Affects of stock work on other activities?

[Maralynn]

I’m curious to hear a herding persons perspective on the following

 

I’ve had a couple of SAR people tell me that sheep work can be a detriment to SAR because herding because other rewards aren’t as fulfilling to the dog, and that you may have problems if you ever need to do a search near sheep. While I understand their perspective, and agree to a point, I don’t fully agree with that.

 

IMO, you have the inbred instinct to deal with whether or not your dogs does herding. For example, you’re on a search, and a deer bolts across your path. I’d rather have a dog that has been trained to come off stock, then a dog seeing a rare opportunity to chase the deer.

 

I think that some stock work could be a benefit as it teaches the dog control, a pretty solid recall, confidence and teamwork. It’s something that you control and call the shots on, not a forbidden fruit for the dog.

 

To me it seems that a dog with decent food/toy motivation should be able to switch back and forth between stock work and other work, provided they have sufficient motivation from the handler, and training. As for the possibility of doing a search next to a field with of sheep, well, I still want my dog trained well enough to realize that sheep are worked only with my direction and permission. I know Missy will switch back and forth to sheep, ball or whatever, depending on what I tell her, even though working sheep is her preference. My gut feeling that is that Kipp (who has high food drive and decent toy drive) can be trained to do the same.

 

Any thoughts/opinions?

[Bo Peep]

Border collies can do it all. My dogs knew the difference between sheep & a choke chain. When we did obedience & herding. Why do you think they call them the versatile breed. Keep going. You have the best breed in the world.

[G. Festerling]

Maybe this is the opinion because they don't know enough about herding and what it covers?