How to Train a Border Collie to Herd: 9 Expert Tips
By Grant Piper
Updated on
Herding is an ancient and refined art that has been around for thousands of years. Border Collies are herding dogs, and that has raised a lot of curiosity among dog owners. Border Collies are very intelligent and energetic. They love having a job, which makes it easy for people to train Border Collies to be true herding dogs, especially with good training and a small herd. The process is not necessarily easy or fast, but it is very effective if you are willing to put in the work.
Here are nine expert tips that can help you train your Border Collie to become a real herding dog.
The 9 Tips to Train a Border Collie to Herd
1. Start with Basic Obedience Training
It will be hard for you to train a Border Collie to herd if they do not know a series of basic commands that all dogs should know. You need to start with basic obedience training before moving on to more complex forms of training, such as herding. If your Border Collie cannot sit, stay, hold, stop, and come on command you need to work on these basics before attempting to train them to herd. Luckily, Border Collies often learn the basics very quickly, and training them with these basic commands is very straightforward.
2. Start Them Young
The earlier you start training a dog, the better. The younger a dog is, the easier they are to train, and the more likely the training will become ingrained and stick for years to come. The phrase “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is a thing for a reason. Older dogs are harder to train, and they are harder to get the training to stick. If you are planning on fully training a Border Collie to be a herding dog, you should start when they are young for the best results.
3. Use a Sorting Stick
Sorting sticks are useful tools that are used in herding. A sorting stick is a long flexible rod that is used to move livestock. Using a sorting stick for herding training has multiple benefits. First, it gets the Border Collie used to the presence and use of the sorting stick. Second, you can use physical and visual commands in addition to verbal commands. Reinforcing a verbal command with a physical motion can help reinforce the training. It can also make it so that you can command your Border Collie with physical signals alone when they are better trained. When you start giving verbal commands to your Border Collie, you should also start motioning with the sorting stick to build multiple cues.
4. Teach the Universal Herding Commands
There are five commands that are used almost universally for training herding animals. The commands are:
- Away from me: moves the herd counterclockwise
- Come by: moves the herd clockwise
- Lie down: commands the dog to lie down and wait
- Walk up: tells the dog to approach the herd
- That’ll do: commands the dog to return to the herder and usually means the herding job is done
These are the most important commands to teach to your Border Collie if you plan on doing actual herding. You should start working on these as soon as the dog has mastered basic obedience commands.
This is where the sorting stick comes in handy. When teaching commands like “away from me” and “come by,” you should gesture with the stick in the proper direction to help the dog remember which way it should be going.
5. Train Them on Small Livestock
Even if you want your Border Collie to herd large animals like steer or cows, you should start training them on small livestock if possible. Small livestock is easier to manage, less intimidating, and will allow your dog to learn the basics without having the fear of being gored by a bull. Small livestock will also help build confidence for your Border Collie, which will help them behave appropriately in the presence of larger, more intimidating animals.
Some small animals that are great for early herding are sheep, calves, and goats.
6. Teach More Complicated Maneuvers
After you start getting the hang of the basic herding commands, you can start training more complex maneuvers. More complex commands include things like driving, where they get the herd to move forward. Then there are things like penning, where your dog gets the herd to move through a gate into a pen. Shedding is when you get your dog to remove one or two specific animals from the herd. You should only start working on these types of behaviors when your dog is confident around small livestock and has a grasp of all the basic herding commands.
7. Move on to Larger Livestock
Next, it is time to move on to larger livestock if that is your final goal. Once your Border Collie is confident and comfortable herding small animals, they can start working on larger animals. Larger animals include things like cows, steer, oxen, horses, and large goats. If the training is progressing well, your Border Collie should have no trouble graduating to larger animals. But not everyone needs to herd large livestock. Many people will stop at small livestock like sheep or goats.
8. Praise and Reward Good Behavior
Like all dog training, it is a good idea to reward your Border Collie for good behavior. You should reward them whenever your Collie completes a maneuver, responds correctly to a command, or avoids a distraction. Keep a pouch of your dog’s favorite treats on hand and make sure they know they are being rewarded when they act appropriately when on the job. Continual positive reinforcement only strengthens the training, and you should continue to provide rewards even if you think your dog is fully trained.
9. Be Patient
It can take some herding dogs up to 2 years to become fully efficient at their job. There is a lot that goes into herding, from the commands to the maneuvers and the ability to manage a herd that is on the move. None of these things come quickly. Border Collies are smart enough to pick up on simple commands in a very short amount of time but putting everything together and learning the behaviors of the herd, and learning to spot obstacles and eliminate distractions, can take months or even years. You will likely be able to get some simple herding behaviors from your Border Collie after a few weeks of hard training. Still, you can’t expect them to become perfect herding dogs without an appreciable amount of time. You have to be patient with the training, work at it consistently and resist the urge to get frustrated if your Border Collie is not picking up on the nuances of herding right away.
Conclusion
Border Collies love having a job, and they should take extremely well to herding training. These tips can help turn your Border Collie from a couch potato into a working dog. These tips will remind you to start with the basics then build to more complex concepts, remain patient, and reward good behavior. With the tips in this article and an active training regimen, you will have your very own herding dog in no time.
Featured Image Credit: Peter Mullineux, Shutterstock
