Post by donnaclyde47 on Dec 29, 2017 10:16:12 GMT -5
We have a Border Collie that will be two in April named Jasper. Just after he turned one we had him at a very well-respected BC trainer's home for 3 months or so to teach him some basic commands with herding. When we picked him up, it was pretty amazing to see what he could now do.
Since he's been home the commands he learned didn't seem to "stick" as well, but he still has a very, very strong herding instinct. The problem is, he likes to herd the cows to and from the milking stanchion, and I don't need that. What I do need is when it's time to bring the calves away from their mamas and into a different pasture, if they're getting pesky and running around, I need him to bring them to where I want them. He's not great at getting "stray" calves, and the trainer actually mentioned that. The trainer had him working with a group of 8-10 cows, and he'd push them all over the place, but he needed more work to continue to press with a stray cow.
There's a local club here that my daughter has brought Jasper to with some really great people that have herding dogs. A lot of them do trials and competitions, but some do just cattle. They've told Scout that our dog is a "Lamborghini," and all we really need is a "Toyota." They also said it takes THREE YEARS to get them perfectly trained!! (insert crying....)
My question is, should I talk to the group about maybe trading dogs with someone who would want a Lamborghini? Do we have a dog that's too much for us? My husband hates him because he's gotten in the trash a few times (normal!) and they don't understand why he's not a perfectly working herding dog right now. My girls herd the cows to and from pastures for rotational grazing nine months out of the year, and that's why we got him, for when cows don't go where they're supposed to. Most of the time they do, but when they don't, it's a real pain in the rear to corral them, and dangerous.
I'm not completely attached to him - we have a family dog. He gets a lot of attention, I think more exercise because he's not locked in a kennel all day like it seems most of these ranches do. But maybe we're just not working him enough every day. It's hard since we don't know what we're doing exactly.
Since he's been home the commands he learned didn't seem to "stick" as well, but he still has a very, very strong herding instinct. The problem is, he likes to herd the cows to and from the milking stanchion, and I don't need that. What I do need is when it's time to bring the calves away from their mamas and into a different pasture, if they're getting pesky and running around, I need him to bring them to where I want them. He's not great at getting "stray" calves, and the trainer actually mentioned that. The trainer had him working with a group of 8-10 cows, and he'd push them all over the place, but he needed more work to continue to press with a stray cow.
There's a local club here that my daughter has brought Jasper to with some really great people that have herding dogs. A lot of them do trials and competitions, but some do just cattle. They've told Scout that our dog is a "Lamborghini," and all we really need is a "Toyota." They also said it takes THREE YEARS to get them perfectly trained!! (insert crying....)
My question is, should I talk to the group about maybe trading dogs with someone who would want a Lamborghini? Do we have a dog that's too much for us? My husband hates him because he's gotten in the trash a few times (normal!) and they don't understand why he's not a perfectly working herding dog right now. My girls herd the cows to and from pastures for rotational grazing nine months out of the year, and that's why we got him, for when cows don't go where they're supposed to. Most of the time they do, but when they don't, it's a real pain in the rear to corral them, and dangerous.
I'm not completely attached to him - we have a family dog. He gets a lot of attention, I think more exercise because he's not locked in a kennel all day like it seems most of these ranches do. But maybe we're just not working him enough every day. It's hard since we don't know what we're doing exactly.