Choosing Working Stock Dogs for Herding Livestock

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[1] Australian shepherd Topnotch Trampus works the sheep.
[1] Australian shepherd Topnotch Trampus works the sheep.
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[2] A blue merle
[2] A blue merle "Aussie".
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[3] Progenitor of many stock dog breeds: a wild dingo.
[3] Progenitor of many stock dog breeds: a wild dingo.
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[4] A blue Australian cattle dog surveys its territory.
[4] A blue Australian cattle dog surveys its territory.
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[6] Border collie Elles Belles.
[6] Border collie Elles Belles.
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[5] A blue heeler keeps the bovines in line.
[5] A blue heeler keeps the bovines in line.

In MOTHER EARTH NEWS issues 69 and 73 we discussed protection dogs . . . but if you need canine assistance to round up your farmstead livestock rather than to guard it from predators, you may prefer these working stock dogs for herding livestock. (See the working stock dog breeds in the image gallery.)

A good, well-trained dog may be one of the most valuable assets any farmer or rancher can own, often spelling the difference between success and failure in an animal-raising operation. And stock dogs, products of generations of selective breeding, will–at a certain age–begin to herd other critters whether directed by a master or not. This born-in-the-bone instinct is the foundation of their training.

WHAT WORKING STOCK DOGS CAN DO . . . AND WHY

It’s not surprising, then, that–with proper education augmenting its own natural inclinations–a good working stock dog can range out to your back 40, search out hidden sheep or cattle, and deliver them to you . . . direct a large herd of animals across open fields, through gates, and down lanes to a particular destination . . . “cut” specific animals from a group for special ministrations by the master . . . and fight, to the death if need be, to protect its charges from wandering marauders.

Of course, herding and driving, rather than fighting, are the stock dog’s main vocations, and the various breeds tend to be grouped by their aptitude for one activity or the other. Both jobs depend upon the canine’s normal hunting instinct . . . which in some breeds is demonstrated by the intense “eye”–or riveting stare–that the dogs level on their charges.

  • Published on Jul 1, 1982
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