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sheepdogs

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  • Home
  • About Me
  • Dogs in Action
    • Three kelpies mustering
    • Ace on wild hoggets
    • Otto and Zilla
    • Mustering ewes and lambs
    • 4 kelpies mustering
    • Farm dogs at work
    • Sheepdogs in the yard
    • Mustering the hoggets
    • Mustering ewes and lambs
    • Farm dogs mustering
    • Sheepdogs in the yard
    • Kelpies in the paddock
    • Mustering the strays
    • Kelpies yard work
    • Mustering hoggets
    • Kelpies paddock work
    • Kelpies yarding the sheep
    • Putting sheep out
    • Otto, Leena, Zilla
  • Training Articles
    • Position
    • Emotions and training
    • Reading your dog.
    • Sheepdog terms
    • The Basics
    • Yard work
    • Comfort zone
    • Failure or not
    • Taking the pressure off
    • Emotions and training
    • Pressure in training
  • Editorials
    • Tasmania trip
    • John White on stockdogs
    • Farm weekly article
  • About Sheep
    • Sheep
    • Stock handling
    • Sheep and trialling
  • Contact Me

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Stock work

  

  


Sheepdogs have been used on farms and stations for many years and are considered a valuable asset. They can find, read, and work sheep a lot better than humans can.


Many years ago, dogs were bred appropriately to the needs of the individual, depending on the terrain they were needed for and what sort of stock they were required to work.

Good pups were often swapped around or traded for a ‘carton’ or two.


Dogs were used mainly for paddock work before the advent of motorbikes, and sheep were not handled in the yard as much as they are now. In those days sheep were not jetted or crutched or treated for prevention of flystrike. Fly struck sheep needed to be caught and treated in the paddock. A dog who could sniff out and catch a fly struck sheep was a valuable helper. There are dogs now who can still do this but it is not needed as much as it was, and it has become a rare trait.

Once motorbikes were invented and sheep numbers rose, management techniques changed. Sheep were drenched, jetted, back lined, and crutched more often and this bought an increase of yard work. Dogs were selected for the ability to move sheep through the yards in a more forceful fashion, and unfortunately, some of the good paddock dogs were bred out. 

Motorbikes became the fastest way to bring sheep into the yards, so paddock dogs were not needed as much. Work became more stressful, sheep were brought in panting and stressed. But it did not seem to matter, time was important and there was a lot of work to do. 

With the advent of crutching cradles, the speed of this large job multiplied so that two to three thousand sheep could be done in one day, requiring mobs to be bought in at a rapid pace to keep up. This caused stress to sheep and farm workers alike but made the job quicker. Yard dogs were a big help, but a lot of so-called good yard dogs were dogs that had too much energy and no technique. Sheep were smashed into fences bitten and forced through gates with no thought to stock handling, or how stress might affect the animal. A good calm sheepdog can work sheep through yards without all this fuss. Barking when needed, laying down when the yards are full, backing to clear the fronts when the sheep have turned around, and biting only when necessary or when threatened by a sheep.

Being in a yard where half a dozen dogs are racing around biting, barking, and leaping all over the place is the height of stress for the animal and the workers.

Thankfully things have changed in recent years. Good working dogs are fetching unheard-of prices, as people realize the value of their workmates. 

The difficulty of obtaining good farm staff has also increased their value. A good dog can do the work of three people and they don’t complain or want higher wages or better conditions. They work simply because they love it.

New research techniques have made it possible to measure stress levels in animal in certain situations and we have a benchmark to work with. Even a few hours of a stressful situation cause stock to lose condition and cause a decrease in productivity. Research has shown that wool and/or meat growth can cease in a stressed animal for a period of days or even weeks after the event. So why don't we slow down a bit? Because we are ruled by deadlines most of the time, which does make it difficult. We can however try to make it little easier for the sheep by understanding a little about how they think and why they do what they do. 


Working stock through the yards calmly and quietly can make yard work much more enjoyable for man and beast. The sheep are more relaxed, and this can improve productivity. When bringing young sheep into the yards for the first time, if we make it as pleasant as possible for them, they will yard easier in the future. Can you blame them for not wanting to go back into the yards after receiving rough handling? 

Dogs can be trained to move sheep without biting or smashing sheep into fences. Putting a young pup into a situation where older dogs are racing around barking and biting is exciting and stimulating and is not a good teaching environment. Train your pup when you have an easy job to do and are not under pressure, then you can focus on the pup and leave the older dogs in their kennel, so he does not feed off the excitement. 

Also, while working a pup with an older dog, if there is a need to discipline the older dog, the pup can take offense and become mistrustful of you.

Unfortunately, sheep are often labeled as stupid and stubborn and trying their best to be difficult. Admittedly, sheep can be trying but in reality they are frightened animals doing their best to escape, from what to them is a terrifying experience. 

Sheep are quite clever, as anyone who has raised pet lambs will know. They are easily trained and respond to routine quickly, especially when food is involved.

Looking at things from the perspective of the animal can help us to understand why they act as they do. After spending a considerable time trying to unsuccessfully force them into a yard it can help to get down to their level, (yes on your hands and knees,) and try to work out why they will not go into that gate. Perhaps from their view, all they can see is an obstruction not visible from your height. By doing this we can set up our yards and working areas more efficiently, thus saving time in the future.

Moving ewes and lambs is not easy. The best thing we can do is try to keep the lambs with their mothers and so avoid the dreaded ‘Lampede” when the lambs form their own mob and bolt back up the paddock in a panic to where they last saw their mother. They then become exceedingly difficult to get back into the mob. The best thing to do if this happens is take some ewes back out into the paddock and try to get them together, it is near impossible to muster lambs on their own. 

So if possible, bring them in as quietly as possible, dogs are better than three or four revving beeping bikes. The quieter the better so the lambs can hear their mother’s calling. When yarding them, give them time to roll into the yard without too much force. Good dogs will just hold them while you can walk forward and push the front of the mob into the yard.

It is difficult when deadlines are looming but try and plan ahead and allow a little more time to bring that mob in and take the time to keep things as calm as possible, your sheep and dogs and your own stress levels will thank you for it.



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