More advanced sheepdog training.
Videos to help you take training on to a higher level. Once you have good control of your dog it’s time to move on to a much higher standard of work.
Close work (1 of 2)
A dog bringing sheep to you in the open field is great, but your farm or ranch dog’s capable of doing much more to help you. Efficiently moving sheep around at close quarters as well as taking them to fresh pasture, putting them in and out of yards, pens and races, are all essential tasks for the farm dog. (Part 2). (top ↑)
Driving (1 of 3)
Some sheepdog trainers dread teaching their dog to drive. It’s understandable, because when we ask a herding dog to take the sheep or cattle away, it’s contrary to the dog’s instinct. If you understand what’s going on though, it becomes much simpler, and more enjoyable for dog, and also the trainer as it learns to drive sheep. (Part 2 | Part 3). (top ↑)
Eve at the pen
A complete training session as well as an important sheepdog training video tutorial. Teaching the dog so much including good pen manners. Getting sheep into a tight spot, and out again, needs confidence and control. In this tutorial we see Eve, whose basic training is in place, but she still shows some typical weaknesses for a sheepdog or ranch dog learning to herd sheep. She favours flanking in the ‘Away‘ direction rather than ‘Come Bye‘, and additionally, her stop isn’t 100% reliable (yet). (top ↑)
Flock work
To us humans, working a flock of sheep seems like a perfectly natural activity for the dog, so that we don’t see the change from training ground to farm as being a problem. In reality though, it can be a huge step for a trainee dog. Almost as big a step as when the dog first went to sheep. The flock work sheepdog training video tutorial has some great ideas which will soon introduce your dog to flock work. (top ↑)
Inside flanks – circle on command (1 of 2)
You can dramatically improve your farm dog or ranch dog’s work with this important two-part tutorial. Inside flanks are also essential if you’re teaching a sheepdog trials dog. Even if the dog’s already competent at driving, teaching inside flanks or circling on command may not be easy because the dog’s instinct tells it not to go between the stock and the handler. Once the dog can do it however, its confidence and control over the stock will improve considerably. (Part 2). (top ↑)
The outrun (1 of 3)
A good outrun is essential if a sheepdog is to work efficiently. It’s not difficult to train a dog to do an outrun, and the training process itself improves other aspects of the dog’s work, such as flanking and the stop. Sheep dogs and stock dogs of all kinds love doing outruns. We also use short outruns very early in training to improve the dog’s all-round performance. (Part 2 | Part 3). (top ↑)
Shedding
Shedding is an operation that contradicts the basic rules we’ve taught the dog so far. That’s because in early training we insist the dog keeps the sheep together. To shed sheep however, the dog must part them again. Some dogs take readily to shedding, but understandably a large number of young dog’s are confused and even worried by it. The key to success is to make the task as easy as possible when we start. (top ↑)
Sheepdog trials – getting started (1 of 2)
These two tutorial videos delve quite deeply into competitive sheep herding trials in the UK and many other parts of the world. They’ll give you a great understanding of how a sheepdog trial is run, as well as how to prepare your trials dog for your first event. There’s also a clear description of how a sheepdog trials course is set out. What to do, and what to avoid at sheep dog trials is also covered. (Part 2). (top ↑)