Working Stock Dogs
(Page 3 of 4)
July/August 1982
By Randy Kidd
The ideal time to begin training an animal for actual stock work is when the pup first gets its ability to "eye" (that is, stare the livestock down) or, in the case of breeds without this characteristic, at nine or ten months of age. The best procedure is for owner and dog to work with a professional trainer, each learning how to perform effectively as part of a team.
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LIVING WITH A STOCK DOG
Once you've gotten through training and have yourself a working dog, you'll find the animal to be a very practical addition to your farmstead. The matter often transcends practicality, though. A well-trained stock dog and its handler working together become as one, the dog recognizing their common goal and responding to the wishes of the master almost before the commands are issued. Such an association is not merely "practical" . . . it is a thing of beauty.
STOCK DOG BREEDS
It would be impossible, in the space here, to do justice to the many fine herding and driving breeds in use today, but the following information should at least serve to introduce some of the stock dogs available.
B order Collie. This top-rated herding breed is "standardized" by its distinctive run-and-crouch working style and superlative "eye"; rather than by any specific details of conformation. The usual type, however, is familiar to most people: It stands about 20 inches tall and weighs 30 to 40 pounds, and has a medium to long coat (black with white trim), a long tail, and laid-back ears. Extremely alert, intelligent, and energetic, the border collie is at its best with "dog-broke" (as opposed to wild) stock and is capable of extraordinary finesse in handling its charges. Be warned, though . . . untrained dogs may take to "herding" automobiles!
Australian Kelpie. Well known in Australia, where it was developed by crossing the wild dingo and the border collie, the kelpie is also a herding dog. Small (17 to 20 inches tall, 25 to 30 pounds), almond-eyed, and somewhat foxlike in appearance, kelpies may come in a variety of colors (although black is quite common). These dogs are known for their alertness and intelligence, and for their habit of occasionally walking across the backs of a flock of sheep in the course of their work!
Australian Cattle Dog: This is a driving breed, also known as the Queensland blue heeler. Compact and hardy, the dogs are the result of crosses between the dingo, the smooth-haired blue merle collie, the Dalmatian, and the kelpie. Pups are born white and acquire color with age, usually a peppered blue or red with tan trim. A cattle dog is typically a bit stouter than a kelpie—averaging about 18 inches in height and weighing 30 to 35 pounds—and has prick ears, a wedge-shaped head, a medium-long coat, and a long bushy tail. Because of the breed's skill in managing steers, it is beginning to attract the interest of American cattle ranchers.
