Shold Ranch- best cattle dogs on earth

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I should have recorded my young Border Collie "Angus" yesterday... Not because he was doing anything spectacular, but watching him try to help bring up a cow in the snow and ice was extremely entertaining!! Border Collies are very fast and intelligent, but you can throw all that out the window when working on snow and ice!
 
I watch those videos all the time and its cool no doubt. As a dog guy I appreciate the amount of effort that goes in to training a dog like that. With that said, they train the cattle just as well. Ive seen people try to buy those dogs and use them on cattle that are not dog broke and think the dogs will solve all there problems.
 
Brute 23":3amhqdp1 said:
I watch those videos all the time and its cool no doubt. As a dog guy I appreciate the amount of effort that goes in to training a dog like that. With that said, they train the cattle just as well.
I have never had a good cow dog so I'm guessing here. Does the cattle actually need to be trained to the dogs also. Not sure how that's done but I'm sure some of you will understand what I'm asking.
 
kenny thomas":11e6r1k8 said:
Brute 23":11e6r1k8 said:
I watch those videos all the time and its cool no doubt. As a dog guy I appreciate the amount of effort that goes in to training a dog like that. With that said, they train the cattle just as well.
I have never had a good cow dog so I'm guessing here. Does the cattle actually need to be trained to the dogs also. Not sure how that's done but I'm sure some of you will understand what I'm asking.

Yes, they acclimate the cattle to the dogs just like the dogs to the cattle. A lot of those places, especially that sell dogs, train those cattle young to work with the dogs. When they have a pen of young heifers or bulls they go out there and move them multiple times a week with the dogs. Just like the guys with roping steers pushing them around the pasture every day.

A friend of mine puts all his heifers on one place by his house. He starts with dogs in the pen and lets him ball the heifers up and hold them bayed. Then over time he turns the heifers out and he goes over there several times a week and turns dogs out to ball them up and he pushes them to the pens. By the time he turns the heifers out with the cows they are dog broke.

Its not that easy with cattle who have never seen dogs or dont like dogs.
 
Brute 23":1wbqjd11 said:
I watch those videos all the time and its cool no doubt. As a dog guy I appreciate the amount of effort that goes in to training a dog like that. With that said, they train the cattle just as well. Ive seen people try to buy those dogs and use them on cattle that are not dog broke and think the dogs will solve all there problems.

Just easier to train the herd with cubes and cull those that don't play well.
 
Caustic Burno":2e5mbfpr said:
Brute 23":2e5mbfpr said:
I watch those videos all the time and its cool no doubt. As a dog guy I appreciate the amount of effort that goes in to training a dog like that. With that said, they train the cattle just as well. Ive seen people try to buy those dogs and use them on cattle that are not dog broke and think the dogs will solve all there problems.

Just easier to train the herd with cubes and cull those that don't play well.

I agree. :nod:
 
Not many true cow dogs left in this county but back in the 60s everybody had some. Had to to gather all the cattle out of the open range national forest. The last guy I knew that really had some died in 2015. Mostly yellow curs and catahoulas.
 
TennesseeTuxedo":354sy3q2 said:
I'd like to see them working out in open pasture, that would be really neat.

TT look at some of her other videos out on the mountain. No cussing, no group of ten or more guys on horseback with the dogs, or any of the other stuff that goes on here. Just the dog moving a group with no commotion.
 
Caustic Burno":3j1flk11 said:
Brute 23":3j1flk11 said:
I watch those videos all the time and its cool no doubt. As a dog guy I appreciate the amount of effort that goes in to training a dog like that. With that said, they train the cattle just as well. Ive seen people try to buy those dogs and use them on cattle that are not dog broke and think the dogs will solve all there problems.

Just easier to train the herd with cubes and cull those that don't play well.

That's not as easy as it sounds with bigger herds. Had 60 puppy dog gentle heifers calve next to the house during the bad weather. 9 of em turned into sprinters who dive into culverts as soon as they had a calf.
 
JWBrahman":2nnynamq said:
Caustic Burno":2nnynamq said:
Brute 23":2nnynamq said:
I watch those videos all the time and its cool no doubt. As a dog guy I appreciate the amount of effort that goes in to training a dog like that. With that said, they train the cattle just as well. Ive seen people try to buy those dogs and use them on cattle that are not dog broke and think the dogs will solve all there problems.

Just easier to train the herd with cubes and cull those that don't play well.

That's not as easy as it sounds with bigger herds. Had 60 puppy dog gentle heifers calve next to the house during the bad weather. 9 of em turned into sprinters who dive into culverts as soon as they had a calf.


That's simple 9 culls you actually think dogs are going to make that type of cattle easier to work. You might break a cow to a dog but you never take the fight or flight out of one ate up with it.
Like I said 9 culls due to disposition.
 
Good dogs can save a lot of steps. A bad one is like swimming with a mill stone. Mine finally figured out to bring roping calves back down the return alley. Even that is helpful.
 
Our Blue Heeler, isn't trained but she does seem to understand the concept of moving cattle through a gate. Like someone already mentioned it is a help even when she can get some moving on one end while I'm driving some from the other corner of the lot. One morning it may have been purely accidental but she watched them come in the lot, and she went around and brought in some straglers.
 
CB you have to get those 9 pairs to a pen and on the trailer first. Lol A dependable, calm, intelligent dog helps a lot.
 
JWBrahman":3ly7id92 said:
TennesseeTuxedo":3ly7id92 said:
I'd like to see them working out in open pasture, that would be really neat.

TT look at some of her other videos out on the mountain. No cussing, no group of ten or more guys on horseback with the dogs, or any of the other stuff that goes on here. Just the dog moving a group with no commotion.

I'll do that. Love seeing good dogs working.
 
Caustic Burno":39s3s3tw said:
JWBrahman":39s3s3tw said:
Caustic Burno":39s3s3tw said:
Just easier to train the herd with cubes and cull those that don't play well.

That's not as easy as it sounds with bigger herds. Had 60 puppy dog gentle heifers calve next to the house during the bad weather. 9 of em turned into sprinters who dive into culverts as soon as they had a calf.


That's simple 9 culls you actually think dogs are going to make that type of cattle easier to work. You might break a cow to a dog but you never take the fight or flight out of one ate up with it.
Like I said 9 culls due to disposition.
Glad your boss lady didn't have that attitude. You're old cantankerous azz would have been out picking up cans for a living 50 years ago. :lol2: :lol: :hide:
 
The cow catchers would be lost with out a good one,, seeing them working out in the open range, running some outa the brush ..and don't see a man for months on end,,you can see the need for a good one..
 

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