This can work to the dog’s advantage, building its confidence, but sheep that are running away (fleeing prey) can excite a young dog and make it difficult to control. If sheep are unsure they will often err on the side of caution, and run from an approaching dog rather than discover – too late – that it’s aggressive. Removing any potential source of fear, such as aggressive sheep, is a good start. A good trainer will build the dog’s confidence as much as possible during the early stages of training.

The dog’s confidenceĬonfidence is paramount in a sheepdog. Their flocking instinct will keep the sheep nicely together but, being easy to move, they are unlikely to stand and threaten a trainee dog that lacks confidence. Obviously, there are breeds that fall between these parameters, and something quite light, which has a good flocking instinct, is best for training. These light sheep (often small, wiry upland or mountain breeds) can be extremely difficult to move efficiently with a dog, whereas some of the heavy breeds (usually large, lowland breeds) will stand their ground and challenge the dog – even stamping and head-butting and sometimes injuring the dog. There are “ light” or “ heavy” breeds – with heavy meaning the sheep can be difficult for a dog to move, whereas some sheep are so light that they simply scatter in the presence of a predator. Breeds of sheep This trainee sheepdog is keeping well back, making sheep control much easier for all concerned Sheep that have had little or no exposure to dogs are likely to panic when they see one, so this confidence factor alone accounts for a huge variation in the behaviour of sheep in the presence of a dog. Over time, sheep that are regularly worked with dogs become more confident and usually move quietly and calmly, especially if the dog is calm and its movements are predictable to the sheep. When they herd livestock dogs are using a hunting instinct that’s been ‘diluted’ by selective breeding, to produce a dog we can train to work sheep, but not harm them.

QUESTION: Why do some sheep run away as the dog approaches, while others stand their ground?ĪNSWER: There are many reasons for sheep to run away from dogs but, primarily, sheep instinctively see dogs as predators.ĭogs are descended from wolves and, let’s be honest, there’s an awful lot of sheep worrying these days to demonstrate that the instinct is still valid.

Running sheep