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Herding Dogs

When one hears the commands “Walk up”, “Away”, “Come by” or “that’ll do” they’re probably not suspecting these instructions are being given to a dog. One of the oldest professions in the working dog industry is herding and Herding dogs have been trained specifically to gather livestock such as cattle or sheep into groups. To do so, the dogs are given verbal commands usually accompanied by hand movements or a whistle. Herding dogs however, are not the only ones to be trained; the trainers themselves have to learn how to handle the Herding dogs properly. Hence the term ‘animal instinct’, all dogs have a first sense on how to handle situations regardless of their trainer guiding them along. Because of this, many Herding dog handlers merely work the dogs based on their instinctive nature rather than implement any sort of formal training. The temperament of Herding dogs is as unique as that of any human being. Take the Border Collie for example, the most popular Herding dog in the United States. They are extremely intelligent with an instinctive desire to work. When they are given plenty of exercise, fixed early and trained properly, they are very well behaved dogs and are becoming increasingly more and more popular as pets although their role is primarily as a working stock dog.

The Border Collie Herding dog has a signature style of flocking that is more frequently seen in this particular breed. Mimicking the stance of a predator, they gather the livestock in droves with a concentrated stare and calm demeanor.
In contrast, the Australian Cattle dog also referred to as the Queensland Heeler, will generally nip at the cattle’s heels to probe them into moving. Each dog has various styles that are commonly seen amongst their breed, be it a more intense stare to an actual nipping and bumping display of bodily force. Any dog that’s first nature is to be active is bound to have a lot of vigor, strength and stamina. This is especially the case with a Herding dog, as they are born and reared to use their energy to the utmost capacity and positioning livestock into groups is right up their alley. Having a Herding dog as a pet can be entertaining; they are energetic and trained to have speed and endurance but take caution as they may try to bite at heels and at times use physical force in an attempt to rally up groups of people.