Extreme Sheepherding

[Richard in Smithville]

Or What Welshmen do when they're bored!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw

[Mr__Bill]

We have a dog that would really like to herd sheep like that. Unfortunately we have no sheep, so he tries it with people.

Those guys are amazing and the dogs truly terrific sheep dogs.


Bill

[toolguy1000]

so that's what sheep herders do with their sheep out in the field when no one is looking.

[crokett]

I'm sure glad there guys in the world to do stuff like that. I showed that to my wife. Her only comment was 'what's the point?'.

[sparkeyjames]

We have a dog that would really like to herd sheep like that. Unfortunately we have no sheep, so he tries it with people.

Those guys are amazing and the dogs truly terrific sheep dogs.


Bill

I had a Collie about a 10 years ago (deceased) who I used to take with me on trips with an outdoor hiking club I belonged to at the time. With a group of more than 6 or 7 he used to act the herder running up and down the line of people walking down the trail. I thought it was really cool because he was not trained to do it. One time there was a class for members of the club who wanted to do the backpacking thing and I took that class. I had to take the dog with me due to scheduling problems with a kennel. At one point there were 30 people hiking down the trail and he did his usual front to back of the line herding. Everyone there got a laugh out of it.

[crokett]

My mom breeds Border Collies. Every single one she has raised to be an adult finds something to herd, whether she trains them to or not.

[cabinetman]

We've got two German Shepherds, not trained to herd, but do a great job with our three cats.
.

[cgallery]

Neat video.

I always enjoy going to the dog park and seeing the herding dogs trying to herd the non-herding dogs.

Or the regular park and seeing some family's herding dog herd the kids as they try to run and play, resulting in kids getting knocked down over and over. Bonus points if you young couple that owns the dog keep scolding the dog and saying, "why do you keep doing that?" (not having any idea what herding dogs do).

[Mr__Bill]

Neat video.

I always enjoy going to the dog park and seeing the herding dogs trying to herd the non-herding dogs.

Or the regular park and seeing some family's herding dog herd the kids as they try to run and play, resulting in kids getting knocked down over and over. Bonus points if you young couple that owns the dog keep scolding the dog and saying, "why do you keep doing that?" (not having any idea what herding dogs do).

Yup, and it's even harder to explain to the parents of the little kids that the dog is just doing his thing, sort of like play.

Bill, over here in the rain

[sparkeyjames]

The more I sat and thought about this thread and my dearly departed collie the more I thought about herding dogs in general. It seems as though this behavior is part of the hunting behavior of the packs of certain branches of the canine species. That is to push a herd to the attackers, the alpha animals of a pack, who lie in wait. We have bred out, or at least minimized, the attack instinct and bred for the herding instinct in various breeds of dogs.

[twistsol]

I love working with herding dogs. It amazes me how much they know from instinct vs. training. As a kid we got a 5 year old Old English Sheepdog from a shelter. She apparently didn't take to well to the city family's new baby and they gave her up. Within minutes of jumping out of the truck and seeing her first cow, she had them rounded up and headed for the barn. She herded cars, cows, horses and people with equal gusto.

She was, however, a great hunter as well and took hundreds of squirrels, a few wild turkeys, and a number of barn rats. I think her criteria was that if it was smaller than her, it was food and anything bigger than her should be in a group.