Working dog,

[Ky hills]

I know this absolutely not high level working dog stuff, as I don’t know the first beginning of how to train a dog.
She’s just just watched and followed me.
Then as she got a little older she got into it.
Most of our cattle have always been very little flightzone and sometimes stubborn when it’s just me trying to get them out. Jip walks among them and very little attention is given to her, except some calves will always try to get into stare down with her. Then when she knows it’s time to get them out it changes and they have learned to get on out.
She knows the boundaries and will stop.
We have used her to help drive in the lots from the pasture, and once had a situation whatever couldn’t get them to come trough a gate that had ice where water had pooled and froze around it in the back and she got them to go through.
She’s also obsessed with gates. She will grab hold of certain gates and pull them once I get it unchained.
Now I’ve just a few head of cattle left the flightzones are even less, she and I may not be trained professionally, but she takes some steps off of me for sure.
I’ve included a couple fb videos of her driving cattle, yesterday and today, and a video of her pulling a gate open.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1KfgyfvUHC/?mibextid=wwXIfr

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

Now Roy would have wanted to hold the first group of cows in the corner and not let through the gate. She doesn't push them like my heeler. Luckily she has a great recall and the cows now what's going on. The little idiot does bite at the gate too.

 

[Ky hills]

Now Roy would have wanted to hold the first group of cows in the corner and not let through the gate. She doesn't push them like my heeler. Luckily she has a great recall and the cows now what's going on. The little idiot does bite at the gate too.

A border collie our neighbors next to one of our farms had, would bunch our cattle up in a corner and hold them there.
Had to call the neighbors several times to ask them to call their dog back home.
This Heeler goes after gates, trash cans, anything with wheels or anything that moves really.

 

[RDFF]

Had a great Border Collie that was awesome at working the cattle. But when we would bed them down with small square cornstalk bales, he would tear into those bales like a mad man! We had to bed down that pen after milking for the young stock (young stock housing pen was also our milking parlor holding pen). It was 18' x 100', usually took about 12 bales... and he'd stick with it till we were done. Would be coughing because of the dust, but he wouldn't give up till that job was completed! Too bad he's gone now.

 

[wbvs58]

I'm not finished yet with dogs, I'm coming up to 75 in April and I have two dogs, a Border Collie who is 10 and a Kelpie who is 5. I recently rehomed another Kelpie to a good friend and these two bitches are much more manageable now. The BC is very disobedient but has good instincts. The Kelpie also has good instincts and does listen to what I want. I find the Kelpie likes to work in her own space opposite to me so if I want them to push the cows along I will move to the flank and leave her to do her thing. When Millie the BC goes to the big cattle drive in the sky if I am still around I intend to get another Kelpie as I want to have one last go at doing a good job of training a working dog, I have a bit more of an idea now and if need be I will get some professional help. One thing I know is that I will be the one selecting a pup from a litter. The last couple of pups I have got the breeder did the allocating supposedly matching the pup up with the buyer, I think it was more about picking out ones for regular clients with the most talent or ones they want to keep themselves to train and sell as started dogs. Whatever it was I don't think they got it right for me.

Ken

 

[Travlr]

One thing I know is that I will be the one selecting a pup from a litter. The last couple of pups I have got the breeder did the allocating supposedly matching the pup up with the buyer, I think it was more about picking out ones for regular clients with the most talent or ones they want to keep themselves to train and sell as started dogs. Whatever it was I don't think they got it right for me.

Ken

Best dog I ever had was one that I selected only based on color... but I learned something by doing that. Afterward I thought about the pup's actions, which were not what most people would look for to choose a puppy, and I adjusted my perception of what to look for.

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

A border collie our neighbors next to one of our farms had, would bunch our cattle up in a corner and hold them there.
Had to call the neighbors several times to ask them to call their dog back home.
This Heeler goes after gates, trash cans, anything with wheels or anything that moves really.

THE TRASH CAN WHEELS!!

 

[Dave]

If I have cows in the corral and the dogs have nothing to do they put the cows into the loafing shed (back end of the pen) and hold them there. Happens real regularly.

 

[RDFF]

Yup. I had to tie up my Border Collie when I went in for breakfast, or he'd turn right around and go work the cattle. He'd always be right with me if I was outside, but if I wasn't around, he was with the cattle... OR, running circles trying to 'herd" and head off the UPS truck! That's why Border Collies are the most commonly run over breed of dog... they're naturally "headers" (head off an animal and turn them back (into the flock) and then move them toward their "alpha male" in the pack... i.e.: their master; and with their natural instinct being so strong, they just can't help themself!

 

[Ky hills]

THE TRASH CAN WHEELS!!

With Jip it’s the whole process. She somehow has the ability to hear us getting a trash bag out of the box and commences to run to the kitchen barking.
Then she’s attacking the trash cans while we’re trying to get the full bag out and the new one in. Sometimes she can be talked out of it some but usually she has to get atleast one good bite on the trash can. Then when I take it out to put in the outside can, she runs out the door and straight to the wheels of the can. She has these weird vocalizations going on at the same time she’s attacking the wheels.
Same thing with wheels on air compressor, grill, she actually popped a front tire on my zero turn mower once. We have to preempt her around the mower or tractor tires, if we tell her no as she’s zeroing in on something it backs her down.
She likes going through the drive through at a bank we use, they send her out a few dog biscuits.
She doesn’t understand that not every drive through gives her something.
Once we went through a fast food drive through and when she didn’t get anything handed to her she growled at the worker.

 

[Ky hills]

@wbvs58 I’ve had two Border Collies, one was just a yard dog and not bad but not intelligent or instinctual like a Border Collie should be. The other one was extremely smart and obedient.
He was aggressive though. He was the most forward pup in the litter and I kind of picked him based on that right or wrong.
I’ll bring @Travlr in on the conversation too, I was supposed to get that Birder Collie pup at 8 weeks, but at almost 6 weeks maybe a day or two before, I got a call from the owners saying they wanted me to go ahead and pick up the pup. Apparently, he was an aggressive one and had injured one of his litter mates.
When we went to look at the this Heeler as a pup, it was not originally her that we were going to look at. We were going to look at an 8 week old pup, but when we got there they said they had another litter of six week olds all but 1 from each litter were spoken for. I didn’t think the 8 week old pup looked as good as good and healthy, maybe it was the weakest of that litter. So both my wife and I decided to go with the younger one. It was a better looking litter, even though they had been raised by hand after their mother dog had died within a few days of them being born. They said that two of Jip’s litter mates were picked to go to a ranch in Montana.

 

[Dave]

My dog was the runt of the litter. She is a border collie Idaho Shag cross. She doesn't care for other dogs if they want to sniff around her. If it is working dogs who are busy working she is fine. I think the other pups beat her up when she was young. She has never met a human she doesn't love. The gal at our post office says my dog is a social butterfly. I made the mistake of taking her into D&B (local farm and garden store). She was on a leash. But she drug me from one person to the next going through the store looking to get petted or possible treats.
The dogs see the UPS truck coming they run down across the bridge to meet him. We had to tell him to quit giving them treats. If he didn't turn down our driveway. They would run up on to the road chasing him down wanting their treats.

 

[aprille218]

The best cattle dog I've ever had was a pit bull/ American bulldog mix. Tug would chase the escapees through the gates and immediately stop and guard the gates until they were shut.

 

[Ky hills]

My dog was the runt of the litter. She is a border collie Idaho Shag cross. She doesn't care for other dogs if they want to sniff around her. If it is working dogs who are busy working she is fine. I think the other pups beat her up when she was young. She has never met a human she doesn't love. The gal at our post office says my dog is a social butterfly. I made the mistake of taking her into D&B (local farm and garden store). She was on a leash. But she drug me from one person to the next going through the store looking to get petted or possible treats.
The dogs see the UPS truck coming they run down across the bridge to meet him. We had to tell him to quit giving them treats. If he didn't turn down our driveway. They would run up on to the road chasing him down wanting their treats.

Jip is selective when it comes to people.
She likes children and some women. There’s very few men that she’s ok with. Some friends were visiting my wife a few years ago, an older couple with 4 of their grandchildren. The grandfather is a large and in charge type and he was standing over his grandsons trying to tell them how to play chess. He got a little loud and gruff with them and Jip got in between him and the boys who were probably about 10 years old at the time. She was growling like a chainsaw to point she was starting to slobber. Wife told him he better stop talking, back off and sit down or he was going to get bit.
On the subject of UPS trucks one time I was walking to the house from the barn and Jip was with me, a UPS truck pulled up in front of the house and Jip took out like a rocket toward it, I was running trying to get to her and call her off.
She’s usually ok with people if she’s introduced but if they pull up in a vehicle and get out then if it’s a man it’s on like donkey Kong. I got to her just as she was jumping up into the open door of the truck. The driver was in back getting the package and didn’t know anything was going on.

 

[Travlr]

My dog was the runt of the litter. She is a border collie Idaho Shag cross. She doesn't care for other dogs if they want to sniff around her. If it is working dogs who are busy working she is fine. I think the other pups beat her up when she was young. She has never met a human she doesn't love. The gal at our post office says my dog is a social butterfly. I made the mistake of taking her into D&B (local farm and garden store). She was on a leash. But she drug me from one person to the next going through the store looking to get petted or possible treats.
The dogs see the UPS truck coming they run down across the bridge to meet him. We had to tell him to quit giving them treats. If he didn't turn down our driveway. They would run up on to the road chasing him down wanting their treats.

I don't give my dog treats and I don't allow others to give them treats. I don't want a beggar. But they get good stuff in their bowls. I don't have a problem with people giving them ear rubs, but no treats.
I introduce them to people like the postal workers or the UPS driver so they know who they are.

 

[mwj]

Jip is selective when it comes to people.
She likes children and some women. There’s very few men that she’s ok with. Some friends were visiting my wife a few years ago, an older couple with 4 of their grandchildren. The grandfather is a large and in charge type and he was standing over his grandsons trying to tell them how to play chess. He got a little loud and gruff with them and Jip got in between him and the boys who were probably about 10 years old at the time. She was growling like a chainsaw to point she was starting to slobber. Wife told him he better stop talking, back off and sit down or he was going to get bit.
On the subject of UPS trucks one time I was walking to the house from the barn and Jip was with me, a UPS truck pulled up in front of the house and Jip took out like a rocket toward it, I was running trying to get to her and call her off.
She’s usually ok with people if she’s introduced but if they pull up in a vehicle and get out then if it’s a man it’s on like donkey Kong. I got to her just as she was jumping up into the open door of the truck. The driver was in back getting the package and didn’t know anything was going on.

I would suggest that you might need better control of your dog or very good insurance. You invited the UPS driver so you have some duty of care when they arrive.

 

[Ky hills]

I would suggest that you might need better control of your dog or very good insurance. You invited the UPS driver so you have some duty of care when they arrive.

We go to great lengths to protect the dog and other people as well.
That was an isolated incident when the dog was young. Around that time, we have a friend that came by and she tried to herd him. Basically that’s how she reacts she circles and tries to herd people. We try to get her contained pretty fast.
A while later he came again when she was out and she just walked along beside him, he couldn’t believe the change and couldn’t believe it was the same dog.
We still try hard to minimize situations like those
If we know somebody is supposed to come at a specific time then the dog will be inside or on a leash just in case. She does have a much better recall now in case of a situation like that,
When you live in an area full of thieves and drugs, it’s not a bad thing to have a dog that puts on a convincing show and their reputation spreads. A lot of rural people here have territorial dogs that you’d better not get of a vehicle around unless the owner is around.
Once introduced, jip is generally fine with people. My wife’s sister who is seriously scared to death of dogs is completely comfortable around Jip.
Jip is definitely more reserved around men, but we have had guest situations where a young man had had a brain injury while in college and Jip befriended him but was standoffish but not aggressive towards his other male family members.
I’ve been bit by other people dogs myself,
A 3 legged pit bull that friend had bit me twice. I got to point I requested the dog be tied when I had been invited to come by. I’ve also been one of the only people that could be around some other peoples dogs without being bit. So we definitely understand the seriousness of keeping people safe from potentially dangerous dogs,

 

[wbvs58]

I don't do fetch.

Ken

 

[Jbrazel]

I cant seem to send long videos. But I’ve got 2 border collies and here a little clip of my main dog dobby in the lead

 

[Silver]