Today I went to a place that lets you take your dog to a to train it to herd sheep. I thought my dog would be a natural for it since its bred to herd cattle. There is a place here in
Here is a video clip of me and my dog learning how to herd sheep.
Australian Cattle Dog has befriended you, they are a friend for life….but that friendship must often be earned. Australian Cattle Dog are often referred to by their owners as “velcro” or “shadow” dogs…because wherever you go, there they are!
As my health concerns continue to rise, fitness is no longer considered a fad; it is considered a way of life. I am no exception to that rule by any means. I am fat, overweight and as I found out today very out of shape. Smoking sure doesn’t help my stamina and not doing any exercise sure isn’t helping either. I have found the need to start doing some exercise and I want to do it in a fun way I just hate going to the gym.
The deal is you pay $30 and they let you bring you and your dog out with a trainer and they give you two runs and getting your dog to run the sheep. The basic concept is that you get yourself in front of the sheep with the trainer and you try to get your dog behind them to herd the sheep towards you. The sheep are trained to follow the humans around and all you have to do is get your dog to pick up the rear and keep them moving. Well one thing I didn’t realize is that you need to be walking and running backwards the whole time so you have the sheep looking and coming towards you and you can see what the dog is doing and keep her off of your heels.
So basically it was a big mess I was trying to run backwards, get my dog off my heels and on to the sheep’s heels which is no easy task. We did manage to get the sheep around the course the 1st time with the help of the trainer and the second time my dog Bonnie wasn’t interested in the course so much so the trainer told me to just get in the with the sheep and try and make it fun for her. So here I am running full speed backwards, trying to give me dog commands all while not trying to fall down or get run over by sheep.
June 6th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
hahahaha Louie thats hilarious
I loved your video
is that the one you told me about yesterday over yahoo?
good stuff
keep it up
June 6th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
AH LOLS BOOM HEADSHOT ROFL
June 6th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Haha, very cool. Poor sheep though. lol
June 6th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Really awesome to see this. I live in Wisconsin with my blue heeler/border collie mix. I’ve been thinking about putting together a blog on this. We’re going through the same thing, but you two are doing a lot better. Your dog runs wide, and unfortunately for me, mine doesn’t.
Midwest Herding
June 7th, 2008 at 12:02 am
good looking dog!
June 7th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Great article mate.
Interesting to see how Aussie dogs are taking off in the states.
Cattle dogs (heelers) are “head” dogs - that is, they’re trained to jump at the nose of cattle to move em round as barking around the back will most likely end up in them getting kicked to kingdom come. I know the name suggests otherwise but isn’t actually the case.They’ll also tend to bite sheep at the back - hence the term “heelers”.
Sheep dogs(kelpies, collies) are “tail” dogs - that is, they’re trained to nip round the back to keep the sheep moving. Collies will stay back whereas kelpies are closer in dogs
Trying to get one type to work the other way can be a daunting tasks, especially in a mongrel when their genes are telling them 2 different things!!
There’s also nothing more impressive in the dog world (i think!) than watching a 20Kg “bluey” leap at the nose of a 1000kg bull and send it packing.
great work
June 7th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
We have a blue heeler/terrier, he herds the cats. I would love to see him try sheep.
Loved the video!
They are fun dogs, and they are velcro…you are correct.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Nice, I had a collie, it was dumber then a pet rock, but it was always nipping my heels, people talk about pit bull bites, but collies have a higher rate of biting because of hearding.
I now have a yellow lab, she is a natural hunter, birds, rabbit, mice, rats, it is fascinating to watch her hunt, she listens to a hole in the ground, sniffs it, digs, pushes brush to startle the prey.. I wish I could find something like what you found for your dog out here in San Diego, I want to allow her to do what is natural instinct for the dog.
Have fun on your next trip with the dog there.
June 8th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Great video !!!
We too have just started training our ACD’s in the art of sheep herding.
Our blue is coming along, slow but sure, a bit bull headed, our red is a deaf pup and we have begun working him with a vibrating collar.
These guys were born to herd, amazing how the instinct comes through !!!
June 10th, 2008 at 1:38 am
What is the name of this place? We adopted an ACD, and I think she would do well at this. She loves herding the basketball.
Mike: here is a place in San Diego http://www.actionk9sports.com/herdingLessons.php5
ACD’s are getting to be really popular. There are 3 others I know of within 500ft of my house.
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:18 pm
That was great, Louie. Bonnie is lovely. Interesting comments, especially the Aussie.
June 30th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Can anyone email me a list of cattle dog commands? fkt1964@yahoo.com
Thanks much. Just bought a Kelpie for 452 acre cattle ranch in Texas and need to train.
July 5th, 2008 at 3:14 am
where in long beach is the site?? what is the number…my aussie NEEDS to herd something other than my friends!
thanks
August 6th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
very interesting post.. im definately coming back for more!
August 8th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I was wondering if you could please e-mail me the address of this herding site for my dog also. I saw it on the dog whisperer also and I think my new dog would love it as well. Thanks
Lynn.flores@sbcglobal.net
September 11th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
i really want to take my dog there. what is it called, and do you have a number for the place.