Herding Games
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What
Herding games are games designed for dogs who show a strong herding tendancy but are unable to act this out 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.
How
Sheep Ball - A fun Game designed by Kay Laurence, it's a great way to give working dogs an outlet for their skills in the comfort of their backyard. It requires soft footballs and involves teaching your dog to
1. To only focus on the ball in play - A valuable life skill for city dogs that 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 better understand and read their handlers. 3. Repositioning to catch and prevent escape - This helps dogs be more mindful about what they catch and what they do after they have stopped an object. 4. Holding a distance - A brilliant way to help dogs learn patience and place / hold behaviours. The holding distance also means they don't apply too much pressure when herding an animal.
Collie Ball - A large durable ball designed specifically with herding breeds in mind.
Once the ball is in play it can help the dog entertain themselves for a long time and often doesnt need a lot of involvement from the handler. Its a great way to burn off some extra herding energy.
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.
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.
No matter what game youre playing make sure to teach your dog a Game over cue or an Off switch.
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