Sour sheep?

[Guest Cassie]

How do I keep the few sheep I have- ten,by the way, from becoming stick-to-my-knees dog broke? I do not have ready access to replacements and am trying to learn with only a limited number of sheep. Thanks.

[Guest Penny Tose]

This is a good question. I also need to know what kind of

sheep you have and whether you got dog broken sheep when you bought them. If someone else has already taught your sheep to be a nuisance, then you'll have more trouble with this issue than you would have if you had sheep previously unworked in small numbers by a dog; however, sheep previously unworked by a dog can and will create problems for untrained handlers and dogs.

 

Some breeds of sheep will dog break within a month or less, Rambouillets in small

numbers are an example but a marvelous test when fresh; some others, like Cheviots or Gulf Coast

Natives, will stay fairly wary and ready to escape dogs.

 

1) Does your dog drive? Driving the sheep a lot helps keep them from

deciding your knees are the only correct place to be.

 

2) Do not make pets of your sheep. Do not name them. Whack them frequently

if they pile up on you. Make your knees an unpleasant place to be without

upsetting your dog.

 

I take very good care of my sheep; however, I try hard not to make friends with them or to call them for supper. I have a friend who calls, "Sheep. Sheep." The sheep then come running because she has called them often while shaking a grain bucket then distributing the grain. She had to do this because her dogs could not gather. Do not follow her example.

 

3) If you have 10 wethers, then it is likely they will become as heavy as

boulders rolling down hill with you as gravity central. The upside of this

is that if your dog can move them off you even at a reluctant walk (or toward you if they are feeling sluggish on an outrun) and your dog will also stay off other sheep

if asked, then you can move most anything ovine.

 

4) Teach a grip on the nose. Do it when sheep are at your feet.

 

Penny

[Guest Cassie]

I have hamp/dorset crosses- they're heavy sheep- and I mean that- having them at my knees has cost me a fortune in doctor bills. I think I like the idea of whacking them frequently,actually, but how do you teach a grip on the nose at your feet? I mean, how do I make sure my dog knows what's the difference between a nose and a knee? My dog is three, can drive fairly well as long as I walk slightly behind him and keep contact, but it is like watching molasses in January. What type of sheep do you suggest I should use for dog training- these were not dog broke when I got them, I bought them from a 4-H'er last year, but there just aren't a lot of sheep around here. I could only get his old wethers, no ewes. Are ewes easier to work?

[Guest Penny Tose]

I missed seeing the response above.

 

I have noticed that wethers seem to become heavier than ewes. Wethers can also be more trouble. If my sheep get into some place they aren't supposed to be, it is usually a wether who instigated the fence crawling and usually wethers who teach everyone else the bad, forbidden things like how tasty my husband's favorite roses and brand new pine trees are. Suffolks and Suffolk crosses of either gender can be bad about this, too.

 

4-H sheep are trouble. A group composed solely of ex-4-H sheep would test the temper of the most saintly young dog and the best intentioned handler.

 

Get some dog broken sheep. If you can't, get some from a commercial flock that is worked in large groups by a dog. If you can't find that, get some from a commercial flock and dog break them yourself. It's not ideal but it's much better than no sheep at all.

 

Avoid bum lambs and ex-4-H sheep and Scottish Blackfaces. In fact, blackface sheep in general seem to become heavier than other sheep. If your dog has confidence issues, don't start with blackfaces if you can avoid it.

 

Penny