Sheep dogs are the tools of trade on sheep and beef farms and are amongst the most valuable members of the farm team.
To help farmers and shepherds get the best out of their canine work force, Beef + Lamb New Zealand recently teamed up with Black Hawk Dog Food and Farmfirst Veterinary to run workshops with dog training legend and dog triallist Lloyd Smith.
Around 250 people attended workshops in Canterbury- one on Big Ben Station in the Rakaia Gorge and another on Willesden Farms on Banks Peninsula- and watch Lloyd demonstrate the three-step process he uses to turn a pup (heading or Huntaway) into a skilled working dog over two years.
At both locations, Lloyd showed his extraordinary affinity with dogs but having young pups, who had never met him before, sitting at his leg and looking up at him attentively within five minutes.
Lloyd says he will start teaching pups to conform from when they are weaned and begins by getting a pup to stand at his leg. He then gently lifts its chin so that the pup is looking at him straight in the eye.
“They’ve got to be comfortable around your leg, that should be a comfort zone for them.”
He told the crowd that the tone of their voice was their biggest asset when training dogs and dogs needed to understand and respond to this tone.
“It’s not all about growling, reassurance and reward are just as important.”
“If you get that established at an early stage it is so much easier as dogs will recognise right from wrong.”
The first command he teaches a dog is to come and while Lloyd suggests using a rope for this, it’s not about “reeling them in like a fish” it’s about giving the pup the opportunity to walk to their trainer.
The next step is teaching a dog to stop- some pups are ready for this command earlier than others- each dog is different, says Lloyd. He prefers to dogs to remain on their feet when they learn to stop, but some more imposing dogs may need to be made to sit.
These training sessions are typically around five minutes but can be a couple of times a day.
“You want to put them away keen and build up their desire to work stock.”
From around six months, heading pups can be introduced to sheep and encouraged to run around them (ideally in yards or small area), stop and then bring the sheep back towards their owner.
Good heading dogs will naturally have balance in the way they work.
Stage two is off-balance work and stage three is “putting the steering gear on”, learning side commands and running dogs out.
Lloyd stressed the importance of building the dog’s confidence throughout the training process.
“You need to promote their desire to work sheep. Don’t come down too hard on pups.”
He also urged anyone dogs not to themselves in a position where it’s confusing for the dog and it could all go wrong.
” You need you dogs to believe in you.”
B+LNZ Extension Manager Hannah Brewer says she worked alongside Joanne Thorpe from Farmfirst Vets and Craig Stanway from Black Hawk to organise the events and they were very pleased with the turn-outs- indicating the level of interest in dog training.
“It was also a great way for people in the community to come together during a relatively busy time of the year to connect.”
Lloyd, who was a part of the NZ dog trial team that, in August, beat the Australians to win the Wayleggo Cup, has also written Pup Pen to Paddock, a no-nonsense guide to rearing and training sheep dogs, and has put together a number of training videos.