind under these circumstances so, I must admit, I usually choose another dog.
On the other hand, Kay’s learning to cope with this situation. When confronted with cattle she used to just run away. But, gradually, I’ve been able to persuade her to keep trying. Now, as long as they’re not too tightly crowded together, she’ll tenaciously “tease” sheep out from between the cattle.
John suggested he feed the cattle (to divert them away from the sheep) and prepare the loading area. Meanwhile, I took one or both dogs to bring the 35 chosen ewes in to the yard. It seemed like a great idea. John feeds the cattle every day, and they come running when he approaches with the truck. The sheep are not being fed anything other than their grazing, so they would probably stay where they were.
In practice, some of the cattle ran towards John and the truck, while others didn’t seem to be aware that he was there. Kay and I watched the beasts stream towards John as he called them into a corner of the field. Unfortunately, the sheep started to go with them. The cattle were now strung out in single file, and this seemed Kay’s best chance of retrieving them. I sent her “Away” and she responded very well.
It’s no time to be distracted, Kay!
I often talk about dogs using a distraction to avoid doing something they don’t like. This would have been Kay’s opportunity to do a massively wide outrun to avoid the cattle. I was happy to see her run out at a sensible distance around the sheep. In no time at all, she had their escape route covered and they were turning towards the farm buildings.
If I have any criticism of Kay’s performance it’s that, near the cattle, she was difficult to stop. This meant that the sheep were moving faster than I would have liked. However, I didn’t really mind because Kay’s full attention was clearly on the job in hand.
There was a further delay when the sheep attempted to escape by running between a deep, murky pond and the hedge. They aimed for a gateway that leads to the fields where they normally graze.
Luckily the gate was closed, but this was an interesting situation. I’m a firm believer that a dog should work equally well in both directions around the sheep. Occasionally, a farmer will argue that, on his farm, he can manage perfectly well with his dog. Even though it will only flank in one direction.
When is a one-sided dog a problem?
My argument is that, sooner or later, a situation will arise where you really need the dog to go in a particular direction. This is to avoid making the situation worse. Here was an excellent example of what I mean. The sheep were going to market to be sold, today, so they had to look their best. Now, they were trapped between a fence, a gate and an extremely muddy pond. If I’d sent Kay “Come bye”, the sheep would have been pushed hard (this was a confined space) towards the pond. If they’d tried to make a run for it, there was a high risk of them being splattered with mud (not conducive to getting the best price for them at market).
Kay, however, works well in either direction. So, I was able to send her “Away” which, of course, held the sheep away from the pond. She moved calmly, and the sheep came back cleanly (in more ways than one) and moved into the yard without further incident.
To learn more about this, and how to ensure you don’t have a one-sided dog, watch our Flank Both Ways tutorial.
Kay and I were patiently pushing the sheep into the buildings when John arrived, back from feeding the cattle. He was astonished that we’d got the sheep in so quickly. Later, he mentioned that, although he felt he could have managed, it would have taken an hour or more. Kay had done the job in about five minutes!
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!
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.
Leave a Reply