The German Shepherd
Dog's Herding Ability
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Herding and the German Shepherd Dog
By Debbie Ray
Once other animals such as cattle, sheep and goats became
domesticated, man became aware of the dogs herding ability.
Tactics used by hunting wolves, witnessed by humans, such as
driving and separating one animal from the flock, were further
exploited and bred into these dogs. As in other dogs, the animals
possessing the best inherent herding abilities were further
developed to assist human shepherds in their daily duties.
As you know, German Shepherds fall into the Herding Category of
dog breeds- the breed was derived in the late 1800’s from several
different types of herding stock. As the breed gained popularity,
it also gained new “jobs” and duties as varied as can be possibly
imagined- from work in the wars, search-and-rescue, tracking,
police work, protection, to guide dog, companion dog and more.
Still, some animals (GSD’s) are used today actively as herding
dogs.
Exactly what is involved in the process of herding? First, a
willingness to work and to cooperate with others. In the wild
wolves or wild dogs work as a unit when hunting prey and each
animal may have a particular “job” to fulfill in order to bring
down the intended victim. Some may be following the prey while
others attempt to head it off. Still, another may be the pack
leader who in essence coordinates the events of the hunt. Herding
dogs now work essentially with a human as pack leader in
attempting to control herds of livestock.
Herding dogs may have natural abilities and fall in one of two
basic categories- either that of gatherer or driver. Drivers
generally move the stock away from the handler while still
grouped, while gatherers tend to head off stock, keep them
grouped and move them toward the handler. Generally speaking,
gatherers are more versatile than drivers and it is much easier
to cross train a gatherer to drive than it is to cross train a
driver to gather.
Overall, principles of herding are based on the dogs natural
instincts though other training methods abound. First dogs must
obey the handler and follow commands. This, along with mutual
trust and respect, are the most important aspects of the working
relationship between the dog (s) and the handler. After being
introduced to stock, the animals are taught to position
themselves in relation to the handler and stock based on their
”job” and the direction in which the herd is to be moved. It is
the handlers job to give the dog guidance in working the stock.
Later in training directional commands are learned by the animal
in training. Most commands are in the form of verbal cues or
whistles although visual commands may sometimes be involved as
well. Possible commands may include “easy” or ”steady” (move
slowly), “stop”, “down”, or flanking commands such as move
counterclockwise or clockwise around the herd. Once the dog
masters the basic gathering commands it is taught to drive the
herd and as it learns each lesson, it is taught other more
difficult commands.
Qualities a good herding dog must possess are obedience,
trainability, adaptiveness, good health, responsiveness and, most
importantly, being able to use its own judgment. “Standing up” to
uncooperative stock or being gentle with cooperative stock are
other qualities of utmost importance in an actual working herding
dog.
Article written and reprinted with permission of:
http://www.pedigreedpups.com/
Purebred Dogs, Puppies and Dog
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