english shepard

[krob]

I purchased a 8 week old english sheperd pup this fall. He is around 14 weeks old now.I have been keeping him away from stock as he is a little timid when he saw our hogs. He is fairly aggressive when introduced to other dogs and towards our cats (plays rough). I took him on long walk today and thought id get him close to our steers (900#). They are pretty gentle. I wanted to see if he had any inclination to move them.The steers walked towards us and he growled, barked and ran the 1/2 mile clear back to house without me. Question that I have is should I expect to see any herding behaviour at this age, I dont want to give up yet, but am kinda worried that I wasted my money on him.
Kevin

 

[Boot Jack Bulls]

I am not familiar with the breed, so take my advice with a grain of salt. The fact that he growls at stock at his age is a good sign. If he doesn't have an older dog to work with, it will take a bit longer for him to catch on. Be careful not to let anything rough him up yet, since for the most part, collie and Shepard types aren't as quick to get pissed off and back to work as fast as a heeler/catahula/kelpie type. Personally, I think that if a herding dog isn't showing interest to really get to work by about 6 months, then I would have doubts. Your pup seems to be getting along just fine. Just have patience, and if you aren't familiar with how to train your specific breed, do some reading.

 

[wbvs58]

Yes, good advice from Boot Jack. I would not be worried, he is young and I would avoid putting him in any threatening situations until he matures. Just give him his basic obedience training, let him look through a fence at them. A group of weaned calves is great to start him on but build up his confidence. Some are not ready to start until over 9 months.

Yes do some reading and lots on youtube can be usefull.

Ken