Teaching a dog to catch

[reverand]

The best ones are the ones that will go in and catch the front leg and just flick the ewe over.

The dogs techique is critical and probably not something you can teach. Ideally they need to get them down quickly and not just running along side them for hundreds of metres. Like mine does unfortunately. My last dog was able to trip them up. I would also say the dog needs to hold them down and not just let go ready for another chase, it will give you chance to catch up

 

[General-Lee]

Can't remember as I was young long time ago, a part time Shepard out where I work had 2 highly trained short haired solid dogs that would charge/flatten a sheep on command but not sure what happened after it had been bowled over?

 

[Mcnulty24]

He has something to live up to, he will grab and hold if the try to run past him but he will run along side until he feels them stop. Then he lets go and let's them run back to the rest.

I will try your suggestions and see how we get on, I suspect he will enjoy himself.

 

[unlacedgecko]

The dogs techique is critical and probably not something you can teach. Ideally they need to get them down quickly and not just running along side them for hundreds of metres. Like mine does unfortunately. My last dog was able to trip them up. I would also say the dog needs to hold them down and not just let go ready for another chase, it will give you chance to catch up

Mine appears to favour holding them by the face, which is less than ideal.

I once read a Scandanvian tracking book. It detailed the use of a cured deer skin stuffed with straw for teaching a dog where to grip by. I wonder if the principal would work with a sheepskin and a collie?

 

[Newby]

Mine appears to favour holding them by the face, which is less than ideal.

I once read a Scandanvian tracking book. It detailed the use of a cured deer skin stuffed with straw for teaching a dog where to grip by. I wonder if the principal would work with a sheepskin and a collie?

I once had the pleasure of an audience with a "notorious" old timer over a few beers, in between the tall tales there were a few gems of wisdom, I remember him telling me he used to use bucket calves to teach his lurchers to hock deer

 

[Leereade]

A strong dog should be able to push a ewe and a lamb to your feet

 

[reverand]

Mine appears to favour holding them by the face, which is less than ideal.

I once read a Scandanvian tracking book. It detailed the use of a cured deer skin stuffed with straw for teaching a dog where to grip by. I wonder if the principal would work with a sheepskin and a collie?

Worth a try.

 

[RedMerle]

A strong dog should be able to push a ewe and a lamb to your feet

I was taught by an old time shepherd the same. The dog holds the sheep to you catch her with a crutch.

 

[Downton_shep]

A strong dog should be able to push a ewe and a lamb to your feet

Absolutely true, but quicker if they just catch it.
It's great to spend time with a younger dog getting them to hold a single/ewe and lambs to your feet if you have the time. Normally do this on weekends. But if you need to crack on I just get it caught.
Need to be carful not to over do it catching with youngsters, they love it but need to know only to catch on command. My first catching dog got in the habit of singling off anything that hinted of hanging back from the bunch and then catching it! Very frustrating and ended up not using her to catch.
Not all dogs catch. Some just don't have it in them.

 

[unlacedgecko]

. My first catching dog got in the habit of singling off anything that hinted of hanging back from the bunch and then catching it! Very frustrating and ended up not using her to catch.

Mine does that now, it's why she works in a muzzle.

 

[Leereade]

Absolutely true, but quicker if they just catch it.
It's great to spend time with a younger dog getting them to hold a single/ewe and lambs to your feet if you have the time. Normally do this on weekends. But if you need to crack on I just get it caught.
Need to be carful not to over do it catching with youngsters, they love it but need to know only to catch on command. My first catching dog got in the habit of singling off anything that hinted of hanging back from the bunch and then catching it! Very frustrating and ended up not using her to catch.
Not all dogs catch. Some just don't have it in them.

My bitch went to grab a yow last year just as I grabbed it too needless to sat there was blood and some words spoken to her

 

[CopperBeech]

I was taught by an old time shepherd the same. The dog holds the sheep to you catch her with a crutch.

That great, until the wild idiot is running about like a headless chicken, with a lamb hanging out of her, mixing up every other ewe and lambs.

Dog on, ewe down. . .

Not as pretty, but quite effective!

 

[RedMerle]

Personal preference I don't want to encourage gripping.

 

[Dry Rot]

I don't profess to be a sheepdog trainer but I taught a couple of mine to single out a selected sheep, without gripping, so I could get a crook on it which worked for me. Just done by encouraging the dog to go after and head one sheep and to leave the others. On got quite persistent and would stick to the selected ewe until I'd at least put a hand on it. I know others who train for this. I'd be worried about teaching a dog catch as i is only one step away from gripping.

I think it was St Kilda where Kearton witnessed dogs trained to catch sheep. Does anyone know what sheep they would have been? Do they refuse to flock?

 

[unlacedgecko]

I think it was St Kilda where Kearton witnessed dogs trained to catch sheep. Does anyone know what sheep they would have been? Do they refuse to flock?

Probably Soays. They don't Flock and don't respond to a herding dog.

 

[Hooby Farmer]

i am finding this thread extremely interesting, i didnt know this was done thing.

 

[CopperBeech]

Personal preference I don't want to encourage gripping.

Out of interest, why not? Not a dig at all, bit although excess sheep biting isn't a good thing, I cannot stand a dog that doesn't have the bottle to get to grips with a sheep if needed and when commanded.

The whole 'one man and his dog' thing of walking a ewe back against a wall or your legs to you can crook them, is great, and it works, but its a bit of an idealistic, romantic image. . . . more often than not the sheep don't co-operate!

 

[RedMerle]

Out of interest, why not? Not a dig at all, bit although excess sheep biting isn't a good thing, I cannot stand a dog that doesn't have the bottle to get to grips with a sheep if needed and when commanded.

The whole 'one man and his dog' thing of walking a ewe back against a wall or your legs to you can crook them, is great, and it works, but its a bit of an idealistic, romantic image. . . . more often than not the sheep don't co-operate!

Because it's a disqualifying trait in trials.

I'm not convinced it's a sign of a strong dog when it's a cowardly grip on the back quarter as it runs away.

It's just not the way I was taught to work sheep and I would be mortified if my dog gripped someone else's sheep and left damage, particularly if it was as a result of something I had trained.

 

[CharcoalWally]

It funny my main dog just seams to know when and what sheep I want to catch! I guess he must just pick it up from my body language but it always amazes me.

My old dog was the same. He only ever caught ewes at lambing time in the lambing field , otherwise only if I specifically asked him to catch.

They do know by your body language and demeanour what you intend to do, but my collies , and I would assume everyone else's, have a huge understanding of my vocabulary. It's amazing the bank of words they understand, both the good and the bad , so they know as quick as we do what's happening next. I used to say to him , "right , we're going to catch that ewe," and as easy as that, it was done.

My current collie makes me laugh. If I'm working in one part of the steading and I need a hand from my father for a job , I say to my dog, "go and get Dad, I need him here , go and get him ," and this black dog goes flat out the shed sprinting to where my father is. He then jumps all over him , barking and whining until my father comes to see what I want.

It's hilarious. I sometimes do it just for the laugh! !

 

[CharcoalWally]

I think it was St Kilda where Kearton witnessed dogs trained to catch sheep. Does anyone know what sheep they would have been? Do they refuse to flock?

The St Kildans lived an incredibly isolated existence from the rest of the World , and rarely if ever had contact even with other islanders. So I would imagine that their sheep would have been a gene pool largely specific to their own island. A distant relative of my fathers was one of the last school teachers on the island before the islanders decided to leave for good , and I can only suspect that they'd have been a very small human gene pool , and their animals would have been the same.

To be honest , I'd imagine that most of the island breeds of sheep wouldn't be the best to flock for a dog. The Hebridean inhabitants would have been crofting multi taskers and excellent seamen. They wouldn't have been specialist shepherds , and the sheep would have been left to their own devices for much of the year. My father tells me of the big , powerful brown dogs that used to be on the crofts on Lewis when he was a boy. He doesn't remember them looking anything like the modern collie.