We went Herding today :D.

Hi everyone

Just a quick update, photos to follow later when they are emailed to me ;). Elvis and i went to our first Herding class today, we went with a friend from dog club and 2 of her Border Collies, out of the 3 dogs Elvis and Bodie (9 month old pup) did great. Kira on the other hand was a bit nervous and not interested in the sheep.

I need to get in control of Elvis some though as he was not doing as he was told and shown, he is very pig headed like his Mum and Sister ;). At first he was not interested so our teacher bought in one of her triling dogs as soon as Elvis saw Matti working he join her and did realy well after that.

We also tried him with some paddock work and lets just say that is going to take alot of work, he is so head strong, so we need to get that under control.

The couples dogs were amazing (Mainly Kelpies and one BC, and a Mini Poodle), i am so impressed and have a new respect for working Kelpies, not just my BCs ;).

Elvis is tired now, but Clover needs to go for a run so he will have to come along with us. I cannot wait for our next class.

Can't wait for the pictures! I'm sure Elvis will get it right, it's tough when you're a little stubborn! ;)

that's great Rhi! looking forward to seeing the pictures :)

For a first class it sounds like it went pretty well. I think that once he gets the idea of what he is suppose to be doing, there will be no stopping him. You and Elvis are both going to have a good time. :) I also cannot wait for the pictures.

Bump :(.

Thankyou very much to those who replied ;). Photos are coming soon, just need to resize them.

awsome! dont worry about Elvise not listening well, that is totally normal, and very few actually listen their first time on sheep, a lot run wild and have no idea what they are supoosed to do at first, Happy is just an exspetional dog,k Misty did not listen that well at all, half the time she was on the sheep I was chasing her with a stick lol

Lol too funny, we had plastic garden rakes to stop the dogs they did help ;).

Ok photo time....... yay
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...llHerding5.jpg
My favourite photo look at my lil sheepdog, Elvis and Gena doing a bit of team work. Gena is an amazing dog, she has such control, awsome to watch.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...llHerding6.jpg
Uh a bit excited, he kept doing circles round n round, i was getting dizzy and made him change direction a few times.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...llHerding1.jpg
Bodie waiting for his turn, he did very well for a 9 month old puppy.

More coming....

A couple more of Bodie, my computer wont let me resize more at the moment and i have some realy good ones of Elvis :(.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...llHerding2.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...llHerding3.jpg
Good eye for a young dog :D.

I will try and get more up later.

How exciting!!!

Hee Hee - only when you see other dogs do the RIGHT thing, do you realise how hard it is, hey Rhi???

Can't wait to see more pics!!!

There's the pictures! It's interesting as I, of course, have never herded sheep! :D

Glad to hear Elvis did well! :) Looks like lots of fun. I'm so jealous, I can't wait to take my catahoula to a herding clinic. I found one about 40 min away from me. Can you tell us what exactly goes on at a herding clinic?

I think thats so cool! How much training time does it usually take for the dogs to be good at it? I loved seeing the pics. Thanks for sharing your day with us.

I bet Elvis had the time of his life.:)

yay - great pictures - it's great to see how the dogs are working!

Thanks everyone, Elvis did have a blast :D.

Michelle, Yep the trained up trial dogs were amazing to watch, makes me want a Kelpie lol, although my heart lies with BCs. I cannot wait to get Elvis up to trial standard.

Jordan, we wernt actually at a clinic, we are taking private lessons at the moment, but are going to a clinic in October. At most clinics though they just test the dog out for natural instinct first and go from there (For first timers). Goodluck with your pup when he/she arrives home, herding fun i am addicted already.

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I think thats so cool! How much training time does it usually take for the dogs to be good at it?

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It realy depends on the dog, it makes it alot easier if you have a working bred dog (Elvis, Happy, Misty type). I would say a minimum of 6 months for the basics, and then ongoing training after that to fine tune everything.

The dogs do most of the work and can make decisions for themselves if they sense something with the stock that the handler does not pick up on ;).

Once again thankyou everyone, i will keep you updated, and i might have more photos to come soon.