Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Sheepdogs  (Read 12853 times)

Ideation

  • Joined Apr 2014
Re: Sheepdogs
« Reply #45 on: July 22, 2014, 12:58:09 pm »
We're on the look out for a dog retired off the hill. if anyone knows of anything?

ScotsGirl

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • Wiltshire
Re: Sheepdogs
« Reply #46 on: July 22, 2014, 01:18:54 pm »
Would a collie x lurcher round sheep? I miss my old lurcher but she used to run the other way unless she wanted to play. Would love a mix that might help me if needed.

plumseverywhere

  • Joined Apr 2013
  • Worcestershire
    • Its Baaath Time
    • Facebook
Re: Sheepdogs
« Reply #47 on: July 22, 2014, 01:47:35 pm »
mine is collieXterrier and the lady I spoke to at Andy Nickless training said that terriers are used as herding (cattle )dogs in some place which I didn't know.
I have one really hard to catch ewe and today found that she's been struck with blowflies, without murphy I'd have had a struggle as she was going into the long thistles, he kept her head to head in one place while I treated her (for 20 minutes bless him!) it can be done and although my dog is never going to win gold cups or be the next Auld Hemp, he still earns his keep amazingly.
Smallholding in Worcestershire, making goats milk soap for www.itsbaaathtime.com and mum to 4 girls,  goats, sheep, chickens, dog, cat and garden snails...

Porterlauren

  • Joined Apr 2014
Re: Sheepdogs
« Reply #48 on: July 22, 2014, 02:15:35 pm »
Scotsgirl - I have a collie x lurcher here, or rather a lurcher with collie on both her sire and dams side. The problem with trying to train a lurcher for herding, is that ultimately herding is just a version of hunting, where you are playing upon the dogs (collies) hunting drive, they are part of a hunt, driving the sheep (the quarry) to the alpha animal (you) to deal with. This works well, because we have harnessed this form of prey/hunt drive in such a way for generations. However, with lurchers, we have harnessed a slightly different form of this prey drive, and in a different way. My lurcher is broken to all stock, sheep included, but if I encouraged her to work them, her version of 'work', would be to catch, rather than to drive. The sighthound in her would push her to chase and single out, rather than to push them toward the alpha member of the pack. Of course it could work, but in my opinion it would be hard training and you would get a fair few sticky mess ups, where you had encouraged your running dog to 'hunt' sheep . . . . . . . . . and then had to deal with the aftermath!

 

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