Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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Belgian sheepdog
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Belgian Tervuren
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Bouvier des Flandres
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Briard
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German shepherd
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Puli
Driving Breeds
The breeds that are now known as driving breeds were originally developed
to help drovers move sheep to market along open lanes or for use in stock-
yards. The New Zealand Huntaway is a driving breed that's used today in New
Zealand to drive very large fl ocks of sheep by barking and moving back and
forth behind the sheep. Other common breeds of this type are:
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Australian cattle dog
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Old English sheepdog
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Rottweiler
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Welsh corgi (Cardigan or Pembroke)
There are two basic approaches for obtaining a herding dog: start with a puppy
or buy a mature, trained dog. The puppy route is, of course, less expensive up
front, but the puppy won't be ready to work for quite some time, will require
intensive training, and may never work out well. By purchasing a mature,
trained dog, you can be sure that the dog knows its stuff, but be prepared to
pay a signifi cantly higher price for a trained dog than for a puppy.
Starting with a Puppy
When you are selecting a puppy as a future working dog, it's impossible to
assess its natural herding ability. Thus, choosing a puppy is really a process of
selecting the parents that are most likely to produce a puppy that suits your
special needs.
In selecting the parents, your primary consideration should be given to
their working ability. Both parents should be seen working the type of stock
that the puppy will be expected to handle. At the very least, both parents
should be able to do the following:
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Gather a group of sheep a few hundred yards away from the shepherd
and fetch them to the shepherd in a quiet, controlled manner