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Sheep as Training "Toys"


NCStarkey
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I sometimes think if they get a border collie and then decide they want to try to train it on stock, *if* they get themselves into the right training situation, they can learn so much *more* than just "letting their dog play.

 

This is certainly true for me. As a city girl who spends her days with data and computers, I've learned a lot of life lessons from herding. Stockwork teaches patience, focus and service. You have to learn to wait and work for long-term goals to come in their own time. At the same time, the consequences of mistakes are immediate and may be severe. You need to put simple creatures ahead of yourself and try to see the world through their eyes if you want any success (which is never guaranteed). Staying grounded in reality is a must. These are not the types of skills and attitudes you typically acquire in the city, but they can be immensely valuable.

 

Agriculture is the foundation our culture was built on. As we've become more technical, we've lost many of its side benefits. We'd be a much better country if somehow we could all stay a little closer to it.

 

None of the things I have gained from herding would be possible if I hadn't been taught from Day One by my instructor that the sheep come first. That made the whole thing real, instead of a game. If this hadn't been the case, my exposure to agriculture could have been a negative for me, as I imagine it is for those unfortunates who wind up at such facilities.

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This is certainly true for me. As a city girl who spends her days with data and computers, I've learned a lot of life lessons from herding. Stockwork teaches patience, focus and service. You have to learn to wait and work for long-term goals to come in their own time. At the same time, the consequences of mistakes are immediate and may be severe. You need to put simple creatures ahead of yourself and try to see the world through their eyes if you want any success (which is never guaranteed). Staying grounded in reality is a must. These are not the types of skills and attitudes you typically acquire in the city, but they can be immensely valuable.

 

Agriculture is the foundation our culture was built on. As we've become more technical, we've lost many of its side benefits. We'd be a much better country if somehow we could all stay a little closer to it.

 

None of the things I have gained from herding would be possible if I hadn't been taught from Day One by my instructor that the sheep come first. That made the whole thing real, instead of a game. If this hadn't been the case, my exposure to agriculture could have been a negative for me, as I imagine it is for those unfortunates who wind up at such facilities.

 

 

Very well put. This has been my experience as a city girl working with horses for the past 11 yrs. Not just riding but training and working on the farm. I am just about to enter the round pen with my dog now as a "hobby herder" and I have thought about the ethics of that because I am familiar with stock.

 

I think I am in good hands though as the person who I have chosen to work with has farmed sheep for yrs and does very well in trials and if either of my dogs looks like they would be difficult to train I will move on to something else.

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Popping in out of the ether to express my appreciation of this topic. Knowing no better, I started in ANKC (AKC type) 'herding'. but was uncomfortable with what was happening. I was incredibly lucky and had the chance to learn to do basic farm chores with my little agility girl on a friend's superfine merino property. As others have said, the sheep came first and foremost and were always to be respected. At that stage she was able to maintain a small flock of training wethers, for her own dogs, and I was able to work with those, until my dog and I became competent enough to start doing chores with the main flocks.

 

I am no longer in a position to be able to do any sheep work - drought has halved flocks and meant that all sheep must be productive - no chance of keeping luxuries like training wethers - but I am so grateful to have been able to experience something of the world of the shepherd, and to learn to have a respect for and appreciation of sheep.

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I did not realize that things were so rough right now for agriculture in Australia, and sorry that you're not having the opportunity to work with the sheep any more. I used to enjoy your descriptions and comments about the work you were able to do.

 

Best wishes to farmers in Australia for an end to the drought soon!

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Sue - it varies from place to place - some parts of the country have had severe flooding, while much of the south east is still in drought. My trainer and friend has had to reduce her flock by 50% - trying desperately to maintain the great superfine merino genetics she'd been building up. One wheat farmer was quoted on the radio as saying he was a 'wheat planter' not a 'wheat grower' because of the number of crop failures he'd been experiencing.

 

Thanks for the kind words too - I do miss those days spent on the farm, watching my little girl do her best imitation of what real Border Collies do.

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