Remy Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Hello I need to update some pictures but my Remy is 6 1/2 months old. we watched herding trials last weekend and we got hooked, she wanted to get out in the field so bad she was crying. at any case, what should I expect to pay for training, hourly and what would the anual cost of maintaing 3 heads of sheep a year? I'm in the midwest if that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokjbc Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Hello I need to update some pictures but my Remy is 6 1/2 months old. we watched herding trials last weekend and we got hooked, she wanted to get out in the field so bad she was crying. at any case, what should I expect to pay for training, hourly and what would the anual cost of maintaing 3 heads of sheep a year? I'm in the midwest if that helps. It depends on your area, the availability of hay/pasture, what trainers are available. We recently spent a weekend working with a trainer @40.00 per dog and we worked ALOT but other trainers may be a strict hour and anywhere from $30-60 an hour is the average. Three hair sheep are relatively cheap- the woolie breeds eat more and have more upkeep but three wouldn't be a huge investment. I keep 10-15 sheep, they cost me about $100-200 a month in hay (which depends on if I can get a cheap ton here or there or have to buy from the local feed store) and $120/month in sheep rent. Seasonally, I may have to buy wormer but that is minimal. I don't vaccinate my sheep, they are extremely isolated from sheep disease and in a dry environment-but that may something you have to do in other areas. You should invest in dog broke sheep, and expect to pay more than normal for them- don't just get any three sheep from the sale- you will regret it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 You also need to consider that three sheep won't be appropriate for training except for a certain period of time. Eventually they will be too broke to be useful for training your dog. If you can keep just three sheep, you'll need to consider trading them out for new ones periodically. Also, only ever training on three sheep will do your dog a disservice in that it will never learn to work sheep in a proper flock. Three is the bare minimum that anyone would normally work, and they won't work the same as a larger group, so if you consistently work just the same three sheep that are quite familiar with your dog you will be setting up an extremely artificial training situation, which ultimately will prevent your dog from progressing as far as it could, IMO. If you really want to keep sheep, consider keeping at least 10, so you can rotate sheep out to get different working groups, plus work larger groups. Otherwise, I would recommend in the beginning that you use the money the sheep would cost you to get to as many lessons and clinics as possible. Your money will be better spent that way. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdarling Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Ha. Forget the way you used to live. That will all change. So far, it's cost me: 1. Move from Southern California to Idaho - $3,000 2. Trade in the Explorer for an F-150 - $17,000 3. Initial flock - 10 head at $70 each - $700 4. Fencing - A bazillion dollars and counting 5. Travel Trailer for staying at trials - $1000 6. Entry fees - $35 per run average - as many times a year as I can 7. $20 per week for lessons, plus $20 in gas getting to and from trainer's house 8. Clinics (most recent one - $500 for a 4 day dual clinic) 9. Hay - $225 a ton 10. A small fortune in dogs Etc. etc. etc. Don't say we didn't warn you! ;-) Jodi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remy Posted September 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Jodi Strange you metioned trading stuff, I am looking at all options if needed and I was looking at my 2007 Harley, thinking, snow is coming, dont ride it that much due to my girl, I spend most my time at the farm so,,,, well,,,, ( I was only thinking ) I should have mentioned that the 3 sheep will lead to more but dont tell my wife yet,,,,,, I have her okee dokee on three for now! thanks for all the info, we should be doing round pen this week or weekend! thanks for the scare (reality) jodi Darwin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie Meier Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Darwin, you may want to track down some of the trainers in the area and speak directly to them, Bob Johnson meets every Tuesday down at Tingley for practice, check with Gerianne Darnell, the trial was at her place this past weekend. There is also John Holman and Terry Workman over in Nebraska, I think Wendy Peters still gives lessons over in Williamsburg and we offer help and stock time up here north of Des Moines. There are a couple other trainers I am not including because their focus is on Aussies and they do not trial USBCHA, if you wanted to go that route I'd be happy to send you their names. Your pup is still young, you have quite a bit of time to get a good handle on what you need to do and where to go. Alot of extra money can be spent by jumping in too fast, right now I would focus on learning as much as you can about handling the livestock and what is right and what is wrong when it comes to the dog handling the livestock. This is key to understanding what you are trying to accomplish when you begin the training with your dog, you don't want to end up spending weeks or months spinning circles in a roundpen or out in a field not understanding what you are waiting for to happen. It kinda sounds funny but I have spoken to people that got off on the wrong foot with the wrong trainer and spent over a year chasing their dog in a circle around the sheep, this happened quite a few years ago and the trainer is no longer giving lessons to my knowledge but just the fact that it does happen is enough to make you wary. Spend money on you right now, take the time to work with as many different people as you can, see if they will let you handle a dog with them so you can get a feel for things or help set and sort sheep on foot. The money and time you spend on yourself will help you maximize the money you spend later on training your dog. We are hoping to set up another Fun Day down at Bob's in Tingley yet this fall, this will also be a good event for you to get to. When you decide to take the plunge into sheep you may want to look for some nicely dog broke sheep, Bob Johnson often offers dog broke ewes, his are wool sheep and he usually charges $100 a head, we occasionally have hair sheep available for sale, we will have some older ewes available this spring. When you are looking for dog broke sheep you want something that has not been aggressively chased or harrassed, many times those sheep will mount a challange if you don't have a stong dog to keep them right, making it pretty tough on a young inexpirenced dog. You are getting into the time of year where some of us are breeding our ewes, many of us have already culled out the ones we do not intend on keeping, but you may be able to purchase some bred ewes, they may cost you more money and you will have to prepare for them to lamb. Be careful when you buy sheep, you want to be sure you are not buying someone else's problems, lambing problems, bag problems, hoof rot, jumpers (don't laugh, seen it done - sell the problems to the newbee). You will probably end up with older retired ewes, if you get a year or so and a lambing or two out of them you feel lucky, that was how we started, of the original 12 we purchased we have lost the 4 oldest or the grannies, they each gave us a lamb or two so no loss, but we did have to deal with disposal. On that note, decide how you want to handle your sick or injured, vet bills can kill you, if you feel you will call the vet for everything you may want to invest more money in young healthy proven breeding stock. The cost of maintaining your sheep is going to depend on the amount of pasture you have, how much hay and grain you need to buy and how much you want to call the vet. The breed of sheep will also effect your feed bill, we have little barb cross hair sheep, they live on air for much of the year, big commercial wool sheep will cost you more. If you want to raise your own lambs you may want to consider sheep that are known for being good mothers, we don't worry about high lambing rates, I'm happy with a healthy single that the ewe takes care of then twins or triplets that need to be bottle fed or grafted onto another ewe. I probably gave you way more then you wanted, but it's more food for thought and stuff to consider. Deb President, Iowa Herding Dog Assoc. Alden, IA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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