Herding Games
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What
Herding games are games designed to help dogs who show a strong herding tendency but are unable to act out their desire to herd actual livestock due to location or lifestyle.
Why
- Providing a dog with a positive outlet for its behaviour can prevent undesirable or problematic behaviour, such as herding animals, people, or even vehicles.
- Teaching the dog how to control the skill helps build impulse control and allows you to have more control over when and how the dog behaves.
- It helps prevent boredom and strengthens the relationship between you and your dog.
No matter what game youre playing make sure to teach your dog a Game over cue or an Off switch.
Types of Herding Games
Sheep Ball - A fun game designed by Kay Laurence, is a great way to give working dogs an outlet for their skills in the comfort of their backyard. It helps teach your dog to...
1. Only focus on the ball in play - This is a valuable life skill for city dogs, who can be easily overwhelmed in chaotic, busy environments like our streets.
2. Anticipate the direction of travel - An excellent working skill that builds impulse control and patience and teaches the dog to read and understand their handlers, their commands and their movements. 3. Resetting - After the dog stops the ball instead of chewing it or taking it and running, they learn to look back at the handler to see what ball will be in play next. This makes the game more mentally challenging and teaches them not to go over their threshold while chasing a ball. They also learn to keep their focus on the handler's movements and commands while in an exited or heightened state of arousal. 4. Holding distance - rather than running up to the ball, the dog learns to stay at a distance, observing and only engaging when the cue is given. This is a brilliant way to help dogs learn patience in waiting/holding behaviours. The holding distance also means they don't apply too much pressure when herding an animal, and it's a transferable skill that may even help when they play with other dogs.
In the video, the amazing trainer Laura from the IMDT demonstrates how to play the game and also offers some useful hints.
SheepBalls® The Ultimate Game demonstrated by Kay Laurence,
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Herding Ball - A large, durable ball, like a Collie Ball, explicitly designed with herding breeds in mind.
Once the ball is in play, it can help the dog entertain themselves for a long time and often doesn't need a lot of involvement from the handler. It's a great way to burn off some extra herding energy. And help them tap into their natural herding instincts.
Triball - This game involves teaching your dog to drive eight oversized, inflatable balls into a goal within a set timeframe. (seven-minute if competing). The handler directs the dog to select the balls in a particular order. The more skilled they become, the more distance your dog drives the balls increases and the time they have to complete it gets shorter.
Fantastic trainers made the video. Please remember to like and follow them to receive more great content from them.
Fetch - Using a frisbee or a ball and teaching your herding dog to fetch is a great way to help them satisfy their exercise needs. Make sure to add mental stimulation into the game and teach the dogs patience between throws; otherwise, you may get an obsessed dog who barks and gets frustrated when you don't throw the ball or frisbee for them.
It's a great idea in multiple dog homes to teach them to Wait for their turn and give each dog a turn to fetch. This helps to build impulse control and prevent redirected aggression or resource guarding.
These videos are made by awesome trainers from around the world. Please remember to like and follow them to get more great content.
Herding livestock
Here are some great educational videos from amazing trainers who teach their dogs to do what they were born to do, herd livestock.
More links
Glasgow Dog Trainer, Wag,
Video by Azinya showing how she taught her dog to herd her chickens