HERDING with Icelandics: Observations and Training
By Sharon Schaefer
Observations
We’ve had sheep since 1991 and grazed or moved them using our home bred Belgian Shepherd Dogs (I had Belgians from 1976-2003). Our dogs made our sheep enterprise possible. We could graze ditches or other areas when the pastures were not yet ready in the spring or too dry in the summer. We could graze the sheep on alfalfa safely because with the dogs we could take them off it in 20-30 minutes when it was too lush and would cause them to bloat, which can be fatal. Over the years I had attended several herding clinics in different styles. When Ima, our first Iceland Sheepdog, arrived I’d already been researching the breed for over 3 years and was very interested in learning how their herding instincts worked. At that time we had about a hundred mature sheep (medium flocking instinct). Ima’s primary role was to be our herding dog and companion, secondly if she passed health checks to have some puppies.
The first winter we used Ima for yardwork, I spent a lot of time just trying to observe what she wanted to do with the sheep in order to understand ‘her Icelandic instinct’. Once we had introduced her on leash a couple of times to the routine, I was allowing her (within our need to have each pen of sheep move to the hydrant for water then back to their pen) to get the sheep any way she wanted. One thing became immediately clear, she was much more interested in going back into pens to look for more sheep than she was in being with the sheep she had moved out. They might be hiding behind the round bale, or the windbreak, or other places she imagined could hide a sheep. She was completely bored by standing waiting for them all to drink and we had to put her on leash for that part or she would start pressuring them (she was quite young still).
That spring when we started grazing sheep she was completely bored again – ‘tending’ a line by trotting along it was not in her repertoire (the Belgians did this). We could walk along the edge of the graze on leash and sit or lay down to wait for a sheep stupid enough to try to cross, when she would fly into action and put it back. Getting the sheep to MOVE and a good sense of where they were and were not allowed to be were both in her instinctive package. Ima and I still graze sheep in this manner – we walk along the edge once then sit back and relax until someone gets too hungry or curious and then she flies into action. Each of my Icelandics responds the same way to this grazing setup.
In the summer (from very late May until September) our sheep are in 10 acre paddocks between 1/4mile (1/2km) and ½ mile (1km) from home. We originally established these to be a longer rotational graze system for 150-200 ewes with their lambs. Unfortunately we expanded our flock right into 2 years of drought and had to get rid of 80 ewes with lambs at foot, find grazing elsewhere for another 20 ewes plus lambs, and have never got back to those numbers. Our smaller flock now grazes about 2-3 weeks in each 10 acres, we cut some for hay, and sometimes, as now, we move them in and out of other 10 acre spots on a daily basis. Each 10 acres is hilly, has willow and aspen poplar bush interspersed with the grass, and without our three livestock guardian dogs would be predator picnic sites (coyotes in this area). Because of the smaller sheep numbers, our grass is frequently taller than Ima and sometimes even taller than the sheep. Her herding bark is very useful in those situations as the sheep just need to hear her and start heading back whether or not we can see them.
Training
If you find a trainer willing to work with a ‘herding bark’ you will be very fortunate. Most Icelandics will bark as part of their herding behaviour. This is not a frantic out of control issue but their working style. If they are moving the sheep in a careful way and listening to you if you ask them to ‘Get back’ or ‘Down’ don’t try to stop any barking. Instead observe when your dog barks and learn what it means. Put it on cue so as you progress through herding you can use it to your team’s advantage (if the sheep recognize the meaning of a bark). If the sheep you are working with are not familiar with a barking dog they will probably just ignore it. Upright breed trainers (eg Australian Shepherds) will be more familiar with the needs of an Icelandic learning to herd but many border collie trainers also work successfully with other breeds.
The sheep are an important consideration. Well trained (so-called ‘dog-broke’) sheep make a beginning dog’s and handler’s experience much more positive. Groups of 3-5 sheep which will stick to the shepherd, without running wild give the dog an opportunity to make correct choices and be rewarded. They also give the novice handler time to learn to walk backwards while wielding a rake or crook without falling in the mud! Most Icelandics have enough gathering style to participate in and benefit from these typical training situations involving 3 sheep. The breed of sheep is not critical but it is very unlikely you will find any dog trainers using Icelandic sheep as this breed has a very low flocking instinct – they’d be in three different corners of the pen!
Icelandics have both driving and gathering instincts and each individual will have a slightly different balance between these. From my own experience and anecdotal information from other owners another strong component is a ‘need for speed’ – both their driving and their gathering was, and still is, done on quite wild sheep in mountains and they want their animals to MOVE (see photo of Dart). Building in early control in a wide variety of situations will help your dog respond better when they are expected to begin actually working stock.
Dogs should not be expected to really herd before about 18 months to 2 years of age. If they are city dogs, they will do best if they are introduced to some livestock by about 4 months of age in a controlled meeting – don’t let them either maul the ducks or be butted by a ewe but they could briefly ‘play’ with a lamb, touch noses with a horse, sniff some chicks. They can also practise their control skills of sits, stands, or downs near livestock.
If you have livestock do take your puppy for chores but be prepared to put them away during chore time at some point in their first year of development because they have ‘turned on’ to stock and are frantic idiots. Not all dogs go through this stage but most do.
Dogs growing up on farms need to practise their control skills too but during adolescence, which varies by individuals, they may need to practise them a long way away! Every couple of weeks, test how close you can work the young dog and bring them back into more normal routines when they have some self control. My dogs spend a fair bit of time waiting outside enclosures for me and I set up a waiting spot farther away (sometimes it’s in the house!) during this stage. In the photo, 11+ month old Boogie (Ima’s grandson) is participating in driving the sheep to a pasture. He’s been back in the field for only about 2 weeks after a few months away because he couldn’t control his barking or attempts to chase. This is a daily routine and these sheep know where they are going and will go steadily on their own (another version of trained sheep), allowing me to ask Boogie to down or to wait and letting him experience moving quietly with the flock. He is not ‘really herding’ yet (the 18 months threshold will give him much more power). Driving can be taught simply and directly through this process by cueing movements to the right and to the left if someone wants a driving dog. I recommend using a harness for all herding work to avoid injury to the dog.
Whether you own livestock or not, herding concepts are first introduced with no animals around. The first things puppies need to learn are taught using toys or other situations. In the last Newsletter, Part 2 of Sue Ailsby’s Clicker Seminar introduced shaping a dog to go around a cone or post. This behaviour put on cue for both directions – traditionally ‘Come by’ and ‘Away to me’ - is a basic herding requirement. By gradually adding distance, changing locations, and changing the item to go around, you will have a dog that has some skills already. Puppies or dogs need to have control in a variety of situations so any training helps. A ‘Get back’ game is popular as it mimics the focus and movements of herding. Using a favourite ball or toy and your crook (any cane or rake or stick will do), stand over the toy, crook in front of you and ask the dog to lie down in front of the crook. "Yes" or click and kick the toy to them as reward. Repeat but instead of asking them to lie down, push them a bit back with the crook (don’t touch them with it, bang it on the ground as firmly as needed and block them with it) and push them with your body, "Yes" and kick the toy to them. Repeat several times over a few days sometimes asking them to down before the push back. Slowly increase the distance and as the dog starts to come around you aiming for the toy "Yes" and kick them the toy. By the 100th time say ‘Get back’ as you are pushing them back with the crook. In this game both of you learn about the crook and about circling both directions and getting back.
If you are a novice team, signed up for your first herding clinic or class, be prepared for one of two extremes: your dog will ignore the sheep or your dog will turn into a barking idiot. If your dog is a little older, or been carefully trained not to chase cars, not to chase cats, or has a serious obedience type background with lots of eye contact to you they are more likely to ignore the stock at first. Sometimes letting someone else handle the dog gets them more involved in their environment and they will begin to notice the sheep. For the other behaviour, they might get over it by moving them far enough away that you can do some simple obedience or tricks cues. Then move briefly closer to the sheep, then move them far enough away again for some work and then asking for a down closer to the sheep. Move away again, then ask for the down right in the pen with the sheep before you start to work. This might take one hour or several. If they are particularly persistent, follow Sue Ailsby’s advice (article ‘Song and the Sheep’ on her website www.dragonflyllama.com) and spend your clinic time sitting reading a book until the dog is quiet when you can get up and enter the sheep pen (this will take several back and forths as they bark as soon as you take a step toward the pen so you return to your book). Requiring them to be in control of their behaviour before you enter the sheep pen will be time and money very well spent as they will be listening to you and learning when working the sheep.
Herding is one avenue of dog sport involving other creatures. Think carefully about asking your dog to chase other animals – this instinct might not go away once you awaken it. Choose your trainer carefully if you live where there are choices available. Then if you decide to proceed, observe and appreciate your dog as they enjoy their heredity.
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