Any issues with your sheepdog and kids?

morebabies · 29-09-2013 03:31PM #1

As per question, just wondering how other farmers on here have managed with sheepdogs and young children. We were given a 10 week old border collie from a relation, out of a great working mother, and even though we were brought up with sheepdogs and never noticed any issues, I've heard that they can be prone to trying to herd children too. We have 3 kids under age 6, so I am wondering has anyone any advice / experience to share on how to manage the sheepdog at this stage.

The dog is showing a good herding instinct already, but should we keep the sheepdog in the yard as separate as we can from the kids, should we allow them to interact and get used to each other, or is this just not a good mix - potentially excellent herding dog and small children - in which case, we will be advertising the pup.

I would have asked all of this before getting any pup but it was gifted to us very unexpectedly, so we are kind of stuck with it now.

Any advice / experiences would be appreciated, thanks.

yellow50HX · 29-09-2013 04:11PM

morebabies wrote: »

As per question, just wondering how other farmers on here have managed with sheepdogs and young children. We were given a 10 week old border collie from a relation, out of a great working mother, and even though we were brought up with sheepdogs and never noticed any issues, I've heard that they can be prone to trying to herd children too. We have 3 kids under age 6, so I am wondering has anyone any advice / experience to share on how to manage the sheepdog at this stage.

The dog is showing a good herding instinct already, but should we keep the sheepdog in the yard as separate as we can from the kids, should we allow them to interact and get used to each other, or is this just not a good mix - potentially excellent herding dog and small children - in which case, we will be advertising the pup.

I would have asked all of this before getting any pup but it was gifted to us very unexpectedly, so we are kind of stuck with it now.

Any advice / experiences would be appreciated, thanks.

Will the dog be worked? If so then there will be no issues. Sheepdogs need to be worked. We have always had dogs on the home place and they would always be like our family. Any family getting a sheepdog pup need to have a job for it.

Celly Smunt · 29-09-2013 04:15PM

Get him or her attached to a ball NOW! you'd be suprised how much a ball can keep a collie occupied.As the above poster said, keep the pup busy (which should be easy with the children) and you'll be grand.I wouldnt have any other breed, real family members.

Celly Smunt · 29-09-2013 04:16PM

Also dont forget every dog is different, you might end up with a lazy collie.

Zoo4m8 · 29-09-2013 04:59PM

Celly Smunt wrote: »

Also dont forget every dog is different, you might end up with a lazy collie.

Let the dog with the children,let them grow up together, at that age (pup) you should have no problems, as others have said keep it interested.
We were all reared with sheepdogs, in fact a couple of the males were very protective of us ( according to the mother) any stranger wandering in if we were outside was very quickly let know they weren't wanted..:)
But...they are all different, my bitch can't stand children but then she wasn't reared with them as ours are long grown.

morebabies · 29-09-2013 05:09PM

Yes we're hoping to work it with cattle, I'm guessing we start now by bringing him along every day herding with us. I was just afraid as I had heard from others that this breed was notoriously bad with small children, that's why we had never decided to get one up to now.

fathead82 · 29-09-2013 05:31PM

We have a collie & shes great with kids,no herding issues with them,she would play fetch with them all day. If a strange kid is around she just keeps away from them until she is comfortable enough with them to come out.
Its best to let the pup spend as much time as possible with children so that it will grow up without fear of kids.
Neighbour has a collie that will not let you out of the car if the kids are playing in the yard,when the kids are inside or at school,the dog greets you with his tail wagging.

fredweena · 29-09-2013 05:37PM

I'd say there's no problem with a pup.

morebabies · 29-09-2013 09:28PM

thanks guys, this sounds very promising so far, we've tried to take things very slowly with the kids and pup because it has a really strong herding instinct, and i was afraid it was going to start nipping at kids' heels or something, we'll keep going the way we're going anyway.

Out of interest, are all your sheepdogs kept in outhouses/yards or any kept in the house? Ours is in a kennel in the yard at the back of our house at the moment and even though we haven't had it tied or anything, from the moment it landed it seems to have copped that this is home and has not budged from the back of our house. Dogs can be so intelligent.

JustAThought · 29-09-2013 09:31PM

Friend has two - they are beautiful dogs - amazingly gentle with kids & no herding/issues - but you should see them work -incredible. Both indoor house dogs & will work & go all day outdoors.

fredweena · 29-09-2013 09:46PM

Ours were always outside but that had less to do with the dog and more with the fit my mother would have thrown if a wet, smelly dog had moved in. She said that we were enough to be clearing up after.

Celly Smunt · 29-09-2013 10:21PM

morebabies wrote: »

thanks guys, this sounds very promising so far, we've tried to take things very slowly with the kids and pup because it has a really strong herding instinct, and i was afraid it was going to start nipping at kids' heels or something, we'll keep going the way we're going anyway..

Out of interest, are all your sheepdogs kept in outhouses/yards or any kept in the house? Ours is in a kennel in the yard at the back of our house at the moment and even though we haven't had it tied or anything, from the moment it landed it seems to have copped that this is home and has not budged from the back of our house. Dogs can be so intelligent.

If you see any nipping,like with any dog act on it immediately and let the children give the dog a scolding to so the dog knows that the children are also above him.The last thing you want is the dog bullying the children

Mine are inside at night,though they spend most of the day outside playing about and what not.At night they're great watch dogs (nice big bark on them) but in the evenings they are a playful bunch.

Actually as a question to anybody with a working collie,i got an ex working collie from a rescue centre a few years ago and she's fine.She has no front fangs though,would the farmer have removed them to make sure no sheep were injured from nipping and is this common practice with working dogs?

Zoo4m8 · 30-09-2013 06:32AM

Mine has a run and kennel for when I can't have her with me and has a small shed she likes to use at night , at the moment she's in the kitchen watching me drinking a cup of tea wondering if there is any chance of a biscuit..:)

Owners removing fangs? My father bred and trained sheepdogs for years and I must say I never heard of it , my dog will nip heels now and again , it's a great way of reminding the odd bolshy ewe who's boss !

yellow50HX · 30-09-2013 08:08AM

our dogs were always outdoor dogs, that said the ones we have now spend their evenings in our place (OH was reared with dogs too but with them inside, as long as she cleans up after them and they are not allowed on the furtunire i dont mind). will have to put a stop it again coming into the winter wet hairy dog is not good.

we dont leave all of them out together at night in case they go wandering, this can be a big issue when they are young but once they settle they will stay in the yard at night. leave the biggest oldest one out at night although the youngest one is a better watch dog.

hallo dare · 30-09-2013 08:13AM

We've a collie at home, doesn't work on the land, but he has a ball that we throw for him the whole time because he has alot of energy that needs to be ran out of him, otherwise hes digging the lawn!!!! He's great with our two kids, both under 4. He watches over them and plays with them constantly outside. But like every animal, you always want to be keeping an eye. He's an awful ejit, but i'd still be wary!

whelan1 · 30-09-2013 08:17AM

the dog that attacked my daughter was a lassie type dog, we only had it a few days. we now have a normal collie and hes an awful fool:D kids love him but we have him tied up when kids are out

farming93 · 30-09-2013 08:24AM

Our sheepdog is a great worker but also a housedog have had no issues with him so far and seems to know he is not to go on the road without a lead. If he ever gets the impression we are leaving for the outfarm in without him he will run through the fields and be waiting at the gate (tail-wagging) before we re even there! I do find he can be very wary of strangers if they show any bit of wariness around him, anyone else notice this about sheepdogs in particular?

yellow50HX · 30-09-2013 08:37AM

farming93 wrote: »

Our sheepdog is a great worker but also a housedog have had no issues with him so far and seems to know he is not to go on the road without a lead. If he ever gets the impression we are leaving for the outfarm in without him he will run through the fields and be waiting at the gate (tail-wagging) before we re even there! I do find he can be very wary of strangers if they show any bit of wariness around him, anyone else notice this about sheepdogs in particular?

yes and no, i think its soemthing with all dogs TBH. one of or dogs is very wary of strangers and the hairs will stand on the back of her neck but thats no bad thing either. she'll relax when we tell her to stop and to heel. she loves being around us but when ther are starngers around she will keep her distance. the othrs are just pure pets and will be straight over to anyone. that said our big lad dosnt like garda cars or the boys in white hiaces

Sam Kade · 30-09-2013 08:51AM

Had an issue with dogs chasing young goats one time but nothing since

jack77 · 30-09-2013 09:36AM

Have 2 sheepdogs and 3 kids age 9, 3 and 2, no issues at all thank god. if anything have to protect the dogs from the small kids. But we spent LOADS of time training the dogs early on and the kids have their boundary's with them.
Dogs obey the 9 and 3 year old too, sit, into bed, come, out, stuff like that.
Kids not allowed go near them when their being fed, common sense stuff really, but when they were pups we took away any dominance issues with food as they sat before being fed, would take the bowls before they were finished and give them back after a minute, fed them from the hand with treats to cut out snapping.
Dogs are very active, out on the farm and get walked as well.
i'm always cautious if there's other kids over as the dogs don't know them and vice versa, some kids have no sense at all around animals, Their not house dogs in the yard all the time
Put in the work as a pup and you wont look back.

Celly Smunt · 30-09-2013 10:18AM

Zoo4m8 wrote: »

Owners removing fangs? My father bred and trained sheepdogs for years and I must say I never heard of it , my dog will nip heels now and again , it's a great way of reminding the odd bolshy ewe who's boss !

Hmm I must take a picture,I always thought that would have been the reason though shes a rather badly treated rescue dog, just wondering now if it was something more sinister.

morebabies · 08-10-2013 10:23AM

Hi OP here again, a few issues with collie puppy now which we are just not sure how to proceed with. If I should move query to another forum, just direct me away, just as this is a farming dog, thought ye might have some ideas.

Initially when puppy arrived he was afraid of his own shadow, and wouldn't come near us for the first few days at all. Then he relaxed and copped on to a lot of things very fast - didn't need to be tied around house, went down to his kennel at night, obedient around children, no more than a sniff, and very interested in following what was going on with the herding every day. Has had great exercise, been out with cattle every day mostly observing, but still looking to us all the time rather than running haywire around after the cattle. Lots of time spent teaching him sit and stay by rewards every day.

So from shy pup to seemingly obedient affectionate pup, he has now very suddenly gone a bit crazy. Jumping on the kids and not listening to anyone's commands, like it's as if he's suddenly gone hyper, so much so that i definitely would not trust him around kids at this stage, even supervised i mean, (he was never unsupervised with them), whereas a week ago, all it took for me was to say "No, sit" if he was getting a bit excitable and he would obey. We have both spent equal amounts of time with him, but now he is more inclined to obey husband's commands than mine. Grandad is saying "show him the stick, he'll listen then", but that is not my style.

Is there something glaringly obviously wrong we have done here, and as i said in my OP, this pup kind of landed on us as an unannounced gift. Neither of us has any experience training a sheepdog, but is there something we have totally missed here? I don't want to have to tie him all the time, if we cannot get this to work out we will just have to pass him to a farmer down the road that is looking to buy a sheepdog. I'm not ready to give up on him yet either, but just clueless as to how to proceed.

funny man · 08-10-2013 10:54AM

Celly Smunt wrote: »

If you see any nipping,like with any dog act on it immediately and let the children give the dog a scolding to so the dog knows that the children are also above him.The last thing you want is the dog bullying the children

Mine are inside at night,though they spend most of the day outside playing about and what not.At night they're great watch dogs (nice big bark on them) but in the evenings they are a playful bunch.

Actually as a question to anybody with a working collie,i got an ex working collie from a rescue centre a few years ago and she's fine.She has no front fangs though,would the farmer have removed them to make sure no sheep were injured from nipping and is this common practice with working dogs?

Have worked with dogs all my life and have never heard of teeth removal to prevent nipping, but i had to get a dogs teeth removed after a kick, as broken fangs can cause problems for a dog. The way i stop nipping is to tell the dog not to do it. if that fails a collar sorts him out.

funny man · 08-10-2013 11:15AM

morebabies wrote: »

Hi OP here again, a few issues with collie puppy now which we are just not sure how to proceed with. If I should move query to another forum, just direct me away, just as this is a farming dog, thought ye might have some ideas.
afraid of his own shadow, and wouldn't come near us for the first few days at all. Then he relaxed
Initially when puppy arrived he was and copped on to a lot of things very fast - didn't need to be tied around house, went down to his kennel at night, obedient around children, no more than a sniff, and very interested in following what was going on with the herding every day. Has had great exercise, been out with cattle every day mostly observing, but still looking to us all the time rather than running haywire around after the cattle. Lots of time spent teaching him sit and stay by rewards every day.

So from shy pup to seemingly obedient affectionate pup, he has now very suddenly gone a bit crazy. Jumping on the kids and not listening to anyone's commands, like it's as if he's suddenly gone hyper, so much so that i definitely would not trust him around kids at this stage, even supervised i mean, (he was never unsupervised with them), whereas a week ago, all it took for me was to say "No, sit" if he was getting a bit excitable and he would obey. We have both spent equal amounts of time with him, but now he is more inclined to obey husband's commands than mine. Grandad is saying "show him the stick, he'll listen then", but that is not my style.

Is there something glaringly obviously wrong we have done here, and as i said in my OP, this pup kind of landed on us as an unannounced gift. Neither of us has any experience training a sheepdog, but is there something we have totally missed here? I don't want to have to tie him all the time, if we cannot get this to work out we will just have to pass him to a farmer down the road that is looking to buy a sheepdog. I'm not ready to give up on him yet either, but just clueless as to how to proceed.

This pup has not gone completly crazy, it is only 12 weeks old, so like a two year old child it has become aware of it's surroundings and now wants to test the boundries. if the pup has become hyper it's most likely that it is feeding from the energy of young excited children who may not know how to treat a young pup, for example if a pup runs after children they generally run the other way encouraging a game of chase which ends with the pup catching its prey and biting on it. but if a child dosn't want to play with the pup just simply ignore it altogether and it will sit down or go away. playing games with an object (ball) is much better for a young pup because it keeps the focus off the children. i too will not leave children un-supervised with a pup if i cannot trust the children not to hype up the pup.
The reason your husband is obeyed is probably when he gives a command he follows it up until its obeyed. you need to be firm and fair with your correction and be consistent so the pup will soon understand what is acceptable and what is not.
Showing a stick to a pup is no use unless you want him to fetch it!
Best of luck.

DBB · 08-10-2013 09:33PM

Hi morebabies,
I hope you don't mind me lending a hand here, I'm a dog trainer, and have worked with many a cheeky pup!
I'm inclined to think that funny man has hit the nail on the head: your pup was shy, quiet and biddable at first due to lack of confidence in a brand new, kinda scary environment.. the new kid in the playground so to speak.
But now, he's starting to find his feet a little, and is becoming a bit more confident. In fact, now he's starting to act more like a normal puppy!
It is vital, just vital, to be consistent in how you deal with this. Before I start on what will no doubt become an essay, can I ask some questions?
How have you taught pup to sit?
What reward did pup get for sitting (or other obedience-y things)?
What age are your kids?
I'd suggest, and I'm happy to throw pointers at you, that pup is taught some simple basic obedience, and that you use a powerful reward for obeying in these early days. Food is usually a good start! Though food rewards can and should be phased down over time.
I'm glad to read that you're not inclined to use the stick, this means your dog training instincts are good! It is, in my opinion, never necessary to use slaps, verbal abuse, or any method which provokes fear, startle, or pain. Instead, I use vauable rewards to get nice behaviour up and running, then practice like mad, and if they're old enough, the kids can practice like mad too! If a pup does something undesirable in the process, the behaviour can be "corrected" by taking away the reward the pup is getting out of doing the unwanted thing. Dogs tend to repeat behaviour they get rewarded for, and this reward is often inadvertent. For example, pup jumps up on kids, or grabs trouser legs, and he gets an instant "wahhhh" response from the child, followed by screams (sometimes of joy, sometimes of fear!) This is hilarious fun for a pup, a powerful reward, and if allowed go unstopped, turns into a big problem as the pup grows into a big dog.
I like to teach pups not to jump up by teaching them to sit instead. He does not get to interact with me (which is the reward he's looking for) until and unless his butt is on the ground.
If he sits, he gets a yummy treat, and lots of lovely pets, praise, a play with a toy if he likes toys.
But if he jumps up, I immediately withdraw my attention, and turn my back on him. If I'm anywhere near a door, I might just disappear out that door for a few seconds.
The point is, if he jumps up, he loses me. If he sits, good times!
As I said above, dogs will always repeat what works for them. So, by doing the above, we are making sitting to greet "work" better for the pup than jumping up does.
If you're very consistent with this, it doesn't take too long for pup to weigh up the odds, and start choosing the more polite greeting... Plonking his butt on the ground, because it now "works" better for him.
So, I'd suggest that the adults do this first, get the habit if sitting to greet up and running. When pup is doing this pretty well for you, then the kids can start to practise: and because he's already learned the "Rules of the Game" from you, your OH, grandad etc, he'll be much quicker to realise that the same rules apply to the kids.
I would be inclined though, in the early days, to keep pup on a lead around the kids so that he can't jump up on them and scare them: if the kids can see you're in control, they'll feel calmer.
I also like funny man's suggestion to get the kids playing "non contact" games with pup: does pup chase a ball? If so, get two balls. Roll one for pup to catch. When he gets it in his gob, you start to play with the second ball as if it's the best thing ever, but without allowing pup access to it. He will, invariably, come over to investigate. He will also, at some point, drop his ball. The very instant he drops his ball, roll your ball for him to chase. Whilst he's doing that, pick up the first ball, and repeat the whole process. This is a great way to gently teach the fetch! The kids can weigh into this process very quickly too, with your guidance.
The kids can also hide treats around the yard, and lead pup around to find the treats: just before pup finds each treat, the kids say "find it!", as a way of introducing a future command. With time, they can take the lead off, and get pup to go looking himself, without help, using the command "find it!"
Similarly, once pup knows the concept of going looking for stuff, one of the kids can go off and hide with a treat, or ball, whilst you and the other kids, and pup, go looking for "the fugitive". As soon as pup finds him/her, "the fugitive" gives pup the treat or toy, and everyone gives pup big congratulations.
So, there's a few things to get you going!
Other things to look into include food, and mental stimulation when he's not out and about with you.
I hope this helps give you some ideas about what's going on here, and how to cope with it. Again, I'm happy to help with any other questions you have.

morebabies · 12-10-2013 08:29PM

DBB wrote: »

Hi morebabies,
I hope you don't mind me lending a hand here, I'm a dog trainer, and have worked with many a cheeky pup!
I'm inclined to think that funny man has hit the nail on the head: your pup was shy, quiet and biddable at first due to lack of confidence in a brand new, kinda scary environment.. the new kid in the playground so to speak.
But now, he's starting to find his feet a little, and is becoming a bit more confident. In fact, now he's starting to act more like a normal puppy!
It is vital, just vital, to be consistent in how you deal with this. Before I start on what will no doubt become an essay, can I ask some questions?
How have you taught pup to sit?
What reward did pup get for sitting (or other obedience-y things)?
What age are your kids?
I'd suggest, and I'm happy to throw pointers at you, that pup is taught some simple basic obedience, and that you use a powerful reward for obeying in these early days. Food is usually a good start! Though food rewards can and should be phased down over time.
I'm glad to read that you're not inclined to use the stick, this means your dog training instincts are good! It is, in my opinion, never necessary to use slaps, verbal abuse, or any method which provokes fear, startle, or pain. Instead, I use vauable rewards to get nice behaviour up and running, then practice like mad, and if they're old enough, the kids can practice like mad too! If a pup does something undesirable in the process, the behaviour can be "corrected" by taking away the reward the pup is getting out of doing the unwanted thing. Dogs tend to repeat behaviour they get rewarded for, and this reward is often inadvertent. For example, pup jumps up on kids, or grabs trouser legs, and he gets an instant "wahhhh" response from the child, followed by screams (sometimes of joy, sometimes of fear!) This is hilarious fun for a pup, a powerful reward, and if allowed go unstopped, turns into a big problem as the pup grows into a big dog.
I like to teach pups not to jump up by teaching them to sit instead. He does not get to interact with me (which is the reward he's looking for) until and unless his butt is on the ground.
If he sits, he gets a yummy treat, and lots of lovely pets, praise, a play with a toy if he likes toys.
But if he jumps up, I immediately withdraw my attention, and turn my back on him. If I'm anywhere near a door, I might just disappear out that door for a few seconds.
The point is, if he jumps up, he loses me. If he sits, good times!
As I said above, dogs will always repeat what works for them. So, by doing the above, we are making sitting to greet "work" better for the pup than jumping up does.
If you're very consistent with this, it doesn't take too long for pup to weigh up the odds, and start choosing the more polite greeting... Plonking his butt on the ground, because it now "works" better for him.
So, I'd suggest that the adults do this first, get the habit if sitting to greet up and running. When pup is doing this pretty well for you, then the kids can start to practise: and because he's already learned the "Rules of the Game" from you, your OH, grandad etc, he'll be much quicker to realise that the same rules apply to the kids.
I would be inclined though, in the early days, to keep pup on a lead around the kids so that he can't jump up on them and scare them: if the kids can see you're in control, they'll feel calmer.
I also like funny man's suggestion to get the kids playing "non contact" games with pup: does pup chase a ball? If so, get two balls. Roll one for pup to catch. When he gets it in his gob, you start to play with the second ball as if it's the best thing ever, but without allowing pup access to it. He will, invariably, come over to investigate. He will also, at some point, drop his ball. The very instant he drops his ball, roll your ball for him to chase. Whilst he's doing that, pick up the first ball, and repeat the whole process. This is a great way to gently teach the fetch! The kids can weigh into this process very quickly too, with your guidance.
The kids can also hide treats around the yard, and lead pup around to find the treats: just before pup finds each treat, the kids say "find it!", as a way of introducing a future command. With time, they can take the lead off, and get pup to go looking himself, without help, using the command "find it!"
Similarly, once pup knows the concept of going looking for stuff, one of the kids can go off and hide with a treat, or ball, whilst you and the other kids, and pup, go looking for "the fugitive". As soon as pup finds him/her, "the fugitive" gives pup the treat or toy, and everyone gives pup big congratulations.
So, there's a few things to get you going!
Other things to look into include food, and mental stimulation when he's not out and about with you.
I hope this helps give you some ideas about what's going on here, and how to cope with it. Again, I'm happy to help with any other questions you have.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! When you put it so simply it all makes perfect sense, compared to me wondering had my obedient docile pup been drinking coffee and gone into total hyper mode. Thank you.

He is showing such interest in obeying us now all the time even on walks, he won't run ahead, he's always waiting, looking to us, stopping when we stop, I really don't want to ruin his development into a highly intelligent dog. He can be the other end of the yard, and I shout sit at him now and he sits where he is, and has learned stay also - dog treats were the reward for those by the way and he learned them lightning fast.

But when we play with him or show him affection, that's when it all gets a bit out of hand and he turns into crazy dog. But I can definitely see the withdrawing affection technique working, as he loves to get attention and fuss so I think that will work. Also, how to teach a dog to fetch properly and find it - brilliant, will start tomorrow.

Could I ask how we train him as a sheepdog then, he will hopefully be herding cattle, he is getting exposed to them every day, observing at the moment but not having any responsibility yet. Please PM me if you want, although maybe other farmers here would find basic training for herding commands useful?

DBB · 17-10-2013 09:14PM

Feck! Sorry morebabies! I'm only getting back to you now, sorry for the delay!
I'm no expert in training dogs for herding work, but I'll tell you what I'd do, were it me.
At his young age, whilst I'd be happy enough for him to watch sheep at a distance, I wouldn't be inclined to let him get too stuck in yet. The last thing you need is for him to get a big fright if one of the sheep stands its ground on him. Scary experiences at his age can be very damaging for life.
Instead, I'd be working hard on getting that obedience really, really good: the sit, the down, the wait, the stop, the recall, the send away left and right etc. You'll need to teach these at very close quarters first, and gradually progress to greater and greater distances, just as you've already done with the sit!
I'd be doing this around the yard for the foreseeable future, and then start to move pup to different locations, building in distractions (like kids running past, noises, whatever you can think of really).
Then, when he's a bit older, I'd start this same work, by now well established, at a distance from the sheep. If you have the slightest doubt that he might run at the sheep, keep him on a longline (attached to a body harness, not a collar), or on the safe side of a fence. Get him used to obeying all of the above commands around the sheep.
I'd also keep him on-lead whilst walking behind the sheep when you're gathering them up, to start him going behind and steering the sheep. As you develop more confidence in him, I'd start to let him off the lead when you're moving the flock.
Then, to get him moving away from you to bring the sheep back to you, in a familiar place and with just a small number of steady sheep, send him away, then rattle a bucket of nuts to draw the sheep to you. This will allow pup to "herd" the sheep towards you from behind, first in this easy setting, but gradually making it harder for him, with more sheep, and greater distances.
If his DNA doesn't kick in along the way now, you're in trouble :-)
Also, get him going through gates too, whilst it's easy for him as he's still small: lure him through with treats or a toy, only giving him the goodies when he goes through. As he gets bigger, he'll need to be able to jump through higher bars, which can be more difficult to do than if you just make this normal for him now.
Same goes for gradually teaching him to jump walls and fences: set up really small obstacles now, including strands of wire, and get him stepping over them for treats or toys. But do not get him jumping until he's fully grown as it could damage growing joints and bones... Keep it low-impact for now.
Hope this helps now, there's a lot of work ahead, but enjoy it! Hopefully, there'll be other posters here who can add their tips too, as training collies for herding work is not my speciality!

Edited to add: d'oh... I don't know why I got it into my head that you want him to work sheep, as opposed to cattle. Senior moment! Still though, the same still applies, but serious extra care to make sure he doesn't get a ragging from an animal... Particular care around suckler cows with calves at foot, they can be almost predatory around dogs. They're for experienced dogs only.

Any issues with your sheepdog and kids?

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