Training Stock Dogs: Part Six

and in magazine issue October/November 2015

Part Six: Whistles & Commands Probably the most common question people ask me is, “How long does it take to train a dog?” Well, that depends on a few things. Who is doing the training? How much time is going into the training, and how often or consistent are the training sessions? Also, all dogs learn at a different rate. Just like kids, …

Training Stock Dogs: Part 5

and in magazine issue August/September 2015

Part 5: Teaching Your Dog to Drive About 25 years ago at a Stock Growers banquet, I heard cowboy poet and humourist, Baxter Black say; “Giving a Border Collie to a cowboy is like giving a 32-piece socket set to a cave man.” Everybody had a good laugh except for a few cowboys looking down …

Training Stock Dogs: Part 4

and in magazine issue June/July 2015

Part 4: Starting the Pup on Livestock When the day comes to take the dog into the stock (only take this step if you are confident that you have him under control) just drop the rope and let him drag it. That way if things get out of control, you can easily step on the …

Training Stock Dogs: Part 3

and in magazine issue April/May 2015

Part 3: Introduction to Livestock Continuing on from the article in the previous issue, a little more needs to be said regarding obedience and properly raising your pup before taking it to stock. With the long rope on your pup, as you are teaching him to “lie down”, “stay” and “come here”, you can also teach him what “get out” means. With the pup …