A sheep farm in Massachusetts is doing things the old-fashioned way by herding dogs instead of ATVs.It's at Little Brook Farm in Sunderland where 6-year-old sheepdog Bett does her job.Bett patiently waits for her owner to give her a command.
CBS Boston "She's waiting for me to give that command that says 'go get the sheep,'" Farm owner Kristen Whittle says.Training a sheepdog for herdingWhittle says it's about the relationships that the dogs form, not only with the owner but also with the sheep.One of Little Brook Farm's herding dogs stares at the sheep after she finished herding them into their pasture.
CBS Boston "People think sheep are stupid, sheep are smart, they read the dogs too," Whittle says.She began training Bett as a puppy, building on her already advanced natural instincts to herd."Sheepdogs work better than any other tool for this particular job because they have something that's bred into them, Border Collies are a fetching breed, so their instinct tells them to get out around the livestock and bring it back to you," Whittle explains.
Whittle says that Bett is a confident dog with a natural feel for the sheep. But there is a lot of training that goes into getting the dog ready to herd. They are trained as tamed predators, like a wolf, which means there is a lot of eye contact involved in the process.
The dogs work by chasing the sheep in the direction they want them to go. Occasionally, the dogs will nip at stubborn sheep to get them to move. CBS Boston "Border c.
