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Herding Instinct Test- Roanoke VA


ssloan
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I'm looking to have my two girls instinct tested (no certificate needed), but I'm trying to find someone closer to me. The closest people I've found are still about 2-3 hours from me. I live between Roanoke and Lexington VA. I'm not opposed to driving, but I was hoping for someone just a bit closer.

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What are you looking to determine? And to what end?

 

Many years ago (33?) I'd taken my working female to a large expo where the were offering eye exams by a Cornell canine ophthalmologist (along with educational presentations, obedience match trials, breed clubs and lots of vendors, etc.). There was an ACK "herding instinct" test being offered with certificates awarded to the dogs who "passed." I watched for a while, feeling pretty sorry for them because they were getting such poor results. Few of the dogs engaged in any way with the ducks; some didn't even seem aware of their presence. Yet lots of instinct certificates were awarded to any dog who even so much as glanced at the ducks. One adolescent bearded collie thought the ducks were mobile toys and he chased and harried them no end. The evaluators gushed over his "instinct"!

 

By this time I thought I'd enter Kate, not that her instinct needed to be tested, but maybe they could see a little demonstration. (Keep in mind at this stage I was still pretty green, Kate wasn't the best dog ever, and she'd never worked ducks. Still, I was confident she could offer a reasonable showing, and certainly much better than I'd seen.) I went up to the sign in table. The person doing sign-ups looked at me, looked down at my dog, looked up at me again and turned her back on me and walked away without saying a word!

 

The point of this tale, if it's not apparent -- don't bother with ACK herding instinct tests. They're utterly useless.

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Dear Ms. Sloan,

Nobody competent offers a "herding instinct" test because (a) it's meaningless and (B) a dog may refuse to work one day and be desperate to work the next time it goes out If, on the other hand, you want to learn if your Border Collie (age 6 months or older) might be trainable for sheepwork, David Clark outside Lexington is competent, trains and trials at the open level. Contact me privately for his email.

 

Donald McCaig

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Thank you for you replies, and I'm sorry for taking so long in responding. I should have better explained what I was looking for.

 

I was looking to have my dogs tested to see if they have the drive/ability to move sheep. I'm completely new to herding, so I thought that's what an instinct test was. I want to make sure they can work sheep before we build fencing, purchase sheep, etc.

 

I know both myself and my pups will have to learn a lot first, so the sheep would be in the pretty distant future. I'm just looking to take the first step in learning, with having a few sheep as the end goal.

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The problem is a one time exposure to sheep or even months of training/lessons may not be an accurate assessment of what the dog is capable of. So much depends on other factors - your relationship with the dog, the training method, the group of sheep, the age of the dog and its disposition...

 

If these pups came from working parents and if those parents have produced working pups then odds are they will have instinct to work stock. IF that instinct and style of working suits you as a novice and your sheep in an entire new can of worms. The breeder should be able to assist you.

 

I would start visiting trainers to see their dogs work and see how they train. If that suits you make regular visits and see where it goes. Go to a few clinics, watch different dogs and trainers. No One can tell with a pup only seen once on sheep.

 

I think it comes down to Are the sheep for you OR are they for the dog? If you want sheep get them, learn about them and enjoy them then get a dog to help with them. If the sheep are for the dog - invest a year or two in lessons then look at getting sheep.

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Denice, basically everything you suggested is what I was planning on doing. I know one exposure wouldn't be enough to learn much of anything, but that's all I would be able to manage if I was taking a six hour round trip for just a bit of learning. If I can find someone closer to me, I will take full advantage of that.

 

I've been to a few trials, spoken to some people who use their dogs to move sheep about how to get started, and have a few books on training. Like I mentioned, sheep would be in the distant future, probably in three to five years and I would only get about 4-5 sheep total.

 

It's frustrating because I'm limited in who I can go to for help and what workshops I can attend. So, basically, I'm looking for someone closer to me that can help me. A test that would help me see if my girls had the drive was where I was intending to start my journey with sheep herding, and I was resigned to having to learn most everything on my own and without much outside help.

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