Lets talk about our sheepdog training partners. The Sheep.
Its important to understand them, and learn to read their behavior in order to achieve better results with our dogs.
When people first start out in training, the sheep are usually the last thing they are thinking about. Learning the correct position, how to keep things calm, where to walk and control the dog are the key factors.
However once these things are grasped then we need to start observing the sheep and knowing why they do what they do.
All the top triallers will tell you, reading the sheep is the key to progressing on the trial ground, or even in general sheep work.
If you have had limited stock experience it is not easy, but by watching them on the trial ground or training area or, if possible, big mobs on farms we can start to see what they are thinking.
Sheep are prey animals, and dogs are predators, so basically the sheep want to escape from their predators. We need to convince them that our dogs wont hurt them but just want to move them in a certain direction. This is why it is so important to calm the sheep down at the very start of the trial. As soon as they are upset and running it is difficult to get them to settle.
Some dogs have a lot of presence which means sheep don’t really like them. Dogs like this need to keep their distance and not pressure them too much, but it will always be more difficult with these dogs.
Sheep will generally look for an escape route when they see the dog. They want to get back with their mates and if they can’t see them then they will look for another means of escape. The dog needs to be able to control them without frightening them. Good dogs will read where the flight zone is and keep just on the edge of it, with enough pressure to move them without causing panic. The flight zone is also called the bubble and this is where the dog need to be.
By watching the sheep we can anticipate their moves before it happens. Many new handlers are too worried about the dog, and so ignore the sheep and miss the early signs. Sheep will always look in the direction they want to go to see if it is a safe way to escape. Positioning the dog correctly is the key to preventing this happening. So literally we are putting up invisible fences. Once sheep realize there is no escape and they are not being harmed where they are, then they will relax and comply.
Sheep, like horses will give in quite easily if handled right.
Watching yard work can be useful. The dog that is madly racing around barking and forcing will only cause the sheep to panic and not want to go anywhere, but the dog calmly holding his ground and keeping on the flight zone will have the better result and the sheep are still calm enough to think. A frightened animal does not think, it will panic and smash through fences. Horse owners also know this.
I did a lot of work on a large farm and understanding sheep made life a lot easier. Bringing in a mob of 800 plus sheep is not an easy job.
Racing into the paddock and around the sheep on a bike at top speed is the best way to upset them. These poor animals were just grazing quietly then suddenly there is a monster bearing down on them. Of course they will panic and stampede.
I approach from a distance and wait for the sheep to notice my presence. Then relax for a while so the sheep can see I am not a threat.
Once they have realized I’m not going to kill them they will usually turn and move off. Then we can calmly take them where we want to. They will still try to escape but they wont be in a panic when they do so and will be easier to control.
Three sheep on the trial ground are basically the same. We need to stop the dog when he first makes contact with the sheep so they can observe and accept him and see he is not going to harm them. Then we can start to pressure the sheep to go where we want them.
Obviously this will not always happen, and sometimes the sheep will run no matter what we do. In this case we just try to get the dog to a point of control and hope the sheep will settle.
We need good control on our dog to be able to do this. Stopping them before they have burst the bubble is the key, and just letting things settle. Some people are in a rush, and once the sheep have come down the ground, or exited an obstacle they just head off without positioning the sheep and waiting for them to settle. ( I was notoriously bad at this)
So just stopping and standing in one place for a minute or two can pay dividends in the end. This is also an important training exercise, even before you have commands on your dog. Getting between the dog and the sheep and just holding him there with your body language shows the dog that he does not always have to be moving the sheep somewhere, and teaches him patience
Some sheep are so touchy, that even if the dog closes a fraction on one side or comes in a step too far then those sheep are off. If the sheep have their heads up ears flicking and swinging their head around then they are looking to run. We need for them to get their heads down and relax. Some dogs settle sheep so much they will start grazing.
Sheep only recognize 50 other sheep, so you might draw some sheep that know each other or three strangers. This can make a difference to how they behave. Most people come off the trial ground complaining. “ I had one bad sheep” This is normal, and to be expected.
We need to look at them as an animal that just wants to escape not as something that is deliberately trying to thwart us. If one is panicked and never going to comply, then retiring is the best option
So whenever we are at a trial or watching dogs work sheep anywhere, its a great exercise as a group to anticipate what might happen. It easier to learn from the sidelines at first before we try it on the trial ground when things can be a little stressful..
