How to train a sheepdog: Top tips from New Zealand expert Lloyd Smith

Lloyd Smith says you can't train any dog to work stock, "they need to have that bred-in desire". Photo / RNZ / Nate McKinnon

By RNZ

It takes two years to train a sheepdog to be farm-ready, one of New Zealand’s top trainers Lloyd Smith says, and the key is to start early.

“I believe that’s the part that is too often neglected to the detriment of success later on.”

The first stage is to get them into the right frame of mind to be trained, he said.

“It’s about making them understand the need to conform because that’s all training is about.

“If you get your pup to conform to what you want to do, then you will be able to train it.”

And you can’t train any dog to work stock, he said.

“They need to have that bred-in desire to work stock.

“And if they haven’t got it, you can’t put it there.”

Heading dogs and the noisier huntaways have different roles on the farm, he said.

Heading dogs bring sheep back to you, and huntaways do shed work, yard work and mustering, he said.

These dogs have a bred-in desire which makes them trainable in the first place, he said.

“It’s a pretty strong desire, pups at various ages, even 12 to 16 weeks, are wanting to chase sheep around and so it’s really about making sure bad habits don’t develop.”

Getting the young dogs to recognise tone of voice is the first step, he said.

“If you growl at them they say, the old boss is not that happy, I better not do this, but when they’re doing some good, reward them for it - good boy, well done, give them a pat.

“Get them to recognise first and then respond to the tone of the voice.

“And that’s the biggest asset you have as an owner of a dog, whether it’s a sheepdog or any dog, basically.”

Sheepdog training: The five commands

Lloyd Smith is the author of From Pup Pen to Paddock and has a successful spin-off DVD which is sold around the world.

“One’s obviously ‘go’, so you can send it off, once you’ve got it going the next thing is to stop it,” Lloyd said.

“So, you need to stop and then to direct them accordingly.

“You need a left-side and a right-side, and then we call it ‘wayleggo’ command, a come back to me command.

“And those are the five commands. "

With those five commands at your disposal, and a trained dog, there’s not too many jobs you can’t handle, he said.

Sometimes a dog’s nature, even if it’s the right breed, means it’s just not cut out for farm life, he said.

“If you’re going to get the best out of a dog, you and the dog have got to have a good relationship.

“You’ve got to bond with your dog, and the dog’s got to enjoy being with you.”

A relationship with a working dog could last 10 years, he said.

“It’s like having a mate; you can’t spend 10 years with someone you don’t get on with.”

No pup was born with bad habits, he said.

“We let them develop, and then we’ve got the problem of dealing with them. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s a collie or a corgi.

“It doesn’t take much to stop a habit developing, but once it develops, then you have to be pretty severe and often pretty demanding to break that habit.”

So, after 50 years in the game does Smith have a favourite dog?

“A huntaway called Oak, and I won two New Zealand’s with him.

“I probably learned as much from him as what I taught him.

“He was a brilliant shepherd and a great-natured dog.

“And he’s probably always going to be my favourite, really, because he put me on the map.”

- RNZ