Got Sheep?

[ArchersMomma]

ok..so that's a bit of a silly question because I don't really want my own sheep...city bylaws and all that silly law stuff prevent me from keeping them...(still haven't ruled out ducks tho! ) but i'm wondering a few things about sheep / herding. First of all, I live in a city (Kitchener, Ontario Canada to be exact)....it's not too very far until I am in the country mind you...but how do you find a place that does herding? Or will let you "test" your dog to see if they'll even be any good at it? AND how exactly would such a test go? How do you know if your dog has the "eye" thing??

 

As stated in previous threads, Archer is not quite 5 months old and seems to have a propensity towards herding....based on my extremely limited and totally uneducated opinion . We're starting agility in November but I'm just curious about herding and how do get involved in it without having to buy a farm! (Not that a farm wouldn't be awesome....I just don't have a spare million bucks kicking around to buy one! )

 

I looked at someones thread here who had posted a link to pictures of her BC herding ducks (sorry, can't remember who that was! ) and someone else who mentioned they gave a puppy away to a "goosedog" person....what exactly is that? Archer will still do agility in November but I really think that herding is what he'd love so just curious how you go about finding such a thing.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Goose dogs clear migratory waterfowl (mostly Canada geese) off properties where they are making nuisances of themselves. It's controlled chasing rather than herding - the dog's commands and movements are used to trigger the birds' fear of predators and make them seek safer places to reside.

 

There really isn't a test you can do to see whether your dog would be good at herding. The most straightforward thing to do is to find a place to take lessons, and just go for it. Since your dog is young, you want to wait a few months, but spend that time asking around. It's getting to be winter anyway when most places take a break up your way.

 

There's lots of Board members up that way. Then once you start, you'll probably only go once a month or once every couple of months until your pup is mature enough to handle serious training.

 

The behaviors you see away from sheep/livestock are pretty cool but sorry to say, have nothing to do with actual herding, which must be done on real herd animals to be valid as a way of gaging your dog's potential to work.

 

Welcome and good luck! I hope you'll get some answers on places to go check out. I think Kris is up in your general area.

[PSmitty]

Did you see this thread? There's some useful information in here:

 

http://www.bordercollie.org/boards/index.php?showtopic=21056

 

I have no idea about finding sheep and a trainer in your area, but it is important to find the right kind of trainer. Hopefully there will be some suggestions made here to steer you in the right direction.

 

It's true that a dog's initial exposure to stock (sometimes called an "instinct test") won't be a true indication of how good they might work, but it will, IMO, tell you if the dog exhibits instinct/interest in the sheep and working. At five months old, Archer is still pretty young, but we've all seen younger dogs turn on, so giving him a look see couldn't hurt. You wouldn't want to start him that young, but if you find someone to work with, they'll tell you when to bring him back.

 

As for what happens at the instinct test, or first exposure, usually the trainer will take your dog into a round pen with several dog broke sheep. They'll be watching the dog's reaction to the sheep, see if he'll circle them, they'll try to get him to change directions, and so on. It just depends on the dog and how much interest they show. You probably won't handle Archer that first time. If he doesn't show instinct or interest, or suddenly develops a taste for sheep poo, don't worry. Plenty of dogs don't turn on the first time. You can bring him back out a couple of months later.

 

Most importantly, though, is just finding a good trainer who will guide you and Archer. Be warned, though, once you see your dog on sheep, there may be no turning back!

 

PS-I'm assuming your agility class next month is just an Intro type of thing? He is still way too young to be doing much agility training. You're not going to want him jumping or doing any full size equipment or weaving at his age. If it's just beginning work on the flat, that's great and have fun. (sorry to butt in about this part, but I couldn't help myself!)

[ragtimedog]

I looked at someones thread here who had posted a link to pictures of her BC herding ducks (sorry, can't remember who that was! ) and someone else who mentioned they gave a puppy away to a "goosedog" person....what exactly is that? Archer will still do agility in November but I really think that herding is what he'd love so just curious how you go about finding such a thing.

My dogs herd ducks as well as sheep. I have, in the past, kept ducks to give the dogs something to do between trips to farms where we worked sheep. Ducks don't move as fast and the dogs can get into habits that don't work as well when on sheep. They can come in too close, and move too slow and not learn to do a big outrun. On the other hand, it canteach a dog patience and control. If you get ducks, I recommend getting a lightweight breed such as Indian Runners. The big meat birds are just too slow. (And ducks need as big an area as you can give them to minimize the smell they can get since they love to muddy up their water. There's some methods of getting their water up off the dirt so they can't do that.)

[martySQ]

I started raising ducks when I lived in a suburb of Kansas City. They didn't come under the poultry label, or really didn't fit the livestock label the city had, since they were water fowl. Kind of amused the animal control people..who had to check out a bite report on my cocker spaniel back then... all the ducks had for water was a kiddy pool, but it worked for getting the eggs fertilized good enough. That's what first got my mind going on the idea of teaching a dog to herd ducks... I never dreamed they actually did, and no one I knew could tell me much about it. All I got once was that it is best to start a dog learning herding on ducks that have already been herded by dogs...so, 10 years later with more room (but not still enough)I have a puppy I want to train, but the ducks haven't been herded by dogs...chased, yes. I am going to start on sheep for lessons since pups breeder lives within an hour and a half and raises sheep and teaches herding. Eventually, I'd like to get a few goats and teach the dog to herd them and the ducks. ("Let's move those mowing machines and fertilizer spreaders around evenly now Bess girl...." still dreaming...)

[ArchersMomma]

MartySQ OMG!! HAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!! You kept ducks in suburbia? OMG! My neighbours already think we're the nutty heathens in the neighbourhood...if I started keeping ducks they'd really think I'd flipped my lid!

 

@PSmitty - Archers class in November is definitely introductory class for Archer. Very basic and slow moving. His trainer has travelled as a coach with the Canadian Agility team so I'm pretty sure she knows what she's doing. And if not, at least I have you all here to come and ask about any worries that I have. Thanks for the concern tho!

[trailrider]

Here is a link to breeders and trainers for CBCA Some are in Ontario

 

 

http://www.canadianbordercollies.org/breeders.html