Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
conditions are hereditary eye disorders that can lead to some sight loss and
even blindness. Only a veterinary ophthalmologist can determine that a dog
is free of these disorders.
Always keep these health concerns in mind when selecting a puppy.
Regardless of a dog's talents, it is useless if it is physically unable to perform
the job for which it was bred.
Initially, puppies should be taught good manners: to come when called, to
walk on a leash, and to lie down on command. Formal, herding training can't
start until the dog “begins to work,” or “turns on to sheep.” Most well-bred
herding dogs begin to show a desire to work sheep between 8 weeks and
12 months of age, but it's important not to leave a puppy unsupervised with
the sheep. The puppy could be hurt by the sheep, or the sheep could be hurt
by the puppy; it could also learn bad habits by working unsupervised. The best
age to start formal training is usually between 10 and 12 months because the
fi rst instinct exhibited is the desire to get to the head of the fl ock and turn
back the escaping sheep, but this can be hard to accomplish until the puppy
is fast enough to catch the sheep. Dogs that begin training before they can
outrun the sheep quickly learn to chase them rather than to try to turn them
back to the shepherd — a very bad habit indeed.
If the shepherd plans to do anything with the dog other than just let it
chase the sheep, then the dog is going to need to develop instincts for tactics
beyond chasing. The quality of the other instincts and the cleverness of the
trainer ultimately determine the quality of the dog.
Once the young dog begins to work the sheep, he should be encouraged to
keep them in a group. This is also a good chance for the shepherd to help the
dog “break” the sheep. The sheep need to learn to respect the dog and learn to
move away from it. Young pups that don't know how the sheep are supposed
to respond may require your help to move the sheep along — at least until
they get the idea of what's required. This is especially true if you're also using
“unbroken” sheep that don't know how to respond to a dog. If possible, train
the pup with a fl ock that's used to being worked by a dog. But if you're locked
into the combination of a new pup and unbroken sheep, the best solution may
be to ask a friend or acquaintance with a mature working dog to come over
and help break the sheep for the new dog. If help is not available, take 10 or
15 young sheep, put them in a small pen, and use them for the beginning
training of the pup.
