Things You'll Need
- Long lead
- Long guiding cane or crook
Instructions
Teach your dog the "sit," "down," and "steady" commands, and practice these regularly before you begin training your dog with sheep or cattle, so that these behaviors are crystal clear in your dog's mind before you introduce more formal herding commands and further stimulation.
Select a small group of sheep or other small animals to build up your dog's confidence in herding at first.
When your dog moves in an counterclockwise direction, again guided by your body language, your positioning and crook, use the "away" or "away to me" command to build this association in your dog's mind. Now you have commands to instruct your dog to go left or right around the animals and should feel more in control. Use markers on the ground and invent a herding course so you and your dog can practice driving the animals away from and back to you again.
Train your dog to back off the animals being herded by using the "back" or "get off" command. As you say the command, move towards your dog and ask him to "stand" and "wait," allowing a greater gap to appear between dog and flock. If you are consistent in your body language and positioning, your dog will soon understand that "back" means "back off and give some space."
Finish the "game" by asking your dog to come to you, and signal that you now want him to stop herding and to relax. "That'll do" is a common phrase used, but you can make up and use your own, provided that you are consistent.
Encourage your sheepdog to approach the animals, but disagree with any over excitement. When your dog moves around the sheep in a clockwise direction, guided by you and your crook, use a command like "come bye," or another of your choice, to teach him to move away from you in this way. Praise your dog for good behavior, practice the "wait," "steady," "sit" and "down" commands, and begin again.