traing a border collie to herd?

[ducksarecool12]

Okay so i want to get a border collie so i can train it to herd, because i think it would be fun and i plan on moving sometime and get a small herd of sheep. But right now i live in town in Oklahoma. I would like to do akc (American Kennel club) activities like there herding trills. I dont have land so i dont have sheep and i know i will need a instructor but can i start now or do i need to way till i get sheep i really want to know were do i start. THANKS!

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

you can train them on runner ducks.

 

[ducksarecool12]

well i dont know were i would keep the ducks my neighbors would not like the QUACK QUACK QUACK AND IS THAT WHAT THE INSTRUCTOR WOULD START US OUT WITH

 

[Brody's Broodello]

Border Collies need a lot of mental activities, as well as lots of exercise. If not they can become destructive. I would wait until you get the room for the dog. If you get a dog bred from working lines, you won't have to "train" it to herd, you just need to work with it's natural instinct, and teach it the cues for what you want. I have border collies, they have differnt levels of herding instinct. One is so driven, that she tends to get tunnel vision and needs to have commands shreamed at her to get her attention. She also will "grip"(bite) the sheep & goats. Is NEVER allowed out with the birds, will herd them to death, and will try to "move" them by gripping. One had so much "eye" she would get fixed on her pray, crouch, and stalk EVERYTHING! You could not ride a bike when she was out, she would try to stop the wheels by getting infornt of them and stare. She would also nip anyone who ran in the yard, kids, birds, other dogs. My last was shown in obediance & agility before working livestock. Very smart and easy to work with, but when I was PG and not able to work him everyday, I woke up to find holes in the drywall. He would chew on it out of fustration. So you might want to wait and reside if you can give a border collie what they really need. I love them, but I also enjoy arab horses, both need someone who can think outside the box, and be 3 steps ahead of them. Good luck!

 

[welsummerchicks]

first get the dog working all the basic obedience commands, you will need him/her to be very very solid steady on all those commands no matter what distractions are going on, on and off lead.

you're probably best off getting the dog from someone who is active in herding. it is an awful lot of very slow, basic frequent work and takes a lot of time to make a good herding dog.

 

[scrambledmess]

You might want to go to some herding trials. This way you can really see the type of dog you are wanting. I working line Border Collie can turn into a nightmare in town. They are super intense. I love the breed dearly. But they are NOT meant for town dogs.

We had ours in town. It was horrible. We moved to the country. It was better, but we still didn't give her enough to do. She decided she had to protect the property from cars

She lived to be 5 years old doing this. Super fast and could literally dart before a car and out of its way at close to 35 mph.

We aren't sure if a car got her or what. We found her in the field behind our home last fall, no injuries, no blood

Here are pictures of her guarding. This is where she spent her day.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3014307&l=eaccd88a65&id=621223587

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3014308&l=082ad05575&id=621223587

She outsmarted us on EVERY attempt at fencing. She could clear a 6 ft privacy fence with hot wire on top.

 

[Kelly G]

You won't want to hear this, but here is my advice:

1) Wait until you have the land to get the BC
2) Join a herding club BEFORE YOU BUY, and listen to what the members tell you
3) Attend trials, workshops, and practice sessions to see for yourself the intensity of these dogs - the reality of living with a such high-intensity/high work ethic is far from the romanticized perception many people have of this dog.


Do yourself and your potential future dog a big favor - do your research. Do it with your eyes wide open, and don't kid yourself - this is not your average pet. They are unbelievably great dogs in the right hands/environment...but the right hands/environment is pretty uncommon. And when things don't go well...the dog pays the price.

 

[welsummerchicks]

I didn't want to be johnny raincloud but more helpful words never were writ, thanks you two.

 

[tdgill]

I have a border collie bernese mountain dog mix. Hoping that the collie extends the life of the berner. The berner definately mellowed out the collie, but he still loves to play and is a very smart dog. He is my hawk deterent. The roosters taught him to watch for hawks (he is learning that crows are different) and he'll run them out of the area. He does want to help me if I appear to be rounding up the flock, but very gently and slowly....no intensity.

 

[Brody's Broodello]

Just an example of the speed of these dogs. When I ran my male on agility trials, his average time for the 2 minute run was 18 & 19 seconds. And that is with the downstay of 5 seconds included. Trust me they are alot of dog if you are not prepared!