How do you train a sheepdog?

Training is undoubtedly an important bridge between us and sheepdogs in our journey with them. Sheepdogs, with their innate intelligence and vitality, have always been a powerful assistant to humans. When we decide to start the journey of training sheepdogs, it is like embarking on an adventure full of love and challenges. This journey can not only carve out a well-trained dog, but also deepen our emotional bond with them. ​

Each sheepdog is a unique individual, but as a breed, they have common characteristics. Most sheepdogs are full of energy and seem to never run out of energy. They are full of curiosity about the world around them, and their smart eyes are always keenly capturing everything around them. This vigorous energy and curiosity can be both an advantage and a challenge in training. For example, in the early stages of training, they may be too curious about the surrounding environment and unable to focus on training instructions. But as long as they are guided properly, this energy and curiosity can be transformed into motivation for learning. They are smart, have strong learning ability, and can quickly understand human intentions, which lays a good foundation for training. However, they are smart and sometimes play some "smart tricks". If they find that a certain behavior can bring benefits, they may deliberately repeat it, even if it is not the behavior we want. Therefore, a deep understanding of these characteristics is the first step to successful training. ​

Training a shepherd dog, the cultivation of basic skills is like the cornerstone of building a house, which is very important. From the simple command training at the beginning, such as "sit", "lie down", "come", etc., these seemingly basic actions are the key language to communicate with shepherd dogs. When training the command "sit", we can hold delicious snacks to attract the attention of the shepherd dog. Then, slowly move the snacks upwards, the dog's head will rise with the snacks, and the body will naturally sit down. At the moment it sits down, give a clear and firm "sit" command, and immediately give a snack reward and a gentle touch, and praise it in a cheerful tone. Repeat this process many times, and the dog will associate the "sit" command with the action of sitting down and the reward. The same method is also applicable to the training of commands such as "lie down" and "come". Patience is our most powerful weapon in this process. Shepherd dogs may occasionally be distracted or unable to respond correctly immediately due to excitement. At this time, we must not be impatient, let alone beat or scold them. Every repetitive training is the accumulation of trust between us and the dogs. As long as we always remain patient, the dogs will definitely surprise us. ​

When the basic skill training has initially shown results, we can gradually guide the shepherd dogs to exert their instincts as shepherd dogs and begin to cultivate their working ability. Shepherd dogs are best at assisting humans in managing and driving sheep. In the early stages of training, we can first let the shepherd dogs get familiar with the smell and sound of the sheep and establish their cognition of the sheep. Then, we take the shepherd dogs to move around the sheep and let them gradually adapt to the environment of living with the sheep. When the dog shows attention to the sheep, give rewards to strengthen this positive behavior. Next, we can start some simple driving command training. For example, use specific gestures and commands to guide the dog to move the sheep in a specified direction. At the beginning, the dog may not understand our intentions very well and the movements will be unfamiliar. But don't worry. Through repeated training, the dog will gradually understand the specific actions corresponding to each command. In this process, we will see that the instincts of the shepherd dogs are stimulated little by little. They begin to show their innate talent for managing the flock, and their eyes reveal concentration and determination. At that moment, we will be sincerely proud of them. ​

In addition to skill training, cultivating good living habits for shepherd dogs should not be ignored. They should develop fixed eating, resting and excretion habits. Fixed eating time and place help dogs digest and facilitate our management. Prepare a quiet and comfortable resting space for dogs so that they can have a place to rest safely when they are tired. Training dogs to defecate in designated places can not only keep the living environment clean, but also cultivate the dog's behavioral norms. For example, we can lay urine pads in specific corners of the house. When the dog shows signs of defecation, guide it to the urine pad to complete defecation, and give rewards and praise after completion. After a period of training, the dog can develop a good habit of defecation in designated places. ​

In the whole process of training the shepherd dog, love and understanding always run through it. Every training session is an opportunity for us to communicate with dogs. When a dog successfully completes a command, the rewards and praise we give are not only recognition of its behavior, but also a way of conveying our deep love. When the dog encounters difficulties and cannot understand the command, the patient guidance and encouragement we give are also expressions of love. We must think about problems from the perspective of dogs and understand their feelings. Because although they are smart, they think differently from humans after all. Only in this way can we truly enter their inner world and establish deep trust and tacit understanding. ​

Training a shepherd dog is a challenging but wonderful journey. During this journey, we witnessed the dog's development from ignorance to skill, from occasional mischief to well-behaved and sensible. Every progress is the result of our hard work and love.