PET CONCERNS

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

The best thing to do is find a trainer in your area and watch him or her work with dogs. It was two years ago when I met Pat Welsh, a wonderful man of about 65 years. His help has been invaluable to me. Whenever I have a question and can't find an answer in my reference books or through my own experimentation, I write and ask Pat. Sure enough, within a few days I receive a warm letter and an answer to my problem. If you cannot locate a trainer in your area, feel free to write me (Maggie Barker, Rt. 3, Millersburg, OH 44654). I'll try to put you on the right track.

Here are some basic training and caretaking rules you should follow.

1. Do keep your dog in a kennel with a good-sized outside run.

2. Don't place that kennel where the dog can see the sheep, or it will get too excited.

3. Do work your dog every day if possible, especially when you start working it around stock. I work Nell two or three times a day unless the pastures are too muddy or I am going somewhere with my family.

4. Do feed your dog the proper amount of good-quality dog food.

5. Do keep the kennel clean.

6. Don't work your dog until it starts losing interest in the session, or else it may go sour and lose interest altogether. This is very important.

7. Never hit or kick your dog with anything, including your hand. To discipline your dog, shake it by the scruff of the neck, look it in the face, and say, "No." Don't scream at it, though.

8. Do praise your dog well when it has done something right. Tell it it's a good dog, stroke it, and fuss over it.

9. Don't say "No" to the dog when just starting to work it with stock. This might discourage it from working.

Future Plans

I have had such good results from my work with Nell and my new pup, Bonnie, that I plan to breed Nell in six months, sell her puppies and also train puppies for other people.

Now that Nell is trained, I do not know how I ever moved my sheep where I wanted them before. I use her nearly every day, and she saves me so much time and energy!

Maggie Barker, home-schooled since early childhood, wrote "From Sheep to Sleep: The Story of a Comforter,"the "Mother's Children" feature in No. 92.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print