Quote:
Originally Posted by SABELLESMOM  He should be herding a goat, not killing it. |
Just my $0.02 on this.
A farm dog really should not be herding goats unless he is being directed to do so or he is bringing them back to home base because of a predator alert. Actual herding activity should usually be a very small part of interaction with livestock.
Most livestock dog work is a cooperation between species, where all species are respectful of the individual strengths and weakness of others.
Our goat herd queen will raise her ears to a dog and issue an impressive "sit/stay" command to a dog that wants to instigate herding activites for no good reason. But if the dog has alerted on something and communicates that something important is going on, all of the goats very willingly accept herding and escort back to the safest part of the land.
In my opinion a good farm utility dog is capable and willing of taking charge when the situation merits, but 99% of the time it's work is to be a cooperative member of the overall livestock/canine/human/bird (and even garden plant) mixed herd. It should not be spending it's time making a pest or annoyance of itself with other herdmates even if it is using beautiful herding form at the time! :)
Lynda