SHEEP & CATTLE HERDING DOGS

These categories of dogs were bred to herd, move and control large numbers of animals without the need of lots of humans to do the task. These dogs were bred to have high levels of intelligence in order to anticipate their charges movements and gain their respect and co-operation. They have strong instincts to chase and herd anything that moves. It is very important to channel these strong instincts into appropriate things that the dog is allowed to chase AT AN EARLY AGE. If the dog is allowed the freedom to learn that it can chase unsuitable things (eg livestock, traffic, joggers, cyclists, cats etc) and gets the exciting rush of adrenaline as it runs after the moving object, these first impressions will be indelibly etched on the dogs long-term memory and it is very very difficult to retrain them not to chase. By encouraging the dog to chase objects and toys that you have control over so that it fulfills these chase instincts, and restricting its access* to unsuitable moving targets, you can avoid many of the behavioural pitfalls of owning these types of dogs.

*The answer to the age old problem of keeping control of young (or rehomed) dogs while allowing them the freedom to run and explore their environment and other dogs whilst out on walks, is to clip a long line to the dog's harness and let it trail behind the dog as its walks "free". The line should be approximately 10-20m long (the DOG-GAMES Shop often has these in stock at the Shows it attends) as this is most dogs' "comfort distance" from their owners. If the dog sees a sudden movement and begins to run off, the line can be either trodden on or picked up so that the owner can prevent the dog from going further than the line's length as if by "magic" - be careful the dog does not injure itself by jerking on the end of the line. Over a period of weeks and months the young dog comes to realise that there is no reward in trying to chase after these moving things and that it is far more fun chasing the toys that its owner has ready to play with and produces randomly while out on these walks. They can then be allowed free access off the line, and it is very unlikely that they will begin to chase unsuitable "targets".

All these breeds need plenty of mental stimulation as well as exercise if kept as pets, otherwise their boredom and lack of mental challenges will result in behavioural problems.

SHEEP

Australian Kelpie Australian Shepherd
Beaceron Belgian Sheepdog
Border Collie Briard
German Shepherd Dog Hungarian Puli
Hunterways Rough Collie
Shetland Sheepdog Smooth Collie

The task of herding cattle is more dangerous than that of moving sheep as cattle can lash out with their hooves and cause injury to the dog. Therefore these dogs need to have strong and fearless personalities, often barking at the cattle to make them move rather than get too close to those dangerous feet.

CATTLE

Australian Cattle Dog Bearded Collie
Bouvier des Flandres Cardigan Welsh Corgi
Giant Schnauzer

Lancashire Heeler
Old English Sheepdog Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Swedish Vallhund Rottweiler

 

DEER

Finnish Lapphund Samoyed
Swedish Lapphund  

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