if that means a lead.. nooooo its cruel

this should have its own thread..has gone of on a tangent.

i would not purchase the property either

also.. i do think its sheer laziness just to bung a dog out in the garden rather than quality times and proper walks/exercise.

hmm, Im sure most people that like to see their dog have a good free run manage to pick a place thats fairly safe (i.e. quiet, not on a busy road, no loose livestock, secured by fencing if needs must.....) you just make the effort and take them...and the rest of the time they just go for a walk.....Its really that simple

So I'm not sure I get the whole, dog cant potter around in teh garden, dog cant go for a run....thing

i thonk we have crossed wires .. i was being sarcastic(and before anyone says it,yes i know its supposed to be a lower form of wit lol)

and BTW she is NOT herding, she is playing with sheep with no control - herding is WORKING with a human. chasing sheep and rounding them up, chasing children and all the other little collie quirks are not herding they are pray drive


I train sheepdogs. And I know a lot of people who do the same and I imagine they will all tell you the same thing. Sheepdogs, trained or not, young and old, can take themselves off to herd sheep. You might call it pray drive, most farmers will call it herding.

I said a trained sheepdog - not a missbehaving adolecent
A dog who just takes himself off and chases sheep all the time is no use to a farmer - he needs them to be able to leave the sheep alone UNTIL he is needed

That's right he does, in an ideal world. But not every sheepdog is a robot and some retain a desire to work when on their own. And this is not an ideal world. its just how it is.




Yes I am very concerened the ewes will abort



There are plenty of methods to try
I would consider 'control unleashed' look at that game, where looking at sheep becomes a game - and then the focus on the sheep becomes broken
or a modified 'premack principle' where the dog is rewarded but getting to look at the sheep for good behaviour

Or what I did with my girl (climbed several walls and squeezed tru 3 electric fences to push a field of well over 200 sheep into one tiny corner of the field) where I desensitised her to the presences of sheep - firstly I made sure she never had the option to chase them again - by clipping a lead on her
We went on many car journies where she could see sheep in the distance
and a holiday in the lake district when I thought my eardrums would explode when 3 sheep decided to walk down the road infront of my car! not ideal!
I did lots of focus work walking her several fields away from sheep while training her for other things
gradually closed the distance we walked past fields of sheep - always keeping it so being with me was great fun

and then she lost interest in sheep totaly, they are no more interesting than hedges to her
I didnt realise the other day that the farmer has put sheep in a new field yesterday - right next to where I cut onto a path
She bumbled around on the path, had a look at the sheep, had a look at the river, sniffed an old shoe - and didnt even go up to the fence

As I said, I will give you £500 if you can train my eldest in those ways. Id love to see it done. It could work with some dogs. But not all. That is how it is.

My dogs have always been put on the lead around sheep. I don`t really see why one wouldn`t. Doesn`t the Countryside Code say to do that?
I also keep them on the lead around traffic, railway lines, crowds... (and if I came across alligators I would also use a lead. )
So - since one meets cars far more frequently than sheep, would you also recommend the electric shock treatment to stop the dog going near a road?