Herding ?

[Silvermarten]

Anyone here with herding rotties that could share some pointers with a potential herder ?

Henry is 8 1/2 mths old and some of his behaviours had reminded me of Aussies so I wondered about a herding instinct in him . He came from a byb ( I know , I know , what can I say , a moment of weakness ) . He's smaller for a rottie boy (64lbs) but nicely proportioned. I know he's still got some growing to do but I expect he'll always be a compact boy .

Well today there was a herding instinct test near me , so to find out for sure if it was instinct I took Henry . He'd never seen sheep before but after a few sniffs he suddenly came alive . WOW It was an amazing sight . He put several of the aussies to shame :D The tester said he had a very strong herding instinct .

I'm wondering the right age to start herding training with him ? It seems to be very intense and I know that mentally and physically he still needs to mature . The local trainer usually works with border collies , aussies and heelers and they seem to be ready at around 12 mths for herding training. Would 1 1/2 yrs be an appropriate age for a rottie ? Or should we wait until he's 2 yrs ? Any other thoughts , tips or suggestions are very welcomed .

Thanks for any comments .
Silvermarten
& Henry the herder .

[Carina43]

I was going to start Cooper in herding when he was just a few months old, a very knowlegable woman back when I was in Colorado (Jean Looker, well known in herding circles) said she started puppies pretty young, though maybe that was just "pre-herding.". I tried him on geese when he was about 5 months old, then on sheep when I moved here, here was a year or so.

Cooper had zero instinct; he just wanted to make friends with the sheep and eat their poop. Neither of my other dogs would be suitable at all, so I never went any further with it...my mother has sheep & BCs, one day I'd love to have a dog who enjoys herding!

[rottnkidd]

Hello - According to the AKC regulations "All dogs 9 months of age or older, registered with the AKC and classified as Herding Group dogs may participate in tests and trials. Also a dog granted an ILP can participate.
I introduced my girl last spring, just before her 3rd b-day. We've been taking lessons a couple of times a month throughout the summer, and our trainer holds a monthly "fun day" that allows the students to spend an entire day socializing, training and observing the novice and the advanced. I'm definitely hooked. It's a great activity that's both mentally and physically demanding (for the dog AND the handler! lol)
Also it's another 'feather in the hat' of the Rottweiler with
their incredible versatility. It's what makes me love this breed.
They're capable of doing so much! (Obed, Agility, Herding, Tracking, etc...) How awesome is that??:D
"That'll do" - Best wishes -
kathy

[rottnkidd]

I want to clarify that although the Rottweiler is not in the Herding Dog group (but in the Working group), they, along with the Samoyeds are eligible to participate in AKC Herding events. That's better!
kathy

[Silvermarten]

Thanks for the info everyone. Just a few more questions .


a dog granted an ILP can participate

What's an ILP ?

"All dogs 9 months of age or older, registered with the AKC may participate in tests and trials..."

Henry is not registered so does that mean he can not compete ?

I was thinking of doing herding for fun but if he really takes to it a trial or two could be a lot of fun too .

Yes rotties are an amazing breed with all the things they are capable of doing .

Silvermarten

Henry - 8 1/2 mth rottie ( speedlicker )
Bruce - 10 yr rescue rottie

[LavenderRott]

An ILP is a registration from AKC for a "purebred" dog that is not registered with AKC. You should be able to get an ILP for Henry. I am not sure what you have to do but you should be able to find out by going to their website.

Good Luck.

[Silvermarten]

Thankyou LavenderRott .
I found the site and it seems pretty straight forward to get Henry an ILP registration .
For anyone else intrested here's the ILP info link :

http://www.akc.org/registration/ilpex.cfm

Silvermarten

Henry - 8 1/2 mth rottie ( speedlicker )
Bruce - 10 yr rescue rottie

[Brooke&Ryan]

Originally posted by Carina43
Cooper had zero instinct; he just wanted to make friends with the sheep and eat their poop.

HAHAHAHAHA! Okay, that was my laugh for the day. The place where we do agility is at a horse farm & Julius really feels it's his duty to clean up. Hmmmm, herding or eating sheep poop? I think I know which one Julius would choose too!:p

Brooke

[LavenderRott]

Thanks for the link, Silvermarten.

I never knew that a dog with an ILP could compete in Junior Showmanship. Fascinating.

[fbkeays]

When I got my last two puppies, the owner of the ranch told me to bring them over the first week I got them. So one was started at 9 weeks and the other at 8 weeks. My second dog was on sheep about every week for a year at which time he earned his PT. He hasn't been on sheep much this past year as we have been concentrating on tracking and I have been helping a friend train her collies on herding. This year we will go back every week. Our goal is the HSAs title for next year.
My only concern with starting a young dog is to make sure that the stock doesn't challenge the puppy and win.