Fencing for your pastures can be very expensive and requires consistent maintenance. Training a dog or a group of dogs for herding takes time and effort but not only is highly useful, it is rewarding as well. Some dogs have a certain amount of herding dog training bread into them. This makes the training process easier but it still requires time and effort. Research on herding dog breeds will go a long ways. Once you have found a good pup you should start to familiarize the dog with the mechanics of sheep farming. Simply taking the dog with you to the fields is a good start. If an older dog has never been around larger animals they can sometimes be frighted. Dogs which are frighted may lash out and become unruly to train. If you happen to be trying to train an older dog who is afraid at first you will need to do a bit more work to correct this problem. While having a pack of dogs (two or three) is much more efficient when herding, only train one pup at a time. Trying to control, praise, and scold several dogs at once is not only frustrating for you but it will also be confusing for the dogs. If you already have a dog who is trained for herding this can be very beneficial for a new pup to watch. Often times dogs learn from other dogs behavior.

If you are training your dog for competitions you may already have friends with trained dogs. It may be possible to have training sessions with these dogs. Herding dog training can be some what frustrating if you have never done it before. One thing you will want to make sure of is that you always correct your canine when he/she makes mistakes. It may get a bit tiresome after a while correcting the same mistake over and over again but if you do not your dog will develop bad habits. When a herding dog develops bad habits it can be dangerous for the sheep as well as the security of your flock. Avoid this at all costs. While teaching one command at a time seems less confusing for your puppy it can cause them to become board. Try and alternate two or three commands at a time. Once your pup has mastered these commands you can start to work on more complicated commands. Dogs are working animals. Their reward for commands well done should be praise but keep in mind that dogs just wants to work. When a canine is working you will notice that their posture changes. They are alert and focused. You will notice the changes in your dogs behavior right away. Once you can tell when they are in working mode it becomes much easier to teach them new commands. ..more about dog training, please visit: Dog Training Books for more information.