Herding!
Okay, so this is more of me being excited and wanting to share than a question. We just got back from Conan's instinct test and first lesson, and he did really well! He flanked a few times perfectly, it was awesome. He was absolutely terrified of the sheep at first, and I was afraid it wouldn't work out. But when the sheep started running you could just see the instinct light bulb go off in his head! It was so cool! We're going every Sunday morning. The trainer is really nice and she said there is a Cardigan Corgi that comes out but wasn't able to come out this time. I wonder if they're members here! Any Cardigans that herd?
Anyway, great fun! I'm really looking forward to training and possibly trialing. If you've been thinking about it, I say give it a go!
Anyway, great fun! I'm really looking forward to training and possibly trialing. If you've been thinking about it, I say give it a go!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sky and Lyla on
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How fun! I am going to get Lyla's herding instincts test in December (there's not another one in our area offered until then). I can't wait. I hope she enjoys it and does well, otherwise I don't think they'll be a dog sport for her. She hates agility, rally, etc, so if herding doesn't work, she'll just be a regular old couch dog! =)
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Permalink Reply by Garrett, Katie, & Conan on
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That's great! I hope it works out! I decided on herding for Conan because he's a pretty soft dog, despite his Napoleon Complex. I feel that he's too soft and would shut down with the formal obedience required for the agility clubs we have around here. Herding is cool because there's really more to teach us humans than there is to teach the dogs!
And even if herding doesn't work out, a couch dog is a great dog! We don't care what anyone thinks - we love our Conan with us on the couch!
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Permalink Reply by Nancy Geddes on
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When we went to a herding instinct weekend (up in the Brushy Mountains in Virginia), Linus was only nine months. It was obvious that the lightbulb was not on in his head. Linus found the sheep groovy so the instructor advocated a "happy sheep party" where we worked on peaking Linus' interest. Now, at 2 1/2 years, Linus has shown some herding skills. It is smelly and fun!!
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That's good to hear! Conan was absolutely terrified of the sheep at first. If we grabbed his collar to slowly pull him towards them (he stayed at the opposite end of the pen - clearly trying to be as far away as possible) he just started pushing his legs out and flailing around and having a fit. I was started to get so disappointed because I really thought he'd be good at it! But then our trainer got one of her Border Collies in and once Conan saw him working the sheep and the sheep were running he was on them. We just had our second lesson Sunday and it went really well! She said we showed a lot of progress since the last time. It's definitely smelly! Haha and dirty too - we don't have grass, just dirt.
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I have been taking herding lessons for almost a year. My three corgis are a challenge. Bear is 9 years old so the lessons add to his activity level. Bear will, however, tire quicker and blow off obedience commands. Tasha, the alpha female needs to learn to work wider of the sheep flock. Sheep go google-eyed scardy when Tasha enters the pasture so she cannot pressure the livestock. Tasha is, right now, a mental and physical exercise at my herding lessons. If she gets frustrated, Tasha will plant four feet onto the ground and bark at me! Linus, the conformation lineage 2.5 year old fluffy has good moments too. The most fun is getting to the point where you can take sheep from the pen, walk down the lane for a distance with sheep and corgi then return flock to pen. I'm learning so much. Another light goes on in Linus' and Bear's mind when we are drovers. Pen work is necessary, but covering distance is their real instinct. Keeping herding!
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That's awesome! I'm really looking forward to seeing how well we can do. Conan got tired out pretty quickly today but he doesn't normally do so much running at one time. We're going to work on building his endurance. He'll be a challenge too because he doesn't do well with formal obedience. He's very stubborn and works very hard at getting his way! The trainer didn't seem to be bothered by it though, and she's worked with a lot of Corgis and said they're one of the more stubborn herding breeds. Good luck with your herding! I can't wait til we can get out of the pen and out in the open!
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Permalink Reply by Leah Jackson on
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Where do you do this? My dog tries to herd other dogs at the park, maybe letting him do it on some sheep would be a better alternative :)
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We looked and asked around for herding trainers in our area. We don't have any very close ones, because we don't live in an area with a lot of open land. We go to a trainer about an hour away once a week. She does group lessons (private lessons are more for people with trials coming up) and doesn't have any more than 5 people at once. It's really fun. You get to work your dog and it's also fun and helpful to watch other people and their dogs. I'm sure you can Google search for herding trainers in your area. I think it's something that will help us a lot because Conan herds other dogs too, and since he plays roughly some other dogs (and some other owners) don't like it and think he's being aggressive. Our trainer said a lot of cattle herding dogs like to bite on faces, which is something Conan loves. He loves to bite cheeks! I'm sure you know that not all other dogs really like this haha. I don't want him to continue herding other dogs because I feel like one day one of them is going to turn around and nail him.
You can also look for your local Corgi club and look on the AHBA website. I would definitely recommend it!
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PS. Your pup is a gorgeous sable. I love his markings!
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Permalink Reply by Spencer (and his parents) on
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Congrats! It's such an amazing to see that instinct light bulb go off. WE took Spencer for his instinct training a few weeks back, we need to take him back for lessons soon.
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You should! It's totally cool to see. I'm really looking forward to getting pretty good at it.
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