The benefits to herding
dog training are very
plentiful. Fencing for your pastures can be very
expensive and requires consistent maintenance.
Training a dog or a group of dogs for herding takes
time and effort but not only is highly useful, it is
rewarding as well.
Some dogs have a certain amount
of herding dog training bread into them. This makes
the training process easier but it still requires
time and effort. Research on herding dog breeds will
go a long ways. Once you have found a good pup you
should start to familiarize the dog with the
mechanics of sheep farming.
Simply taking the dog with you to the fields is a
good start. If an older dog has never been around
larger animals they can sometimes be frighted. Dogs
which are frighted may lash out and become unruly to
train. If you happen to be trying to train an older
dog who is afraid at first you will need to do a bit
more work to correct this problem.
While having a pack of dogs (two or three) is
much more efficient when herding, only train one pup
at a time. Trying to control, praise, and scold
several dogs at once is not only frustrating for you
but it will also be confusing for the dogs.
If you already have a dog who is trained for
herding this can be very beneficial for a new pup to
watch. Often times dogs learn from other dogs
behavior. If you are training your dog for
competitions you may already have friends with
trained dogs. It may be possible to have training
sessions with these dogs.
Herding
dog training can be some what frustrating
if you have never done it before. One thing you will
want to make sure of is that you always correct your
canine when he/she makes mistakes. It may get a bit
tiresome after a while correcting the same mistake
over and over again but if you do not your dog will
develop bad habits. When a herding dog develops bad
habits it can be dangerous for the sheep as well as
the security of your flock. Avoid this at all costs.
While teaching one command at a time seems less
confusing for your puppy it can cause them to become
board. Try and alternate two or three commands at a
time. Once your pup has mastered these commands you
can start to work on more complicated commands.
Dogs are working animals. Their reward for
commands well done should be praise but keep in mind
that dogs just wants to work. When a canine is
working you will notice that their posture changes.
They are alert and focused. You will notice the
changes in your dogs behavior right away. Once you
can tell when they are in working mode it becomes
much easier to teach them new commands.
