Nipping Sheep?

[Guest resonator80]

I have a border collie mix (a family pet), but I am not a participant in training border collies or sheepdog trials.

 

However, I have a question that I have been wondering about and discussing with a friend who has a border collie (also nonworking). When herding sheep, do border collies nip or otherwise bite sheep to get them to move? If so, what is the proper amount of nipping and how does this count in the ratings of a dog's performance? I would be very interested in seeing written information on this subject.

[Guest aurdank]

Border Collies show power in moving sheep by NOT nipping. They rely on their physical presence, their authoritative attitude and, for those who have it, their "eye". Sometimes sheep will be exceptionally heavy such that only a little nip, even from a strong dog, will get them moving. But generally nipping is associated with weakness and is not a desireable quality. Dogs may nip because they feel they cannot control the stock otherwise. Most often nipping in trials will result in a disqualification (DQ), though there may be mitigating circumstances, such that the judge would allow nipping or "gripping," as it is usually called, but with a severe point deduction. Sometimes the dog needs to defend itself and will grip, but the need for it to do this is often interpreted by the judge as a weakness in the dog as perceived by the sheep, that is, even if the dog did nothing to provoke the ewe, the ewe read the dog as weak and challenged it. My own view is that sometimes the ewe reads the dog as a threat rather than as weak and will challenge it for this reason and sometimes leave a softer dog alone. In any case, the dog would still suffer a point deduction, even if forced to grip, but would normally not get disqualified. If the sheep are merely being unco-operative in moving and not actually challenging the dog, and the dog grips to get them moving, some judges would DQ,because they might see this as weakness in the dog, while others might feel that the dog did the workmanlike thing under difficult circumstances, but still would merit a point deduction. Much depends on the circumstances, the nature of the sheep and the judge's own subjective reading of how these all interact. But in general, gripping in trials is considered bad form and will draw either a DQ or a heavy point loss.