Stock dogs

[Logan52]

I have both a LGD (Great Pyrenees) and a stock dog (Australian Shepherd/Border Collie cross). Have had stock dogs for over 50 years and LGDs for over 25 years.
I keep the stock dog more as a companion and as a playmate for the grandkids. She adores them and follows their every step. She is well bred and has a lot of talent, helping me move the cattle from one part of the farm to the other, something I do rarely. She knows to just stay away when I get the cattle up in a pen or barn. With small fields and cattle that are handled regularly it works best that way.
Do any of you call your cattle in? I can holler Suuuu-Caaaaf and bang a bucket and they cross hollows, woods and creeks at a run to come to the sound.
The LGD is almost indispensable. He is bonded with my sheep flock but keeps coyotes away from the whole farm and prevents buzzards from landing. He just grins at me from a distance and never wants to be touched. The stockdog craves affection and her main desire is to please. The LGD does whatever he wants and ignores my wishes.
The two dogs are best buddies but I kennel the stockdog at night to keep them out of trouble. The stockdog can catch a tennis ball on the fly and loves to play soccer with the kids, using her nose to advance the ball. The LGD just watches from the shade, thinking his buddy has lost her mind.
Every place is different and what kind of dog works one place is a potential disaster at another.

 

[Stonewall Joe]

we h

My dog is with me all day every day. That's why he gets used all the time and my horse is getting really bored. A dog and a side by side or 4 wheeler is pretty handy.

We have dogs and a 4x4 and a side by side and horses. The motorized stuff is nice for building fences and carrying stuff and going to the tank to fish, but a horse to me (especially if he is broke well,) just is handier, can go places a motorized vehicle is not handy in and keeps the cattle quieter including penning and sorting. The dogs if trained can get even further up into a tight spot and if the cattle get into tight brush will help you find them easier

My boys will occasionally resort to getting cattle up with a motorized vehicle but they always come in a bit hotter than if you just ease around them quietly with a horse and a dog. Some people might prefer a gas engine but I am just to old to change I guess

 

[Silver]

we h

We have dogs and a 4x4 and a side by side and horses. The motorized stuff is nice for building fences and carrying stuff and going to the tank to fish, but a horse to me (especially if he is broke well,) just is handier, can go places a motorized vehicle is not handy in and keeps the cattle quieter including penning and sorting. The dogs if trained can get even further up into a tight spot and if the cattle get into tight brush will help you find them easier

My boys will occasionally resort to getting cattle up with a motorized vehicle but they always come in a bit hotter than if you just ease around them quietly with a horse and a dog. Some people might prefer a gas engine but I am just to old to change I guess

Oh don't get me wrong, I prefer to do thing horse back but I'm not going to saddle up every day for a 30 mile ride to check things out. My dog and I can cover a lot of ground propelled by a gas engine.
If I have a specific task at hand that would work better from a horse I'll go that route, but I'm finding I can do more and more with just me and the dog. And really, he's the one that's with me when I find something that needs done so he's the one that gets used.