true north Posted February 25, 2003 Report Share Posted February 25, 2003 I have a small hobby farm. Last fall I sold all my ewes because my wife doesn't want to deal with lambing. I plan to get a number of feeder lambs in the spring. I am toying with the idea of getting a Border Collie to work with them. What do some of you think about starting out like this with almost all lambs and a working dog? Could I train my own dog in this situation? I am an experienced dog handler with 13 Alaskan Huskies but would be new to Border Collies. I might also run the BC with a recreational dog team in the winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PrairieFire Posted February 25, 2003 Report Share Posted February 25, 2003 It would be difficult, but not absolutely impossible, to train a green dog on lambs - but you would be doing something terribly difficult... a trained dog would make things easier - but you would want to get some training yourself to help things along... I've got a friend in Northern MN who started running her Border Collie as a lead dog, then actually ran him in a few sheepdog trials, now the sheepdog bug has bit her and she's nearly dropped the sledding - fewer dogs to take care of anyway... Drop me a line and I'll send you contact info for her if you wish...otherwise there isn't a ton of stuff up your way - I know, we used to live up by Fargo, and I did my share of searching... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
true north Posted February 25, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2003 That would be great. If you're friend wouldn't mind send me an E-mail and I'll call her up. You're down near my natal home. I lived on the St. Croix river between Hudson and River Falls growing up and went to Moo-U (oops..I mean UW-River Falls). It might be fun to be a spectator at one of your trials down there but it is hard to get down that way too often now. I know that a good dog is worth the money but am a little intimidated by the cost of a trained BC. I've spent plenty of money on sled dogs over the years and if I spend another several thousand my wife might break. So being the overconfident chap that I am I started thinking maybe I could train one.Maybe that's too much to take on. It would sure be fun though and useful too. I could keep more sheep then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PrairieFire Posted February 25, 2003 Report Share Posted February 25, 2003 Oh, I think you could train one, you just might have to find some ewes that are "dog broke" to make things easier - I brought my first dog to the farm with 2 months training and 6 dog broke sheep in a trailer - package price... Just starting one on crazy feeder lambs would be AWFUL tough even for an expereinced trainer with a good setup... I'll try and get you my friends number - she just built herself a new home up there (she's with the forestry service) and I don't even know if she has email, a cell phone maybe - she's a wilderness girl, y'know...but she's supposed to be coming down here to work dogs sometime this month...would you email me at my home address so I have your stuff on file for when she comes? And you are welcome to swing by anytime - trial or not - if you're ever down here...Moo-U is alive and kicking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.