Visit to a sheep farm
I think it would be a lot of fun! But my "suburban" critters have never seen a sheep! Do you think they will instinctively know what to do? How do we approach this, or do they need some training before we attempt the visit. And if so, where do you go for training? |
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| Are you just going to hang out or for a herding instinct test? |
| I don't know! I don't have any idea! How do you do a herding test? Maybe that's what I want to do with them. It just seems like a great opportunity for them to do what they are meant to do! |
Beaureguard's Mom wrote: Are you just going to hang out or for a herding instinct test?
That was my question too. If these are just someone's pet animals, they may not like the dogs "chasing" them around. Or was the invitation meant to see how the dogs would react with the sheep - up close and personal!? If the livestock owner wants you to have the dogs go in with the stock, then I think it would be a fun intro to herding. Does this person have a dog that works the stock? - if so, I would have them go in 1st. You, Pirate and Kiera would watch from the fence. This would help get your dogs excited, also so they see it is OK to make the stock move. If they don't have a dog, and they themselves don't know how to introduce a dog to stock, then it won't be as easy.... I would take them in, 1 at a time. Have a long line - something 10-20 feet long - depending on the size of the pen or pasture that the sheep are in. Walk in , let the dog sniff. They will more than likely start eating the poop. This is curiousity, also a way of dealing with stress. And to most town dogs, livestock poop is a novel delicacy! Walk up to the sheep, encourage the dog to interact. It depends on the sheep now. Are they tame and stand there, or are they flighty and start madly racing around?? You want them to move, and the dog to be behind them. The goal is to move them as a group, not have the dog dart into the middle and scatter them all over. (very common problem with beginner dogs - trust me!!) Get the dog interested, but make sure you stop with them still excited, and wanting more. It would be only 5-10 minutes per dog. Make everything positive, and give lots of praise. Then switch dogs and do the same thing. I would do short sessions alternating between the dogs, but let each dog go in 2-3 times if you can. If you need a visual - there are some videos here - the ones of Yuki and also the more recent ones of Stacy and Steve with Fozzie. The last one w/ Steve in the ring is a good one to see the lightbulb go on with a rookie dog. |
| Wow Dawn! Thanks for that valuable info! I will find out more about the farm. I don't really know these people, so at least now I"ll know what question to ask. Oh...and can I assume Pirate will need to go directly to the groomer  |
| I hate to be Debbie Downer here, but I thought I would share my sheep herding experience as a bit of a warning to others.
We went to a sheep farm outside of town to do an instinct test with an experienced herding trainer. We watched another dog do an exercise and Scruffy got so excited that she broke her collar! The trainer warned us before she let her in that if anything happened to the sheep while Scruffy was in there we would be held responsible. She said you never know what kind of reaction a dog will have etc... So Scruffy went in with her on a lead and seemed to be loving it. She was a little timed but then started "chasing" the sheep around with a little direction from the instructor. Things were going really well until Scruffy started getting a little more excited about the whole thing. She ended up separating one sheep from the pack and scaring it. It got so scared that it ran in to the gate of the pin and broke it's neck.  We were of course horrified as we had no idea something like this could happen in an instinct test. The woman explained to us afterward that she had put very young sheep in that didn't have much experience with dogs and that it was her fault for doing that. She didn't make us pay for the sheep, but we certainly didn't leave with the positive experience we had hoped for.
The moral of the story is just to make sure you try something new with experienced handlers AND experienced sheep. I'm sure everything will be fine if you take those precautions. |
Good advise from everyone. Definitely make sure you know what to expect when you get there.  |
| Good word about the collars. Those snap together ones with the plastic snaps don't cut it if you have a really hyper strong dog. Even a friends little border collie broke hers the 1st day.
Damage to stock responsibility is a given. We never had any loss, but a couple easily treated injuries. One of our ewes ran for the tube gate, and smacked her head into it. She split her head open down to the skull bones. After cleaning it, glueing it together with super glue (seriously) and a couple PCN shots, she was as good as new. We had many dogs at our house, for several years without any other accident - to human, dog or sheep. |
| Wow! Since you are so experienced, maybe I should bring my dogs to Minnesota! |
Well, it would be a long trip, but I have done it! 
We drove from our house to Stocktoberfest last year - it is in Genoa City on the WI/IL border. Ummm, that would be pretty near you I bet!  |
| When we tested, the dogs were on the outside of the fence, me anad the sheep on the inside. Marley did go in with the sheep - initially on a lead, because she was too upset about being seperaed from me. Morgan did fine on the outside and and never did go in = we start training after the holidayas and eventually I am sure he will get in the pen.
Our tester - who is very well know on the east coast, also used lambs. I believe adult sheep can intimidate untraianed dogs because they will challenge them. |
got sheep wrote: Well, it would be a long trip, but I have done it!
We drove from our house to Stocktoberfest last year - it is in Genoa City on the WI/IL border. Ummm, that would be pretty near you I bet! Yes, its only about 25 miles. What is Stocktoberfest? |
| Deborah, this is where we took Fozzie recently. To the farm in Genoa City for herding instinct test. |
| Hmmm...maybe I would be wise to start there first. Stacy, pm how you got ahold of them. Do they do that all the time, or are there special events? |
| I know they do special events, not sure about the rest of the time. It is nearer (more near!) Kristine - and she knows some of the "regulars" in the area. Maybe she will join in here too.
As far as lambs vs adult sheep - In general the lambs will run more, adults will stand up to the dogs. They are either braver, or just have a "been there, done that" type mentality when dogs come in the ring. They definitely learn the routine and only work as hard as they need to! When we had classes, they were my sheep. I picked sheep to be in the ring that were suited to the dog's individual abilities. We have one old girl who would just stand there. She is the absolute calmest, friendliest sheep. But for new dogs, or dogs with little power, she was way too frustrating! |
| I should have qualified my story with the fact that an incident like ours was only the second or third sheep that had ever died in like 20 years. I think it really was just a case of bad luck. I hope you have a great time! |
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