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Success with Stockdogs Part 2 – Different herding breeds trained for different work

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Deep Roots Radio
Deep Roots Radio
Success with Stockdogs Part 2 - Different herding breeds trained for different work
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My Siggy is a Corgi, a herding dog. We practice rotation grazing on our farm because our commitment is to 100% grass-fed beef. Our practice is to move cattle slowly and calmly from pasture to pasture. No loud noises or running allowed! How do I train Siggy to work more gently with my BueLingo cattle?

In this second Deep Roots Radio installment, Denice Rakley, of Clearfield Stockdogs, describes how she trains herding dogs to bring out the special traits of their distinct breeds. She also stresses the importance of knowing the proven behaviors of the dog’s immediate parentage.

In Part 3, Denice will explain what to look for when acquiring your first stock dog or puppy.

I hope you enjoy this interview.

Sylvia

Dirty, dusty, messy little Siggy

*An ongoing adventure story for children of all ages*
It’s time, thought Sylvia.
She looked down at her little dog and noticed his smudged nose, dirty paws and matted fur. Hmmmm.
Siggy is 10 weeks old and loves his home, Bull Brook Keep. Sylvia and her husband Dave raise beef cows on the farm. The cows eat grass, and only grass, their entire lives. This makes them big and strong and very healthy.
Siggy likes to watch the cows and the new little calves running in the fields.
Siggy also runs and plays every day. He rolls in the wet grass, splashes through muddy puddles, runs on dusty roads, and digs in the dirt. Sylvia looked at Siggy and saw that his fur was covered with dried mud, loose dirt, wood chips, and who-knows-what! Phew!
Sylvia leaned down and petted his little head. “Siggy,” she said, “it’s time to clean up.”
Siggy didn’t know what she meant, but sat and listened as the laundry tub filled with water. When it was about five inches deep, Sylvia gently lifted the young puppy and placed him in the warm water.
Siggy whined. He didn’t know if he liked this at all.
Sylvia gently spoke to Siggy as she bathed him with a very gentle soap and then rinsed him off. Siggy was glad the bath was over. As soon as he was out of the tub, he shook and shook and shook the water from his fur. Sylvia laughed as water drops flew everywhere.


Soon Siggy was dry and comfortable again. He was clean and ready for his next adventure.
Clean and ready to go

Clean and ready to go

For more stories about Siggy, click here.

An ongoing adventure story for children of all ages

Siggy is making progress

Siggy is making progress

Siggy is now nine weeks old. He loves running around with the big boys – Chevy, a nine-year old German Shorthair Pointer, and Parker, the five-year old English Setter. Siggy runs and jumps on them and wants to play with them all the time. Sylvia, Siggy’s master, knows playtime is important for little puppies. She also knows that Siggy must learn some basic lessons so that he will grow to be a useful, obedient and safe worker on the farm.

Chevy and Parker are also working dogs – they help David hunt for pheasants, grouse, and woodcock. David spent many, many months training Chevy and Parking to do their jobs well. Both dogs come to David when he says “here,” and they stop moving when they hear the word “whoa.” When David says “heel,” both dogs will walk close to David’s left leg. They do not run ahead of David, nor do they trail behind him. This is important because it means David can prevent the dogs from running into traffic, or from being distracted from their job – hunting.
Right now, because he is very young, Siggy has not learned to obey Sylvia’s commands. In fact, Sylvia knows Siggy is very independent and can be a very stubborn little dog! He will not always come to her when Sylvia says “here.” This is a problem because Sylvia wants to keep Siggy safe from traffic and from large animals that can hurt little dogs. He must also learn the very basic commands before he can begin to learn to be a herding dog that will work with the free-range chickens, and perhaps, the grass-fed BueLingo cows as well.
Sylvia wondered, “What can I do to train Siggy better?” She asked her friend Claire for some advise.
Claire knows all about training puppies. She told Sylvia, “Don’t put Siggy’s food in a bowl any more. Instead, feed Siggy from your hand, and only give him some food after he obeys your commands.”
Sylvia thanked Claire and began to do this several times every day. For example, early in the morning, Sylvia brings Siggy to a quiet spot and gives him a command. She says “sit,” “here,” or “stay.” When Siggy obeys her command, Sylvia feeds him some of his puppy food directly from her hand. Siggy is learning to obey!!
Sylvia knows that there are many, many months of training ahead, but now Siggy is making progress.

For all story installments, click here.

Siggy meets the big, big dogs

Siggy is a little puppy. He’s little because he’s young – under two months old. And he’s little because he’s a Pembroke Welsh Corgi – a breed that only get’s to be about 14 inches high.
Siggy is so low to the ground that his belly brushes against the grass as he walks across the fields. His legs are so short, he needs to jump when he climbs steps.
He is learning to climb smalls hills and jump over rocks. Siggy is curious about everything!

Siggy is just 6 inches high at the shoulder and less than a foot to the tips of his ears

Siggy is just 6 inches high at the shoulder and less than a foot to the tips of his ears

There are so many new sounds and smells for this little dog. And most of what he sees is very close to the ground. After all, Siggy is just six inches high at the tops of his shoulders.
Siggy is so much shorter than his new pack-mates, Chevy and Parker. Chevy is a German Shorthair Pointer. He’s nine years old and very strong. He’s also a valuable worker on the farm. Chevy’s human master, Dave, spent many, many months training Chevy to be a good hunting dog. Every fall, Dave and Chevy hunt pheasants, grouse, and woodcock. Chevy has lots of energy.Siggy plays with Chevy
Siggy meets Chevy, our German Shorthair Pointer

Siggy meets Chevy, our German Shorthair Pointer

Siggy meets Parker, our English Setter

Siggy meets Parker, our English Setter


Siggy also met Parker, an English Setter with a very waggy tail. Parker is five years old and is also a hunting dog. Parker works with Chevy and Dave when they walk the woods hunting for game birds. Parker and Siggy
Now Chevy and Parker are older, bigger and stronger dogs than little Siggy. They are tall dogs with long legs. They love to run and play roughly with each other, as you can see in this short video,Big dogs play rough Although Siggy would love to run and play with Chevy and Parker all the time, Siggy’s master – his human Sylvia – has to watch very carefully because Siggy is still a small baby. Chevy and Parker don’t want to hurt Siggy, but because they are so much bigger, they might step on him or scratch him by accident.
The dogs will learn to live and play with one another over the months and years. They will work with Sylvia and David to make the farm work well.
Soon Siggy will meet the other animals on the farm.