Sheep Herding Trial at Downriver Farms

Luna was entered in the Junior Herd Dog test, she passed with flying colours and got herself a title.

[@MrTimdtoolman1]

Very cool to see a dog work like this.

[@gretak.4823]

Will you please make a video on teaching your dog how to herd? That would great and super helpful!!

[@Krissykris1468]

+Greta K. Head to the Guild Of Shepherds and Collies, I write for them and do video's, that would be your number 1 spot to learn about herding - a site dedicated to herding breeds.

[@annmcleod1783]

congrats kristin and luna! I love all your training videos and repeatedly watch them. My willow girl definitely benefits from all that I learn from you. keep em coming!

[@jordanplumblee6718]

My dog herds there to !!!!!

[@Tajirogu]

Way to go! You both did awesome keep up the hard work! :D

[@waterbender19]

Ah the border collie in her natural environment.. This is where a border collie wants to be !

[@pikaonyoutube2139]

congrats that mountain view is amazing thanks for uploading lol she couldnt care less for the reward 😊😊😁😁😄😄😃😃☺☺

[@pikaonyoutube2139]

+Spinnin' Samantha thanks

[@gabriellegb6922]

I have an Aussie and live in a big city, so sheep are a rare thing around here! I thought about beginners herding lessons for him, do you think it would be bad for him if I can't give him sheep on a regular basis? Will he become bored of the sidewalks and parks of NYC? Thanks!

[@animalcrazy2446]

+Gabrielle GB i think it would be great for him to heard sheep even if you cant do it very often, he gets to do what he was bred to do wich is what he wants probably obviously i dont know your dog but most hearding breeds love to do what they were bred to do so i think you should give it a go. i dont think your dog will get bored of the parks (as long as he is let off lead) but possibly will get bored of walks on the sidewalk as he is a high energy dog and just walking on a lead wont be getting all of his exess energy out maybe if u want to try something new with him try some other dog sports like agility or flyball to help get some energy out of him if he needs it.

[@search895]

hello Kristine. Is there a way to stimulate the crouch stalking walk with no livestock around and teach it as a cue trick for non-sheeping border collies? I will try to train my dog in doing different walking positions from lie down to get up and so but I'm not sure because I havent found any info about such possibility. Thanks and regards.

[@search895]

my dog is not a pure breed BC but a mixed one but she is a lot like them. She does the crouch stalk sometimes by herself. i would love her to do it more and at command.

[@lizziebelle14]

Did you do all of her training yourself or with a facility? I'm finding it impossible to find anyone who offers sheep herding training that believes it can be done solely with positive training :/

[@Krissykris1468]

I don't believe there is such thing as 100% positive. as you can hear I have to raise my voice when Luna wanted to charge the sheep. But as you can see, she doesn't care, but that may not be the case for many dogs. Our instructors out here are very good, it's all feedback, no physical punishments at all. Just ask around " what happens if my dog doesn't something wrong"

[@alldogsaresmart]

+Kristin Crestejo (Modern Canine Training) Just wondering your thoughts on this. If you have to raise your voice or verbally correct or swing your stock stick at your dog while in the ring, then wouldn't your dog just need more training around distractions? You are right there is no 100% positive but there is negative punishment which is not a verbal correction. Thanks.

[@waterbender19]

I could be wrong but my thought is that a dog that is actually doing a job (instead of just being trained tricks or just to come, stay, heel) may sometimes need negative feedback - not as a punishment, but just to know when they're doing the wrong thing in the moment, otherwise it would be rather hard to teach them exactly the behaviors you wanted in each situation.

[@Krissykris1468]

+Adventures In Clicker Training Dogs in sheep herding there is always the element of unknown. The sheep are uncontrolled and will act differently everytime with everydog. The stick is to push her out, I'm communicating with her and the yelling is to get in her head when the dog goes up. she didn't flinch nor cower, or even care, she just stopped. if my dog was fearful of raised voices I wouldn't do that. There is not such thing as 100% positive sheep training at any controlled level of sheeping. The dog and handler are a team, I need to communicate with my dog what she can do and can't do. Iny opinion, if the dog is not reacting negatively to a raised voice, then it's not associated negatively.

[@alldogsaresmart]

Thanks for your reply Kristin. I will disagree with you because I am teaching it without corrections and training it myself on my own dogs. Of course there is no 100 % positive dog training in general because even so called Force Free trainers use "negative punishment" which is taking away a reward, but it is not a correction. I have worked with many different kinds of stock and it makes no difference. All it comes down to is not enough work around distractions, not enough training. I have been teaching actual ranchers and their dogs for years and if you are yelling at your dog, then you haven't done enough training. Raising a voice is a verbal correction. Yes, there is stockdog training without corrections. Sorry.

[@wendyrowland7787]

I think you need to attend a British sheepdog trial to see how it should be done. Tame sheep that allow you to walk with them would not be an option. You were doing most of the work, much of the time the dog was just being held off. View some junior handlers with their dogs in UK trials or young dogs with senior handlers.

[@Krissykris1468]

Wendy Rowland This was a Junior herd dog trial.

[@christiancolquhoun481]

Wendy Rowland UK has got nothing on our NZ sheepdogs 😂😂😂