Best dogs with sheep farms nearby

eeinke

What type of dogs are most suited to having near sheep farms?

D3V!L

Ones that are behind a big secure fence or none at all.

I spent a lot of time on farms as a child and I also love dogs.

Dogs cannot be trusted at all with sheep.

Rows Grower

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058353844/best-dogs-with-sheep-farms-nearby

I'm in the middle of sheep farm territory and most of the householders around here who don't farm have either terriers and/or border collie's (sheep dogs).

The only dog I had an issue with years ago was a lurcher that was very well trained but on rare occasions just couldn't resist the urge to chase sheep so she had to go. The terriers I keep are hunting dogs but having had them from pups they are trained and perfectly safe around sheep and cattle. The border collie we have is from working sheepdog stock but again having had her from a pup she is perfectly safe around sheep and cattle.

I would suggest the border collie as the best choice as they are highly intelligent and way easier to train, on occasion sheep and lambs will find their way into our fields in search of greener grass and the most our dogs will do is bark to let us know.

Slightly Kwackers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122200615#Comment_122200615

I would certainly second that.

My collies never chased animals although the first was "crackers" and used to chase birds on the beach. Mammals were ignored totally.

My current collie is fine, he lives and can be left alone with my ducks and goose. He has no interest in anything other than socialising with other dogs.

I do however recall a relatives words on the subject, he was a farmer in Dingle and said that one of the most common dogs attacking sheep were dogs used on farms for cattle, which would be collies no doubt. They would use their breaks between milking for a bit of "hunting".

homer911

Series of ads on the radio at the moment - if your dog chases sheep, it's not their fault, it's yours

whisky_galore

No dogs are the best dogs.

Get a goldfish.

Rows Grower

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122200672#Comment_122200672

Our collie doesn't chase or show any interest in sheep or lambs but she is definitely crackers. She spends the whole day outside mostly playing a game she made up herself which is chasing small low flying birds until they leave our boundries. She has paths worn into the ground from covering her route so often. She's fine with young chickens and ducks and is obsessed with keeping the area free of rats. She sometimes goes to the end of the field nearest the road and waits for a car to approach and she'll then race the car the lenght of the field. She'll wait there then for a car coming in the opposite direction and race that. She doesn't race buses, lorries or tractors as they are no challenge.

She's a a ball of constant energy and I can never understand how she does it on so little calories everyday. She'll play football all day with anyone who will participate, she'll bring the ball to you and be the shot stopper if you throw it or kick it. I'd say 95% of the time she will stop any shot or throw of the ball and the acrobatics she does to achieve it are incredible, if she fails to stop a shot it drives her nuts and she just ups her game.

For our own peace of mind we bring her indoors every evening when it's getting dark and she stays in the utility room quite as a mouse until she's left out at dawn. We've done that since she was a pup and she never needed house training and never once made a mess. Deffo the smartest dog we ever had and we've had a few.

Furze99

I'm inclined too to the view that no dog can really be trusted near sheep, particularly if they run with another dog. But that said, many rural houses in such areas keep dogs like round here and there's no cases of sheep worrying that I can recall in a good many years. Important I think to rear them from pups, walk through fields with sheep (on a lead till trusted) and be stern with them. With collies and mixes I think their natural instinct is to gather. Ours is a bit of a mix and will move towards an isolated ewe or two the odd time to encourage them to head towards the rest. But has also drawn my attention to ewes and lambs in difficulty, caught in fences or on their backs etc. Whatever you have, keep them in or tied up at kennel at night. That's when dogs might be more inclined to ramble.

boardlady

My tuppence worth is that you have to train them not to chase the sheep - or any other animal for that matter. My dog is a mixed breed - one of which is a hunting dog. Walking him every day around our area (which is covered in sheep farms) has done the trick. He did travel up to the neighbours when he was very young and I found him happily racing around behind their sheep .. After that episode, he was contained in our yard when he was outside, or he was on a supervised walk with me. Consistently saying 'no' etc when he even looked at sheep has worked. Now, he is able to walk up the road with sheep walking ahead of him and he will do no more than look at them. I would not 'trust' him though. There is no dog/dog breed that can be 'trusted' fully - with anything really.

whisky_galore

Training is all well and good, but people here are happy to pay €€€ for a dog and then are too tight and/or idle to train them properly.

Rows Grower

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122200956#Comment_122200956

That's a rather broadsweeping statement based on absolutely no facts.

gossamerfabric

I have yet to see a Pomeranian worry a Sheep. Amuse perhaps, Worry never.

and they are hardy, long lived dogs of middling intelligence too.

cnocbui

I rented out some land to a lad. Some dogs got in and he lost 54 sheep and lambs. Most were still alive but torn to pieces and slowly dying in agony, especially the lambs. He had to put down the vast majority that hadn't died from blood loss yet.

Get a cat and stop kidding yourself about dogs.

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122200976#Comment_122200976

A woman on a beach roaring after her dog, paying no attention to her, bound up to me with its shítty sandy paws all over my clothes.

The rescues inundated with unwanted dogs abandoned by "loving" owners speak for themselves wrt irresponsibility...because they HAD to have a dog.

I've seen with my own eyes, in broad daylight a "lovely" big black dog with a red collar tearing a sheep around like a rag doll so don't assume for one second that all dog owners are responsible.

HazeDoll

OP, I think it very much depends on the dog and on how careful you are with introductions. Neither of mine have any interest in chasing anything with more than two legs, though one chap will stand at the gate and bark at them if they're on the road. The two dogs I had before this never acknowledged the existence of livestock either. These were all collies or collie crosses. I had a Staffy when I was a child and he used to look the other way if he had to overtake a hairy molly caterpillar on his walk.

Sometimes dogs chase because it's a pack activity and they lose themselves in the excitement. Sometimes it's boredom, sometimes it's a habit acquired from another dog. Dogs love chasing; just watch how much craic they have tearing around after each other or a tennis ball. However, I think most pups can be dissuaded from chasing livestock.

The other point is that for your own peace of mind you'll probably have the garden secured so your dog is safe from traffic and thieves and any other threats that are out there.

xhomelezz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058353844/best-dogs-with-sheep-farms-nearby

Any dog breed is ok, till properly trained and socialised imo. There's plenty of livestock around my area, cattle, sheep, horses. I have three dogs, black lab and two young Rhodesian Ridgeback Border Collie mix girls and never had a problem. I did spent a lot of time walking them around other animals and letting them know to know other animals. If I'm around I can have them without the lead and they are fine. Secure garden so they can't go wonder around on their own tho, could be different story if I'm not with them. So not taking any chances and everyone is happy.

Slightly Kwackers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122200798#Comment_122200798

They truly are magnificent dogs with a very distinctive personality.

I'm training mine to find treats when I take him on walks.

He understands about twenty words such as "gate, pole. post. picnic table" etc. I'm getting too old to walk briskly for miles, so I set him off back to run and find the treat.

I would swear he can read my mind though, he now doubles back when I plant the things even at places there is no point to nominate and when the wind is blowing back too.

He's really affectionate and I hate getting him to shift to his own chair. The answer is the TV remote. He likes very specific cartoons and is glued to the TV when I put Sean sheep on. He likes to sing along to Bob Dylan too.

I never thought I would have another collie, after the last I used to feel very emotional just seeing someone walk down the road with one, but Pooch is by far the best addition I made to the house since I moved in here.

Pooch did chase cars, he got a wallop from one that frightened him a bit, I shouted at him to stop a couple of times after that and that's it, no more car chasing, or anything else.

Dogs are an unknown quantity though, it isn't enough to have a dog that does not chase animals and assume that it's safe. We had a small collie cross that would chase nothing, until part of a pack and there were a few dogs around here that got together with ours and killed a sheep once. The damage was paid for and our dog kept clear of others and not allowed to wander. There was no way of foreseeing the event at the time though.

tohaltuwi

As a teen I owned a very docile Chihuahua, almost never barked in her life, forever supremely gentle (would allow me examine & clean her teeth, even encouraged it so I could find the ones needing removal) entirely co-operative with the vet so he could determine issues; however when I told her on a ramble in the Dublin Mountains within proximity of sheep, she immediately wanted to chase them. She was on leash so this didn’t happen, but it was clear to me then that any dog can have that sheep herding instinct.

JPA

You can have a dog with a ravenous craving for the flesh of sheep, they should have no opportunity to get near to these sheep.

If that involves gates, leads, fences, walls etc is up to you.

HazeDoll

Almost any dog will chase almost anything that runs if that's the association that forms in his mind. When I was a child my friend had a finely-bred dachshund who chased their sheep, the only one of their dogs that ever showed that tendency.

If I have dogs coming to visit that have an uncertain or unpleasant past where cats are concerned, I introduce them first to my baddest, bravest cat. He doesn't care about your stupid dog, he will not run, in fact he's not moving one inch to let them pass, he just stares and blinks until they learn their place and back off. He has reeducated a number of dogs in this way.

It's worth remembering that for thousands of years people have used dogs to help them to protect and manage their livestock. The chances of your dog being a sheep-chaser are slim, and if managed properly from the start, negligible.

Here's what I would do: from the start, begin teaching your pup to sit on command. Look it up, there are foolproof routines you can use. Get everybody in the house in on it, treats every time, until it's almost a reflex. This is incredibly useful because you now have a command that will stop him doing anything else. (It's also very rewarding and a lot of fun and puts all sorts of ideas into your head about other things you can teach him.) Get him out near the sheep while he's still small and go through the 'sit' routine a few times. Throw a ball for him, give him a cuddle, whatever he enjoys. If he shows any sign of interest in the sheep beyond just looking at him, tell him to sit and give him a treat. You're teaching him to ignore the sheep and focus on you and you're also teaching him that sheep aren't all that interesting. The more contact he has with the sheep the better while he's small.

You'll still need the secure garden etc., more for his safety than the sheep's.

Ms2011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058353844/best-dogs-with-sheep-farms-nearby

Not to sounds smart but the question should really be 'what type of dog owners are most suited to having near sheep farms' because the breed of dog is irrelevant, it's the steps the owner takes to train, socialise & put measures into place so that the dog can never bother sheep that will dictate the outcome.