Casual Herding - Canadian Icelandic Sheepdog Club Summer 2007 Issue

Casual Herding
by Laurie Ball-Gisch

We initially got our first Icelandic sheepdog because I needed help herding our sheep. We've been raising purebred Icelandic sheep since 1999 in mid-Michigan (USA). Our flock size is around 50 ewes and a dozen rams; during the summer months that doubles with each spring lamb crop. We graze our sheep "rotationally" moving them through paddocks that average 1-2 acres in size, for a total of about 17 acres being grazed. Coming from winter and hay feeding, the sheep are very reluctant to leave the lush new pasture (which they can "bloat" on) and we needed a dog to convince them to come in from the fields. Our family has so fallen in love with the dogs that we now have our own little "herd" of Icelandic sheepdogs.

Our first Icelandic sheepdog, "Belle," proved to be the most amazing dog we had ever had. I started taking Belle out into the field with me when she was just eight weeks of age. The first few times in the field she wanted to stay right with me, at first more interested in nipping at my heels, as I ran around flapping my arms and yelling, but pretty soon she realized the sheep might be more interesting than I was. Soon she would run up behind the sheep, nipping at their heels and barking, driving them forward. Amazingly, she was not intimidated by the llama (who must have appeared huge to this 10 lb. puppy). Surprisingly, the llama deferred to her, and moved along with the flock, as she urged them all forward.

Belle soon proved she was also smart enough to help around the farm in other ways. At one point during that first summer, I was working in some smaller paddock areas. I was feeding and watering the chickens and angora rabbits and going in and out of some gates. I turned around and discovered a ewe lamb had followed me out the gate into our unfenced backyard. It’s always tricky trying to move escaped animals back into fenced areas, because you have to open gates to guide them in, but at the same time, you risk other sheep coming out. In the moment that I saw the ewe, she bolted; I ran around some shrubs and all of a sudden, Belle darted out (I had forgotten she was outside playing). She ran right at the ewe lamb and stopped at her front legs and stared her down. I ran around, opened the gate and yelled "bring her in Belle" and to my amazement, that young dog charged and barked and the lamb turned and ran through the gate for me, Belle right at her heels. That puppy earned her keep that day.


Since Belle, we have added more Icelandic sheepdogs to our lives. (Warning: these dogs are addictive and you usually can't have "just one"). Some of the dogs we love now live with friends and family so that we can have a more diverse breeding program. Currently we live with Belle (who is now 5 years old) and her 9 month old daughter, "Kyssa" out of Stjornulosa Rodi. Reykjadals Stikla Run (she answers to "Rosie") joined our family in 2004 directly from Iceland; we have kept Rosie's daughter "Lilja" (10 weeks old) out of Hofshesta Gloi. In April of 2007 we imported a male from Sweden. Arperla Bjarki is now 5 months old.


Like Belle, Rosie loves to herd the sheep. I have a friend who is a herding instructor. She took Rosie home with her for two weeks to test her and work with her in the manner that she formally trains her border collies. She started with a round pen and a long lead. When I went to watch them work, I was amazed to see that Rosie had very quickly adapted to the training and was working the sheep silently, like the border collies do. Here, when our dogs work "naturally," their instinct is to bark and drive the sheep forward from behind, sometimes nipping at the heels. They are also very good at going into the far corners and rounding up the stragglers, bringing them into the main group. They then will follow the sheep from behind, barking as they go. But in the two weeks of working with the border collies, Rosie had stopped barking at the sheep and imitated the border collies, crouching as she ran. I had intended to follow through with training Rosie here at our farm, but I did not have a round pen and I realized I also did not have any sheep that I could let my dogs chase. We produce primarily breeding stock, so our sheep are foundation animals that we cannot afford to stress by working a dog on them. I was told that if I really wanted to train our dogs in the manner of formal herding, I would need to build a round pen and I would need to set aside a group of sheep to let them chase. So instead, I let our dogs work in their natural instinctive style, and only when we need to move the sheep, which suits us fine here. I call it "casual" herding.


We have found over the years that our male dogs - for the most part - are more shy around the sheep than the females are. For instance, while Bjarki likes to accompany me around the farm, when I take him into the field off-leash, as soon as he sees the sheep, he usually heads for home. Vinur (who lives with my father-in-law now) used to sit outside the fence and bark encouragement to Belle, while she did all the work! He had no interest in actually running to herd them himself. Now Vinur spends much of his day outside with the sheep, but when it's time for them to be herded, he pretty much lets Lavandels Kolur (his buddy and roommate) do the "round-up" work, while he walks alongside next to the sheep. When Hofshesta Gloi was here (he now lives with friends), he worked in an interesting way. He didn't necessarily have a "need" to "herd" the sheep home. But instead, he liked to accompany me into the fields as I was moving amongst the sheep. In the months when we don't have pasture and are feeding out hay bales, he would keep the rams away from me while I loaded hay into the feeders. He would go up to the rams, stare them down and "hold" them in place. He would not release them until I called to him and was near to a gate. I never taught him to do that! He just started doing it while I was working amongst breeding groups of sheep. I was so amazed that he was being protective of me.


This summer I am taking Lavandels Kyssa and Lavandels Lilja out with me as I walk the pastures or work around the barnyards. They are trained well off-leash (and come when called) and they follow fairly close to me. I have found it best to have my pups get used to working with me and the sheep during the quiet times, when we are not rounding them up. First and foremost, each dog must learn its name and to "come" when called. I use my own "code" which is "with me" as a voice command and they stay at my side off leash while we are out amongst the sheep in the field or barns. I really feel with this breed, that basic obedience and learning voice and hand signals is about all you need to do. The dogs are so smart and instinctive that they usually figure out the rest on their own. When it is time to bring the sheep in, I will put a pup on a leash and take her into the field with me. Then I release her from the lead and start clapping my hands and calling "home sheep." The sheep start moving then and I will start moving behind them, with the pup next to me. I then encourage her to run next to me and usually they will get excited and we follow the sheep in. If there are stragglers I will run back to them and have the pup follow me. This has worked fairly well for us here. I know it's totally informal and I'm sure goes against all rules of herd dog training. But what I love the most about the Icelandic sheepdog is that they are so flexible and so willing to please, that you can train them to do anything you want. Since I am not trained in formal herding myself, I am not able to train my dogs formally. But with their native instinct, and their willingness to please me and watch me for direction, they end up developing a way of working the sheep that suits our sheep and our farm set up.


The Icelandic sheepdogs are also the perfect family pet. They are a most devoted companion and are so trustworthy around children. About the only discipline "problems" we have to deal with are them jumping on people and barking. The jumping up isn't helped by the fact that most people who come here encourage the dogs to jump on them! So as we work with our pups, we try to make sure they sit quietly for "petting," rather than to receive attention for jumping. And yes, barking is a trait of the Icelandic sheepdog, which can be annoying. Our dogs love to bark at birds and planes that fly overhead. And they do like to bark at the sheep that come close to fences they are next to, when it's not "work" time. In spite of these two sometimes annoying habits, we wouldn't trade our little "herd" of Icelandic sheepdogs for any other breed of dog.