Training the HGH: Tasks and Techniques
___________________________________________________________________


Translated by Ann Garner from Karl Hermann Finger and illustrated here on the web site by photos from work done by German Shepherds in Herding in the Central Valley of California. An excerpt from

Hirte- und Hütehunde , 1989
available from international booksellers at various sites on the internet.


A sheep is flighty by nature and in the time of the flock guardian dogs{before the 15th century intensive farming development of Central Europe}, the dog often functioned as a lead dog for the flock to follow; however, the dog could not drive so well from behind. Since then the lack of space in our part of the world caused the lead dog to become rare. Therefore, at present, our sheep follow the herdsman everywhere, to and from the graze. In order to put the sheep in a moving column, many herdsmen raise a lead sheep who often follows close on the herdsman....The work of the herdsman as leader made it impossible for him to keep the flock in order as it moved along behind him. Therefore the present-day herding dog works behind him and at both sides of the flock to ensure that even the last sheep is included and that no one goes his own way.

Shobie learns to stay on the border as he controls the movement of the sheep as they follow the herdswoman. See how
well he learned his lessons in his mature work.

All this begins each morning as the sheep are taken out of their night quarters -- a pen or a stall -- with moving them to the exit and preventing crowding at the gate. It follows then that we must ensure that all the animals exit in a herd and then along the road that no animal wanders away or stays behind.

The sheep flock must exist as a unity which the dog holds together only from working alongside it. He should have nothing to do either behind it nor anywhere within it. That the obstacles that lie along the path of the flock (idle machines, vehicles, puddles, ponds, ditches or junk, etc.) are safe to pass. In this even the herdsman should not interfere. Instead, he sends the dog to control the errant or unsuspecting sheep to avoid losing it or having it come to harm.

When we reach the graze area, the herd should feed undisturbed, regardless of whether they are on a small piece of ground, a wide ranging meadow or a narrow grassy way. The problem for the dog is unfalteringly to prevent the herd from overstepping the established boundary (furrow or line) and eating the nearby crops. At the same time you must teach the dog to be placed far out on the edge of the graze, watching the herd and preventing them from wandering off. At the signal from the herdsman, later on even on his own initiative, the dog will even go out very far to head the sheep and turn them to graze in the opposite direction.

This so-called "kippen" (heading and turning the herd away from a border or out of a corner of the field) should not cause the flock to get nervous, even in the situation where they are in a cul-de-sac graze.

In other cases, where the flock is endangered from exterior forces (bad weather blowing in, thick fog coming up) the animals should be gathered up without causing panic. The same is required when the herdsman has to leave or take his midday rest. He must not forget to give the dog some water before he goes.

As soon as the herd is sheltered from the wind or gathered into the shade, it is the dog's work to watch over them and keep them together until time to take them out.

A special situation exists when the herd meets traffic. First of all, the herdsman must take care that the flock stays in a long column and remains in motion. He is fully charged with the job of keeping the sheep on their half of the road or moved over to the side of the road....With the approach of the traffic, the dog on alert will make room for the cars passing in the opposite direction alongside the herd. As soon as the car reaches the head of the first sheep, the dog moves back alongside the herd. With this maneuver, he prevents sheep from running under the car, or keeps the whole herd from wandering into danger amidst the traffic....


Bridges, especially ones built flimsily with wood planks, are a not altogether unfamiliar footing for sheep. And narrow overpasses are often problematic. In these cases, it is very important in crossing over that the herd stays in a moving column. Besides which, there exists the danger with spread-out sheep that they go around the bridge and can end up in the street, on a railroad or even in the water. The sheep at the front of the flock should be able to trust his dog, that the dog will put all the sheep over the bridge, even the laggard and inexperienced ones. For this reason, control, independence and a comfortable amount of pressure are expected from the dog. Lack of self-control easily leads to a catastrophe, when a part of the herd tries to get around the bridge.


Shobie stands at a panel as if it were the side of a bridge, a good way to practice the stand
that is necessary on inside corners, bridges and at gates.

Moving the herd on narrow strips between boundaries of irrigation ditches creates the need for teaching the change of direction. On a side road, at the graze or while on the path, the flock milling along the street can become a tangled mess of sheep bodies.

When the sheep following the lead sheep see the front of the herd turning and going perpendicular to their line of travel, they are pressured to get to their leaders by the shortest possible way. By sheep cutting across at corners, much damage can be caused to neighboring grounds. The herdsman at the head of the flock is overwhelmed and without the help of his herding dog is not in a position to prevent it.

For this reason, often the dog working the inner side of the bend will be commanded to stand at the corner. There he can prevent the cut-across at a critical point. In doing this job, his responsibility to watch over that whole side of the herd is not finished. His task is to control the sheep at the end of the line, rebellious and hungry fiends that they are, that will grab the opportunity to wheel away off the end of the row of sheep.

When herding with one dog or with two dogs trained to different levels, it is often necessary to make a "change of working sides," as in the example cited above. This change should take place in the immediate vicinity of the herdsman, preferably just in front of him. Never allow the dogs to change sides between the sheep and the herdsman or immediate behind the column of sheep, in order to avoid stirring up the sheep unnecessarily. (Editor's note: the pressure from two dogs immediately behind the strung-out column of sheep would tend to speed up their movement and the herdsman temporarily without a dog up in front of the column would not be able to slow them down to his pace. Moving ruminants along paths and roads should take place at their normal ambling pace in order to conserve the energy they gain from grazing. Dogs that run weight off herd animals are not practical working dogs.) The herdsman is responsible for the sheep. Especially in the evenings and at dark, when the herd is full and on the way home to the sheepfold and the dog is very tired from a long day's work. It is very important to observe the "change of sides" rule at this time in order to prevent wrecks that are not easy to clean up.

On the last leg of the way home the forward sheep begin to press on past the herdsman, in order to be first in the stall, or to get to the water or grain trough first. This kind of disorderly trip home should never be tolerated. If we do not allow the dog to grip, we would be giving the sheep motivation to be uncontrollable in other situations as well. We have to consider the danger for lambs, weak or pregnant sheep in a headlong runaway herd. Therefore we must have a quick dog in such cases to send to the front to head off the herd and stop them.

When we get to the stall or pen, the dog moves up to his position at the gate again to prevent undue pressure from the sheep at the rear, and to assure an orderly penning. During penning, he must stay alert until the last sheep is in and the herdsman closes the gate.

Now the dog must first be given a couple of pans of water. Many times it is then his duty to sort out the sheep into special groups or to bring in the separate groups to the sheep fold.

At this time the stress from the long hard day of work by the dogs is released. They now expect their generous serving of food before their night watch duty begins. In our part of the world most dogs can rest undisturbed. In other places many herdsmen need special watchdogs for night duty.


The Novice Dog and the Herding Team

As each newcomer is introduced into an organized working group, the status of each member of the group will be made clear very quickly. In the pack consisting of human-dogs-sheep it is the same. Even more so when we are dealing with an inexperienced dog in training who has already earned the trust of the pack leader (herdsman) and is doing everything he can to keep it. Certain sheep will soon try to test how far they can push the novice dog. Then, too, the other working dogs with the herd will follow their ancient drives to protect their own territorial rights and herding unit.

As a rule, the less experienced dog will work as a Beihund or a man-dog on the same side of the flock as the herdsman. In this way, he stays under the direct control of the herdsman and can quickly be put on leash if necessary. The more independent halbenhund or main dog works on the other side of the flock, outside of the immediate influence of the herdsman. When changing sides, especially when working two bitches, there can be a fight at the point at which they meet. The same danger exists for the novice dog if he is sent into the territory of the older dog, or when he is being trained by the main dog. It is better for the young dog to learn his lessons by observing from a secure place at his master's side, just as young wolves learn the extent of their pack's territory right from the beginning. Moreover, it gives the young dog more self-confidence if he is the only dog that gets to be attached to the master's side. The master leads him to successful performance of his tasks; an older dog would rather do the opposite: just get him into trouble doing stupid things.


Training for Herding Performance

In the foregoing pages, the plan was drawn, the framework in which and for which the next 12 months of training will take place. At the same time the learning goals are described for which the succeeding training program has to be right. Much of the training that the dog received as a puppy does not have to be repeated in the lesson plans of the herding training. From now on, they will be practiced in the narrow context of the daily work with the sheep and will show up in the "herding performance" of the dog....

A trained herding dog is recognizable by his mastery of three principles:
 (1) Quiet control of the sheep in place
 (2) Grip (active control) of the sheep
 (3) Quiet control of the sheep in motion

Passive or quiet control of the flock is achieved first of all through "presence" and only as a last resort the dog's presence can be augmented by barking on command. According to each situation during the course of work, the basic principles are combined and changed or reversed as the situation demands. The herdsman holds the dog in control through its anticipation to hear the signals for action....

Establishing self-confidence in the Dog. Our goal in training, according to the time of year, whether in the paddock, in a pen or on the meadow, is to provide the dog with experience so that he ranks above the sheep in the Man-Dog-Sheep pack. At the same time, we must make it clear to the dog that all sheep and lambs are members of the pack and not prey for the dog. That means that sheep may need to be reminded to stay with the pack by being gripped, but they must never be injured or killed....

The course of learning begins with the dog being an observant witness of the sheep work of an experienced herding dog. On the first day, the dog is set up in a place within the paddock or pen where he can be controlled. During the work session of the experienced dog, the young dog should see that the dog respects the flock and the sheep respect the dog.

When the flock moves outside the pen or paddock, the pupil will be on a line at first, then simply kept off-line at the foot of the herdsman, where he will occasionally be allowed to work the sheep at penning or de-penning. With time, his contact with the flock can be extended during slow walks around the inside of the pen at put-out time....To be exactly at foot is no longer necessary so long as the pupil is making progress and stays concentrated on the sheep. With increased self-confidence, he can begin to take the sheep out of the pen for the beginning of the daily stroll.

As for controlling sheep by his "presence," during the passive control in place and in motion, the novice dog draws on his life with the grazing sheep as his basic experience....With time some dogs develop "eye," as in the case of the Border Collie, but more often the herdsman's commands will help the dog develop in his ability to control the flock, as in stop commands at gates or pens. The dog's ability to control the flock in place can be practiced at home in a paddock, especially if the dog is not with the flock all day during part of the year. Take-outs from the pen and pen work can similarly be practiced during these times.

So long as these dry exercises do not weaken the dog so that the flock loses respect for him. The final lesson of the novice dog is the jump into the pen in order to take out the flock. While he is learning this lesson, he should not be placed under stress, but his every effort should be rewarded with praise.

Gripping will be practiced as active control of the sheep, so long as our novice dog has been allowed to develop confidence in contact with the flock. A talent for executing the appropriate grip distinguishes the herding dog from his predecessor, the flock guardian dog. Different regions of the country and various breeds of sheep permit different types of grips....

When a bitch needs to correct the misbehavior of a puppy, she grips it at the back of the neck and shakes it, without damaging the puppy. These acts are instinctive and spring from the social customs of the wolf pack. This is the reason that the herding dog must accept the sheep as part of his social order. If the herding dog grips the sheep as prey, he bites without inhibition and tears the flesh of the sheep. Feral dogs illustrate this point very well. The bite must be taught as a way of keeping discipline within the flock....

Inappropriate grips should be corrected so that the general public does not get a false picture of the work of the herding dog. Lack of grip or an incorrigibly hard grip makes the dog unsuitable for herding....

Boundary patrol is passive control of the flock in motion, occasionally accompanied by active grips....All recognizable boundaries such as ruts, meadow and field borders, stands of crops, or similar long markings across the land, the dog has to understand as "boundaries." Even when the border is not clear, we have to deal with it according to the agreed-upon feeding territory of the sheep flock. The sheep must be allowed to graze up the very edge of the area, then must turn and feed in the opposite direction. Any time they attempt to cross the edge, the dog must return them to their own area. The dog may discipline the wayward sheep outside the borders of their area, but the dog must stay at the edge of the graze...

{W}ith overly ambitious pupils it is advisable to begin the training without the sheep {being in motion}. ... the herdsman now stays mainly between the dog and the sheep. With this, the dog learns that he can work either to the right or the left of the herdsman, but he absolutely must stay in the furrow. The dog must be scolded for leaving the furrow and he must be praised when he stays in the furrow.

The dog has to learn and observe the boundary of the graze (command: furrow); he must learn and obey the command "Slowly!" in order not to disturb the sheep when he is finally sent to work the opposite side of the flock, away from the herdsman.

Active control by means of the grip while the sheep are in motion can finally be practiced, but not until the novice dog understands the concept of the boundary and that the sheep must remain inside it and he cannot go inside it to grip. Often just a feint to grip will be enough to control the sheep that is trying to pass outside the boundary...

(editor’s ellipsis of material on praise for gripping, punishing for harsh gripping, etc.)


The following begins an account of the combination of tasks of the herding dog ...

The daily work starts with taking the sheep out of the pens or stalls... . The drilling of the exercise of de-penning from stalls, free-standing pens or fenced paddocks makes all future work much easier. The goal is to set in motion all the sheep who are able to walk....

This practice can begin on lead. The sidewise placement on the inside of the gate is simple. Only seldom is it necessary to send the dog deeper into the pen, as it is also occasionally necessary at the stop sign, in narrow places, at bridges or corners of the path....

The dog needs some practice in controlling the sheep just by standing still, while the herdsman grows more distant up at the head of the flock. It can be helpful to leave the dog at his post for at least 3 seconds before calling him onto the herd. Do not call him until he is very steady at his post. Keep him standing in place by a stern command to "stand there!"

Penwork, right up to the last take-out of a sheep that wants to hang back, is the crowning achievement of the dog's training. When the tail-end of the herd has exited the gate, the dog is put on a line and sent back into the pen to make sure there are no remaining sheep. Only then is he called out of the pen onto the herd. After a complete course of lessons on lead, he begins to work along the sides of the flock as they move along the trail. Thus begins the transition to his next lesson.

Driving and flanking with the flock moving along the trail is necessary for keeping the flock in its assigned boundaries and in orderly movement. Without hesitation, the dog has to undertake this task immediately upon the exit from the pen, while the herdsman works at the front of the flock, maintaining the tempo and direction of the flock's movement. Increased speed at the head of the flock lessens the spread of the flock and vice versa. Boundaries for the casting (flanking, patrolling) of the dog offer themselves along the way: the breadth of the road, or other natural markings, or street markings can serve the purpose. The pace of the herdsman and the breadth and length of the flock. establish the assumed flanking zones when in the open field.

The dog moving alongside the flock finds many situations convincingly similar to patrolling along a furrow on the graze. Especially when the herd is moving ahead fast, discretion demands that the dog patrol this (imaginary) endless furrow running along the side of the flock from front to rear. In our fields, with their marked boundaries, the flocking instinct contains the forward pressure of the sheep to reach their food or their resting place. Nevertheless, sheep who wander aside to feed or sheep who straggle too far behind the flock must be brought in by the dog gripping or threatening to grip.

This is to prevent the disorder or confusion in the middle of the herd, which happens as a result of the slowing down of the forward motion. Therefore it is important to signal the dog to move up and down the complete line of sheep, not just wear them from the front of the flock.

Above all, the dog must be prevented from leaving this imaginary furrow alongside the moving flock in order to wheel around behind the flock. Diving into the sheep can only cause damage and disorder. ###

Contact Ann Garner for information.