2 sheep dogs

MD1983

Do many lads use 2 sheep dogs at once? I was bringing in about 500 lambs yesterday for an inspection and my dog got tired (mainly due to the heat i think), perhaps a second dog is a solution.

If you do have 2 dogs, do they work at the same time and as far as commands go, how do the dogs differentiate and not having both doing the one thing?

they are all store lambs recently bought in so they dont seem to herd together yet so added difficulty!

thanks in advance

ganmo

there are plenty of places with multiple dogs but mostly they're the old dog and the trainee so they'd be trained to the same commands. Not many ppl run a brace though

rangler1

MD1983 wrote: »

Do many lads use 2 sheep dogs at once? I was bringing in about 500 lambs yesterday for an inspection and my dog got tired (mainly due to the heat i think), perhaps a second dog is a solution.

If you do have 2 dogs, do they work at the same time and as far as commands go, how do the dogs differentiate and not having both doing the one thing?

they are all store lambs recently bought in so they dont seem to herd together yet so added difficulty!

thanks in advance

Very hard to work two, but we do it here because we find the dog gets tired with a big bunch,
We have a 8 year old and a one year old , young dog clowns around on the outrun but once the sheep start moving it's the young dog that takes over.
Not great but the job gets done. they work on the same commands.....if they listen at all

solerina

Minimum we use would be 2, mostly its 4...we used 5 together until one got killed last year !! Once they respond to you they actually work together without much training...we need them on the hill !!

razor8

MD1983 wrote: »

Do many lads use 2 sheep dogs at once? I was bringing in about 500 lambs yesterday for an inspection and my dog got tired (mainly due to the heat i think), perhaps a second dog is a solution.

If you do have 2 dogs, do they work at the same time and as far as commands go, how do the dogs differentiate and not having both doing the one thing?

they are all store lambs recently bought in so they dont seem to herd together yet so added difficulty!

thanks in advance

Does the dog get enough work? Some dogs get very unfit if there not worked a few times a week

MD1983

ah well from pretty much easter until the store lambs come in there is no work for the dog but it gets plenty of exercise but not to the same intensity. its getting into better shape but still i think it could do with some help. but yeh that break does not help its fitness or its learning

its a bit of a work in progress as a dog, its only half bred (1 half golden retriever which was my parents dog and 1 half neighbours roaming sheepdog). its improving in that it knows left and right, can drive the sheep along nicely, doesnt run around to the front of the bunch when driving them anymore. it has some annoying habits in that it is overly interested with the last sheep into the bunch on the round-up (it will try to take it down for fun by running into it). but considering it was just a family pet that came out the field when i get some sheep its doing ok

ganmo

MD1983 wrote: »

ah well from pretty much easter until the store lambs come in there is no work for the dog but it gets plenty of exercise but not to the same intensity. its getting into better shape but still i think it could do with some help. but yeh that break does not help its fitness or its learning

its a bit of a work in progress as a dog, its only half bred (1 half golden retriever which was my parents dog and 1 half neighbours roaming sheepdog). its improving in that it knows left and right, can drive the sheep along nicely, doesnt run around to the front of the bunch when driving them anymore. it has some annoying habits in that it is overly interested with the last sheep into the bunch on the round-up (it will try to take it down for fun by running into it). but considering it was just a family pet that came out the field when i get some sheep its doing ok

that could be handy if it was lame

mcgiggles

Our sheepdog is 3 years old, we wanted to try to train him when he was young but we never found the time, we're both working full time and we've been flat out all over the place the last 2 years.. I bring him out with me the odd time to feed them, he stays at the gate or in the field next to them. but once or twice I let him out to them before the sheep came over to me to see how he would react and he looked like he had a clue what to do, and they did flock together.. he's a smart dog and fit as a fiddle, he regularly rounds up the cats in the yard so I know he has it in him!

So long story short does it just depend on the dog what kind of signals you use or is it too late for him to learn properly?

J.O. Farmer

The dog should instinctively go around the sheep and gather them towards you without need for signals.
The dog might tear into the bunch and split them and take off after one. The signals are to control the dog and maneuver the flock and in time drive the flock.
I don't want this to come across wrong but I don't think the dog has the interest to do the job.

mcgiggles

J.O. Farmer wrote: »

The dog should instinctively go around the sheep and gather them towards you without need for signals.
The dog might tear into the bunch and split them and take off after one. The signals are to control the dog and maneuver the flock and in time drive the flock.
I don't want this to come across wrong but I don't think the dog has the interest to do the job.

No I totally get you, when I say that he stays at the gate, I meant I make him stay at the gate if that's what you were thinking about his interest in them? The few times when I let him out he ran around them alright. At some stage we might get another younger collie and have them working with the sheep and maybe the older one will follow. We've only small numbers and they are generally easy to flock and get to go where we want them to go so its not a huge loss if he doesn't "do his job"

J.O. Farmer

mcgiggles wrote: »

No I totally get you, when I say that he stays at the gate, I meant I make him stay at the gate if that's what you were thinking about his interest in them? The few times when I let him out he ran around them alright. At some stage we might get another younger collie and have them working with the sheep and maybe the older one will follow. We've only small numbers and they are generally easy to flock and get to go where we want them to go so its not a huge loss if he doesn't "do his job"

If he's going round them the rest is control and getting him to do what you want. The command could be to eff off to go to the right for all that matters it just needs to be consistent. Like anything there are traditional terms used but any terms you like will do.
2 syllables are better than one for commands too like lie down instead of sit. Try not to use hand signals as it's hard for the dog to watch you and the sheep.
He might not be past training and even with small numbers a doh makes life easier. Letting the sheep flock before letting off the dog will make it easier too for the dog where they do it.