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Round Pens


Jodi
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I'm not sure where to put this, so I'm putting it here.

 

I have gone through the archives and found that the "recommended" size for a round pen is 100' in diameter. I measured out 100' ... and that, to me, seems like quite a distance. The purpose of my round pen would be to simply introduce young dogs to stock. In mapping out 100' ... I don't think I could maintain control if something were to go south. So, I went out and bought eight 16' wire ranch panels and laid them out. According to the formula, that gives me just over a 40' diameter. Add a couple of gates in there, and I have almost a 50' diameter. This, to me, seems like a decent size for what I need. Am I missing something? What are the drawbacks of a round pen that's too small? How big are your round pens?

 

Thanks.

Jodi

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Ours is about half that size (50'). I think it's more important to be sure your sheep are very settled for starting a young dog. What we use is actually a paddock, so it's really a rectangle. We initially had it too narrow on one side. It wasn't leaving enough room to let the dogs cover well and feel comfortable. It's now about 50' on all sides and it works well. Once they are balancing well, we move them into the field --but still with sheep that are fairly settled and likely to stay with you.

Renee

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Jodi, I don't have a round corral (my young dogs get worked in a bit of an L-shaped corral the first few times) but a good friend of mine has a 60' one. I've worked in it a few times and really liked the size. The dog had a chance to get off a bit and be right but a person could still keep control over the situation.

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Hmmm ... I have a few 1/2 panels and some other pieces of fencing laying around. With those, and the gates, I'm sure I could push 60'. I was standing in the area last night with all the fencing laying on the ground, but it was really hard to tell how big it really would be until I stand it all up. I'll work on it tonight and see what I come up with. Thanks!!!

 

Jodi

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Jodi

I believe the round pen at that place we used to train at was 50'. I would suggest trying for 60' if possible as that round pen was just a bit too small. I need a round pen. I have about 1/2 acre fenced but I am just not quite fast enough to keep control of some dogs. Especially the ones without enough ability to get around and gather instead of splitting and chasing. My sheep can be very "antelope" like with the Belgian Sheepdogs I have been working with. Last time they went right over the fence, which they have never done with any of the Border Collies that have worked them. I had to station a dog there while working with the Belgians so they (the sheep) wouldn't go over the fence. At least till I could fix it. I do use my dogs to help out keeping the sheep contained when working young or inexperienced dogs, but a round pen would definitely make it easier on me.

Have you put your pup on sheep yet?

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The one we just built, and now will have to tear apart and rebuild here at the new place, was about 55'. It is 16' cattle panels (forget how many, 9 maybe?) on t-posts with a four foot gate set on wood posts. Most people who have used it, like it (inlcuding a couple of professional clinicians).

 

It's not only good for working puppies or new dogs, but it's also terrific as a holding pen for new sheep or rams, and for sorting or doing various maintanence chores on sheep.

 

We also had a larger paddock, about 150' by 250', which worked very well as an intermediate area for training. One can really troubleshoot almost any problem in an area like that - the sheep stay calm, the dog's not worried about losing them, and you don't have to worry about complete loss of control.

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Thanks everyone. I put up the pen this morning. It's right about 50' in diameter. Seems to be a nice size, although, I haven't tried it out yet. I only used eight 16' panels, but one side of the "octagon" is existing fence, and I left a space to put a gate -- which I haven't figured out what I want to use yet. Probably a regular chain link gate would be easiest. Joan, in looking at the size of this, I don't think the round pen where we were training was quite as big. Maybe mine just looks larger because I don't have pens attached to it, or shrubs around it. Those telephone poles laying around the perimeter might be a good idea to hold the bottom of the fencing in place, though.

 

Jodi

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