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This is exactly what I want her to do. Ducks (my ducks anyway) don't really need to be herded so much as driven. Getting her to function as another body (a more agile one) to drive them into the pen with me would be ideal. The root is that I don't know how to tell her what I want her to do direction-wise She's a 2 year old 50/50 Pyr/ Aussie and just want to please.
if she's Pyr/Aussie, she must be *seriously* confused! half her brain says "GET 'EM" and the other half says "SAVE 'EM" ! Ha! interesting dog.
start by searching on "herding trials" in your local area (local being, say, 150 miles or so. not so many herding trials in town...) I'd suggest you go visit one of these trials to find a coach / handler... there are ALL kinds of handlers out there, and there are some who's methods you will NOT approve of, no matter what your style is. see who works calmly, who's dogs seem under control, who seems to be getting things done without a lot of hysteria. at least that's who I'd start with. once you've identified a couple of handlers / dogs that you think are working well, calm, in control, talk to those folks, see if they train, or find out who their trainers are. some of them will be "serious players only" but they can probably refer you to someone who can work with you and your dog.
do be sure to talk with them about preserving the protective instinct while you train... maybe just train for obedience, not really full herding behavior so you don't wake up too much prey drive. do be cautious, once you let the prey drive out of the bottle, it may be hard to put it back. Aussies have *very*very* strong drive. I'd hate to have you lose the guarding dog in her to the aussie prey drive, and then find out she's not ideal for that either. if you are wanting to keep her a guarding dog, you might seriously think about not doing this.
I've got an Aussie/border collie I'm working with who is currently monkey-climbing out of any enclosure I've had her in, and has managed to get in with and kill birds twice. I may not be able to turn her around. the genie may be too far out of the bottle already.
My LGD pups "herd" if I'm herding... they hang with me, spread out from where I am just a bit and basically extend my pressence to either side... it will not get me precise herding control, but it makes me much wider behind my birds. I've done little training of them, because I want them more attached to the flock than me, but I may try to teach them a "down" or "sit" that would let me park them as a baffle for herding with. or maybe not... mostly I really want the birds (sheep, goats) to seek them out for protection first, that's most important. after all, I've got border collies for herding, and that's what they're designed for. each dog has its job.
