What’s Wrong With White Sheepdogs?

Answer – NOTHING! (Well, almost nothing).

A recent question from one of our members reminded us that white border collie sheepdog pups are not as popular as black and white, tricolour, red or other colours.

That’s a pity – and there’s little or no justification for it, unless you’re a sheepdog trials competitor.

If you have a predominantly white dog, the sheep don’t always recognise it as a dog when it first approaches them. I’ve seen this happen. Unbelievably, the sheep will often totally ignore the dog until it’s extremely close to them; then suddenly they realise there’s a dog amongst them and they panic!

After their initial panic, the sheep remember that the white thing approaching them is actually a dog (in disguise?) and it’s not a problem from then on. This is OK in a farm situation, where the same sheep see the same dog every time, but for sheepdog trials, where you can lose points if the dog causes the sheep to jump or panic, the poor sheep rarely see the same dog twice. In this situation, a white dog can be a big problem.

Read more about coloured dogs we’ve had .

FIRST STEPS IN BORDER COLLIE SHEEPDOG TRAINING

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