Herding Help UPDATE
UPDATE
It seems like the Herding Instincts Test is the first step, but can newbies take this test who know NOTHING? Are there going to be a bunch of trained dogs there, and I'll be sitting in the bleachers going what the hell..?
Were growing our Corgi right, and I do belive that he would be great at herding our cats and chickens.
Thanks!
Why is it so hard to find a herding trainer in Oregon? Really having a hard time finding someone who is not a border collie trainer. Any ideas on what the first steps of training are? BTW someone would make a killing in this line of work down here, as there is a dried up supply of corgis specializing.(and breeders)
Thanks!
It seems like the Herding Instincts Test is the first step, but can newbies take this test who know NOTHING? Are there going to be a bunch of trained dogs there, and I'll be sitting in the bleachers going what the hell..?
Were growing our Corgi right, and I do belive that he would be great at herding our cats and chickens.
Thanks!
Why is it so hard to find a herding trainer in Oregon? Really having a hard time finding someone who is not a border collie trainer. Any ideas on what the first steps of training are? BTW someone would make a killing in this line of work down here, as there is a dried up supply of corgis specializing.(and breeders)
Thanks!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Nancy Geddes on
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Hi! It was difficult finding a herding instructor in Tidewater, Virginia, too! Although our instructor does work primarily with BCs; she has brought in "loose-eyed, upright" herding instructors that work with the droving, nipping style of the corgi. Terri has also hosted classes many mornings with lots of corgis in attendance. I am still learning a lot even though it has been with sheep and not cattle. When we moved from pen work to actual movement down a lane, back and put into the pen, Bear really got his goove on. My luck was via word of mouth but if you can find AKC herding tests/trials in your area; by all means go and start looking around for an instructor. Best of luck - herding is very, very rewarding and we are having such a great time together.... All the best, Nancy, Bear, Tasha and Linus
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I'd love to try herding, too. The PWCC of the Garden State does a herding instinct test, but last year it was quite far from my home.
There's a working sheep farm about 45 minutes away from me. I'm not sure if they give lessons, but they breed Border Collies. I'm afraid my Corgi would maul their sheep; he's a rough little guy and I'd feel more comfortable working cattle or geese.
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Permalink Reply by Susan and Merlin on
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my herding instructor said working with cattle is one of the scariest things.... and she usually has malinois. Corgis tend to be quite awesome with ducks or geese, but the majority do well with sheep, too. If your corgi is aggressive towards livestock, herding may not be for you.
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Susan,
When I said "maul the sheep" I was exaggerating a bit, but I have watched border collies work sheep, and their style is nothing like our little drovers. My dog does not hesitate to jump and nip at bigger dogs in play, and my guess is he'd want to do the same to sheep. Border Collies do a lot more lying down and crouching, while Corgis are upright herders with a more direct pushing style.
My concern is the border collie people would not be familiar with the style of the Corgi. I had read online that historically Corgis were very rarely used for sheep. Is that true?
Thanks!
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ahh okay :) it's hard to communicate over the internet subtle things like that! :D
Corgis nip as they herd, it's just how it is. I mean, they're awfully small, they've gotta do something to get those critters moving. That, and corgis are just plain snarky. :D They don't actually hurt the sheep. They might get a nip in now and then, but it's mostly just to get them going.
No, BCs and other staring dogs don't herd like corgis (honestly, BCs creep me out a bit, when they're working stock - ever been stared at like you're a juicy lamb chop in the wrong place?). A BC instructor may still be able to instruct you in herding, as long as they are also familiar with other herding styles. I've never worked with someone who does border collies... My fave herding instructor absolutely refuses to teach any "non upright dogs." You can always try out a lesson and see how it goes. I think my first herding lesson was the most frustrating experience of my life LOL, but that was with an OES too and they're pretty stubborn dogs. Merlin was just impatient and wanted to run them in circles for hours. You have to have solid recalls and great obedience skills to do herding.
Corgis were traditionally used for cattle. I'm waaaay too overprotective to let mine work with something that large LOL
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Thanks for the extra info. I just had visions of Jack leaping at a sheep's shoulder and rolling it right over, the way he does with his doggie friends. LOL
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That is so cool! I would love to try it! I'm pretty sure Jack would nip too, if he even paid any attention to them. I've seen BC's do that big wide circle thing to move an animal around, but Jack's approach when he is "herding" another dog is to jump at its shoulder, and sometimes nip, to move it in the direction he wants to go. I think Corgis work in much closer than the big-going gathering dogs.
I'll have to look around and see if anyone does herding around here. It looks like so much fun!
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Permalink Reply by Beauty and the Beast on
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yes they are close herders, that's why they are so low to the ground, so when a cow kicks it'd miss (it's true)
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Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on
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HI Dexter!
Herding is great fun! We took Sidney for an instinct test. He was a little over a year old, if I remember right...maybe 18 months. He had never even seen a sheep before but he seemed to know just what to do. If they are like the sheep herding place we went to, you don't have to do much other than be in the ring with your dog and the sheep. The trainer will be telling you what to do.
This is my daughter in the ring with Sidney during his instinct test.
http://www.mycorgi.com/video/sidney-herding-to-music
We were ok'd to come back for training but we have not yet so far; daughter was in her senior year of HS
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We took our boy for a herding instinct test knowing nothing. All you need to do is walk along with a herd and the instructor leads your dog. The pup should have an instinct of keeping the animals together in a bunch an driving them towards the human (called fetching). Shiro wasn't getting fetching yet, he was only 4 months old, but he did enjoy controlling those sheep.
We only took him there once as it is far and expensive, but in the meantime he practices on grey geese. We have waaay to many of them and it is fun to watch him driving them into the lake.
So neither you nor your dog need to know something. That's why it's called instinct test.
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Permalink Reply by christy fry on
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Hi I'm in vancouver wa. and tried to teach my boy Jordan to herd something other than the cat and I .I found a wonderfull facility called Brigands Hideout with a wonderfull teacher named Nancy Ward (Google them they have a nice web site).Herding can be expensive so they offer classes newbies with newbies and so forth. It would have been great fun except Jordan would hide behind me terrified of the sheep and ducks when they tried him on them, so after 8 classes we didn't go anymore. I know that there is another herding facility like Brigands mid willamete valley you'd have to do some internet searching but I highly recommend trying it. I did learn though that just because Jordan showed herding behavoir didn't mean he was a suitable herding dog
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