The traditional sheepdog commands used by farmers, shepherds, and handlers to control their stock, can seem off-putting at first. For example, should we use ‘Come bye’ or ‘Away’ to send the dog clockwise around stock?
Click the links below to find out more information about sheepdog commands
These commands have evolved over many years, and are used by shepherds and farmers for controlling and directing farm dogs working throughout the world today.
This post will help you understand (and learn) both traditional and more recent popular herding commands.
Basic sheep dog commands
Click the command links (below) for their meanings.
“COME-BYE” (Is that clockwise or anti-clockwise?)
On hearing the “Come-bye” command, the dog must move around the sheep or cattle in a clockwise direction. (The opposite direction in some areas).
If the handler is facing the stock, with the dog at their side when they give the command, clockwise means the dog should go to the handler’s left on its way to the sheep or cattle.
Avoid thinking of it as left and right though – when the dog is on the far side of the sheep, the commands are the opposite way around!
How to remember this command
Think of the sheep as a clock face (the traditional kind, with hands that point to the hours and minutes). Then think of the direction the dog travels as clockwise or anti-clockwise.
‘C‘ stands for both “Come-bye” and Clockwise – while ‘A‘ stands for “Away” which is also Anti-clockwise!
“AWAY” (or “Away-to-me”)
The “Away” command means the dog must move around the sheep or cattle in an anti-clockwise direction. (The opposite direction in some areas).
If the handler is facing the stock, with the dog at their side when they give the command, anti-clockwise means the dog should go to the right on its way to the sheep or cattle.
Avoid thinking of it as left and right though – when the dog is on the far side of the sheep, the commands are the opposite way around!
How to remember this command
Imagine the sheep as a clock face (the old kind, with hands pointing to hours and minutes). Then think of the direction the dog travels as clockwise or anti-clockwise.
‘C‘ stands for both “Come-bye” and Clockwise – while ‘A‘ stands for “Away” which is also Anti-clockwise!
“LIE-DOWN” (or “Stand” or “Stop”)
The traditional sheepdog commands ‘Lie down’, ‘Stand’ and ‘Stop’, all mean ‘STOP’. However, it’s best to use only one stop command.
The fewer commands you use, the easier it is for the dog (and handler) to remember them.
Theoretically, the “Lie down” command means the dog should stop and lie down on the ground. The “Stand” command means the dog should stop, but remain standing.
It really doesn’t matter though. As long as the dog STOPS, we let it decide whether to stay on its feet or not!
The chosen ‘stop command’ can become more versatile, as the dog gains experience. It will become easy to control the dog’s pace according to the urgency and tone of your voice. A soft stop command will slow the dog, while a stronger one will slow it more, or stop it.
We have three in-depth Stopping The Dog tutorial videos, which will help you to stop your dog without damaging its confidence.
“THAT’LL DO“
“That’ll do” is a recall command that is widely used on farms whether the dog is working stock or not. The dog must stop what it’s doing and return directly to the handler.
“That’ll do”, can also be of enormous help when training a dog to drive sheep, cattle or other livestock.
When first learning to drive, the dog will desperately want to bring the stock back to you.
Instead of following the stock, the dog will veer out wider in readiness to flank around them. While this is happening, the action is getting farther away from you. As a result, your control will be diminishing.
The dog becomes less likely to obey a command to bring it back onto line. In this situation, the dog is far more likely to obey the ‘That’ll Do’ command than a flanking command to bring it back towards you. For this reason, we use ‘That’ll do’ as a sort of ‘cheat card’ to bring the dog closer, and therefore into a driving position behind the stock.
We have three online Driving tutorials to show you more about teaching a dog to drive stock.
Other traditional sheepdog commands
“WALK-UP“ (or “Get-up” or “Walk-on”)
These commands tell the dog to move closer to the sheep or cattle. This will apply more pressure on them to move.
As the dog’s skill increases, you need to introduce one of these commands to encourage it to move towards the stock. As well as applying pressure to the stock though, it also increases pressure on the dog. Getting closer to the stock can be frightening for young or inexperienced dogs.
Important tip!
Commands for getting the dog closer to stock should never be given harshly. If the dog is hesitating, it’s lacking confidence, so reassurance is required.
“STEADY“ (or “Take-time”)
“Steady” tells the dog it must slow down to a more acceptable pace. It’s used by trainers who prefer to have a separate command for slowing the dog down, rather than use a softer version of the stop command. We prefer the latter. (See ‘Lie down’ links above).
Our dogs quickly learn they should stop quickly if the command is hard, and to reduce their speed when the command is softer. Likewise the ‘Steady’ command.
Whichever order you use, the dog should slow down and put more distance between itself and the stock. The best sheepdog training video for this is Backwards Is The Way Forward.
“GET BACK“ (or “Go back”)
“Get back” instructs the dog to go further back from the stock. Often used when the dog comes in too close, such as when you are sorting sheep in a pen or a sorting race.
It can be difficult to get a keen dog to go further back, away from the stock, but it’s well worth the effort.
Make it clear to the dog that the session will not continue unless it goes back. If it persists in coming forward, send it back further than where it was originally.
“GET OUT“ (or just “Out”)
“Get out” tells the dog to go out wider from the stock.
The dog naturally wants to come in close to the stock and that stresses them. When sheep or cattle are upset, they are harder to control, so it’s important to make the dog give the stock plenty of room.
It’s not wise to introduce too many commands during the early stages of the dog’s training, but “get out” can be useful if taught as soon as the dog has basic control of its stock.
“LOOK BACK“ (or “Look”)
“Look back” tells the dog to look around (usually behind). There are some more sheep (or cattle) to gather.
Regarded by many as advanced, this under-rated command is useful for teaching a trainee dog to go back and collect animals it’s left behind.
When the dog looks around, and spots the sheep, the handler gives a command to send the dog to collect them. The dog will soon learn that it’s easier to bring all the sheep or cattle at the first attempt, rather than have to go back a second time.
The ‘Look Back’ is a major feature in Double Gather sheepdog trials.
Watch our Introduction to Sheepdog Trials videos to find out more about preparing your dog and yourself for trials competitions.
“STAY THERE!” (surprisingly useful)
“Stay there” obviously tells the dog to stay where it is.
It’s very effective when you want the dog to stay in place, such as when you’re sorting sheep in a race.
We find it so effective, we use it as a backup if the dog ignores the stop command.
We suspect it’s effectiveness is because it’s also a command we use when the dogs are not working livestock.
Watch the sheepdog commands video
We recommend our “Learn Your Commands” Online training video to help you learn the traditional (and more modern) sheepdog commands. Watch the video preview below.
Optional sheep dog commands and terminology
There is no requirement to use the traditional sheepdog commands to control your dog. It’s up to individual trainers and handlers. If you work two or more dogs at the same time, the dogs should be trained with different commands. The dog’s don’t mind what the words are. But if you use your own words, rather than Come-bye, Away and Lie down, make them easily distinguishable.
Any clear sheepdog directions will work
It doesn’t matter a hoot to the dog which words we use to control it, as long as we learn those sheepdog commands properly. We could say “Lottery ticket” and as long as we were consistent, the dog would work out what we meant. If you ever want to sell your dog however, it might be difficult to explain to the next handler that they must say “lottery ticket” to get the dog to move in the clockwise direction around the sheep!
Words we use to control a farm dog
In practice, border collies are so intelligent they can quickly sort out what you want. I once bought a young dog which had been trained using “come bye” for anticlockwise. It took two fifteen minute lessons before she was fluently using her flanking commands the way I wanted. I recommend you keep the basic sheepdog training commands you use to a minimum in the early stages of training. That way you’ll avoid confusing the young trainee dog.
Whether you use traditional farm dog commands and words to control your farm dog or not, the most important thing to remember when giving a dog its orders, is to be clear, and consistent. The dog cannot possibly learn the commands properly if you get them wrong, yourself. If you confuse one command with another, you will blame the dog for obeying you!
Before you begin teaching sheepdog commands
The most important thing to remember when using basic or more advanced commands for sheepdog training, is to be clear, and also consistent. The dog’s ability to learn your directions is limited only by your ability to remember and use them consistently.
Avoid confusing the dog
Learn the three basic commands thoroughly. Come-bye, away and lie down. If you give the dog a wrong command, how can it learn to work properly? Additionally, keep the number of words used to control your dog to a minimum at first. This will help both the dog and yourself, to remember which command is which! You can introduce more varied directions as the dog’s skill increases.
Learn more Sheep Herding Terminology
Visit our Sheepdog Terminology page for a fuller list of language used by shepherds, sheep farmers and sheepdog trials competitors.
Begin training with three basic commands
“COME-BYE” – “AWAY” and “LIE-DOWN” are the three basic commands we recommend trainers restrict their command vocabulary to when they begin to teach their dog to work sheep or other livestock. Three commands are less likely to confuse the dog, and are easy to remember.
One of my favourite traditional sheepdog commands is “Stay there!” It means just what it says!
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