POINTS ON SHEEP DOGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14809, 12 October 1911, Page 10

POINTS ON SHEEP DOGS.

TRAINING THE PUP. " ' '- r , ■ ' i.,, >i , .%* . - 1 EV J. K. cmSN'EBT-880 To be successful -with, sheep dogs-. ' two things are essential, "ih» first- and by- ; Jar the most important is . complete - con itch »ter your own '■ temper. with agroat, if perseverance and patience. : * Secondly, comes the dog, •which should be from a . good-working" strain. .. . "... _ . The best, time to buy a dog is m toe slack season about. % month after dipping. If the dog is a stranger ,to you, be sure you see Ma work on a sunny day. the hotter the better. Don i entertain the ides. of buying a high-priced "strange dog on a cold day for fee may be a "sooner."' that is, sooner bo- in. the shade when ho is wanted than in the: sun. . - ' " The Breetk. The breed I fancy is the short-haired black-and-tan collie. * TEe dog should be . preferably on the small tide, have black JVC?, good head, not- too pointed nose, ana broad " bet-ween the ears. Thp first half of tail should b? in a line with the back and the second half should have a slight curve upwards. It is necessary that the dog should have- small feet- and stand well on toes, for a flat-footed dog is slower, will tire, ana get foot-tore long before 'one that- stands correctly. • Temperament of Dogs. •If your dog is shy or timid, treat him kindly, if he is hard and bold be- very strict taking good care never to let him git' the upper hand of you. Never hit a dog, teach the remainder of . your pack to shake him. .You should be able to single out- any dog in. your team and get the others to worry him. "Shake Star." "Shake Dick,*' "Shake Bolt." etc.. Great judgment- is required, for if 5 dog is worried too often - he will be towed and frightened of the rest of the team, and you never want that, to happen. Ellis method of chastising a dog is by far Jhe best. There is lees danger of injury than if you went to work with a stick, for you are apt to break nones etc. I think you will agree with me thai 80 out ®i 100 shepherds 'will lose their tempers if the dog manages to bite them (in eelfdefence}/ snaps at them, or wont howl,, and the dogs (the shepherds" best friends) are the sufferers. . .. The Pan to Buy. - When baying a pep. I would rather pay £5 for a well-bred one witn an indisput- - able pedigree, than pay 5s for an unknown car, though I 'know of several having been , sold -for "£3 each 1 after being successfully broken in. -When rearing pups they should |be given-warm diluted cow's milk twice - a day as soon as their.*eyes open, fill tin • ;• plate" with warm mat and press - pup's mouth in. hold it there for" a second and let go. repeat process after pup has ' licked ~ ; TOiik of? "its' hps.,: Alter- a few meals or Sjr lessons they only need placing -alongside plate and you Will find -.they will lap for thaaseivesT'. _ A ~. '-V -. It -is now time to cut ..off their duke claws, (if any), best- - instrument for this operation being a sharp, clean pair . cf sosnor

.. As mas pap.is ; ready to tram , place in' a'• wire-netting •erdasnro about, twelve ;■ feet in diameter and about .th re® feet sis

S§§ higk^Phce in::<eTsdQSX^;'a| , roomy, rainproof kennel •. Breaking-in the Pap, The pap bob? really i for Ms i first sell son, which. is* to teach ! him his one syllable | nair.p 7 Thiols. easiest rfaagfct at feeding . time, for .the quickest way to" a little pnp'3 heart has naturally something to do with his' stomach. . Once yon have, Seed on a same always stick _to,itJfor ,the sos&ss: you forget to call fisi "puppy the better. " For the" sake of argument we "prill call our .^pup' "Star." As soon as "Star" answers to his name he has the next lesson, taking 'car® there axe no other dogs fooling round to distract : : his attention. :'Hold lap one hand saying - "Stand .- Star," ~ with the ether hand keeping him. still _if he is inclined to more about, repeat this four or five times at intervals of a few minutes ; : do this every morning- and evening- for at least three weeks taking special cam,., not ; to over-do the lessens, thereby making the pap indifferent to your instructions. Keep the poo interested, making the lessons enjovalrfe ' and he will g loos forward $to them with, greater pleasure than the

pf|iaaineiifsgggggg|||p^^ Third lasso®, say "lie down Star."' press him down with your hands, taking care he does not roll over on to his-back. A Always keep him in this position till you tell ~h\-m to move. The reason: for teaching a dog to" stand still or lie down on ■ stomach, instead of sitting down, is because he can get off : ethe?niiuS:fmuchl more quickly in this way. \ r_l.. lb qgTeaching .to Bark. * /%<, . Next lesson is to bark, clapping 'hands if necessary and at the same tune saying. '■'■■■■-'■" Speak up Star." Ton will- find it- much easier to teach' your paps to bark -if;yoa have an old dog barking alongside of you. ; " By the time these lessons are thoroaghly - learnt you- will- find the enclaisare -won't : keep" the papain captivity, so it is; advisable to chain him Tip with a light chain, Jetting him off for half-art-hoar's ran in the evening, keeping a strict -watch on his movements- to prevent- ' his getting into mis-; chief. - ( " * Next ' teach him when called to you to come, by always, feeding him at the kennel before he is chained up. • : . ; • Now 'teach him to get through a fence quickly, using an expression like "Star go through." -/■ . | Teach him also to jump over gate or i fence (not too high at- first), saying "Get- I over Star." . j . Working the Bog. '}

It is now time, .providing you have him •well under - control, to introduce him to his first sheep. "' Choose a cool day, ' and if he is fresh, yoa will Sad him lively and eager for work. 1 Fifteen minutes work on two or three days the' first week will be found sufficient. Gradcally increase the time or number of lessons and after six weeks. or two months take him oat with | you on : a cool \ day when ' you have little sheep work to do. * . Always start your dog from behind you ; and never let him cross his head, that is, don't let him cross to the opposite side, when between you and the sheep, but make him work wide and keep on the side that *ie left'you.';' . When sending your dog to head sheep, if he runs too close, don't continually stop him. thereby wasting a lot of time,' but teach him to take a wide cast, without stopping and looking back, when you either sive a whistle or "say "Star come out." '. ~ ' * "* " //When dog is working wing of mob watch him ; to see that he does not get too near the lead, for he 'is apt to tarn them. Don't call him behind, but make him stand there, later on you will find he will work the wing with good judgment. See that fee works wide and goes steadily. • Always, when ; opening ? a gate to 'let'* A mob through, make your dogs stay behind mob, while you open the gate and stand there, to prevent sheep from being crashed. Let dogs bring tail of mob along quietly. 5; * Yard Work. ■

When working sheep in yards always tie"your dogs outside, if handling a large mob in the big yard- let r one dog ,off to help you pat them in a smaller " one, then tie; dog up. again and get a sack or.,,busby branch of a tree to frighten sheep with. * ■ Never allow mora than one dog to run at a time,' unless you are on top of a ridge working a dog on each side or ''sending dogs in opposite directions.*. <y ' Never let anyone else feed your" dogs, : ; which should be fed only at the kennel I and when the day's work* is finished. JJways ehain dogs up at night and if < r possible before it- is dark, " saying *' Come* i up here Star," or whatever the name is. Don't let your dogs continually bark and howl, when* on cham, especially at night : time. They areapt to • spoil f their barks, instead of having strong ones, they (the* • harks) will be weak. *"! Wash kenneLs with 'sheep dip about once ia month, and ? wash>dcgs? about every six •week*. Tobacco - r or powdered resin and I bran lis.very good -to get rid of fleas and Leather wifi injure the dog's skin. ; v. .;v - •"* • • '" ■: Y:v ':■ ; :