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Books for a beginner


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Hi everyone!

 

So I've said this before, but I am completely new to the world of sheep herding. I'm wondering if anyone could recommend some training books, dvds, videos, etc. that I should look at. Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!

 

 

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This is not a book, but it's right here on these Boards and it shows a good trainer bringing her dog along from the beginning and will also show you how she assesses the dog and what thoughts are in her mind as she decides what approaches to use -- how trainers think about what the dog is showing and what the dog needs:

 

Denise Wall training May

 

It's also a good way of seeing that this is not like most kinds of training, where you teach the dog step by step exactly what you want it to do. With this kind of training you're working to shape what is already in the dog, and to do that you have to be able to create a situation where you can see what's in the dog and use the sheep to bring out the reactions you want. That is so easy to lose sight of when you're first starting out.

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I really like Scrimgeour's Talking Sheepdogs for a simple explanation of the basics. I think it provides a good springboard for progressing to a book that goes into more detail and more depth about training. It's a good "get your toes wet" kind of book.

 

Fogt's Lessons from a Sheepdog and Holland's "Herding Dogs, Progressive Training" are considered classics, and they both cover a lot of ground while remaining very readable. I have not read Julie Hill's new The Natural Way, which I understand is much better written and organized than the first edition, which Is the one I have.

 

There are other very good books but I think that these first three are a good start for anyone.

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Another ++ for the Scrimgeour book. I absolutely love it, and honestly it sounds a bit cheesy to say this but it changed my life. Just reading a few of the anecdotes from his point of view was enough to persuade me that the way I was approaching sheepdog training wasn't suited to MY dog. And from there on, my and my dog's rate of progress shot up, plus our working relationship is better than ever. I was so moved by the book - which isn't a wordy affair at all, and very well written - that when I went to Derek's new farm to have a lesson, I shamelessly asked him to sign it! :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Love Bruce Fogt's book, Lessons From a Stockdog. It's tried and true. Viv Billingham has some new videos that may be helpful to you. Here's a link to : http://www.tweedhopesheepdogs.com/#!in-dog-we-trust/c1eam

 

Some articles on my Stockdog Savvy blog may be of interest to you as well: https://stockdogsavvy.wordpress.com/

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Here's a link to some footage of Sheep Dog Commands with Thomas Longton that may be of interest to you as well:

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