Anyone own Cattle dogs....want another

[Debba]

I have an Australian Heeler looking for a good home. He heads and heels the cows, unfortunatley he herds my horses as well. He is great with the cows and he LOVES it. He doesn't have enough obedience training to call him off though. He won't finish until every cow is in the return. He works very well with another experienced herding dog. I have a finished border collie he does well with. I ended up with the dog because a woman had him locked in her basement. She worked all the time and was unable to take him for walks and did not have fenced in yard. I've been trying to re-home to a better situation. He's wonderful with my 3 children (ages 6months, 5 and 7) Does not go after my chicken or ducks. The only thing he does wrong is going after my horses heels and pooping in my next door neighbors yard!!! (She does not tolerate that well) He does not have to go to a herding home, he's happy just being someones companion. Enjoys playing with other active dogs. We are located in MA.

 

[ranchmgr]

I used to fight with my heelers to get them to quit too, I now own a shock collar and it is awesome, in very little time you will be able to call them off the horses or anything else even when the collar is on the shelf. I f you like the dog it is well worth it and they will obey!

 

[Debba]

Do you know what type of collar you used. I ordered an inotek and it did not work on him. I even shaved his neck.....

 

[ranchmgr]

I have a tri-tronics, has five power settings. It has to be on real tight, you think your choking them when you put it on tight! One of my dogs would do anything with setting 1 while the other needs 3, yours may be more tolerant and need a stronger shock than you have tried.

 

[EIEIO]

I have the Innotek Free Spirit and like Ranchmgr said it needs to be on TIGHT. The trick to them though is to let the dog wear the collar (not all the time, just when out with the cattle or when you are there to supervise it when it's out) for a week or so before actually shocking them with it cause if your dog is smart they learn real quick they can be bad when the collar is off but behave when it is on. I used the collar to keep dogs from going after chickens more than anything. Just another thought, did you ever touch the collar and push the button on it to make sure it was working?

Not to get off track but I've never used a dog for herding, I "train" my cows to come for feed. Seem's less stressful on them and easier on me when all I do is yell, "hey cows!" and they all come running thinking range cubes are on the menu.

J

 

[Dusty Britches]

Tritronics is the only collar in my book that is worth the money. They will also send you a book and video with the Sportsman to teach you how to use the collar. It has a 1/2 mile range. They have others that have longer ranges.

My lab had been burned bad with the trainer's use of the collar and I had to wait several months before I put one on him. Then, we started out with it on 1/2, but it didn't phase him. Most of the time I use it on 1, but if he's gotten into a predictable bad habit, I use the 2 setting. Depending on the situation, I'll shock him with it or run up to him and yell. If his only response is to shake his head and continue what he is doing, then I run up to him and yell. When he obeys the command, I congratulate him. Now he is an extremely responsive dog and I rarely have to use it. He wears it every time we leave the yard.

If you think as highly of this heeler as I think of my dog, you really should consider a Tri-Tronics collar before you give him away. I can almost guarentee the new owner will use one.

 

[milkmaid]

I wouldn't use an Innotek - they're frequently called "inno-JUNK". (I have also used one and was not impressed.)

Go with a TriTronics, SportDog, or Dogtra. Those are the top brands out there.